You feel like you’ve cleaned your entire home but there is still a nasty odour wafting throughout the place. The source of the smell might be an area that you accidentally left untouched or it could be your carpets.
Carpets are like sponges. Even if you clean up each spill and pet accident, they still absorb more and more odours. Not sure how to get smells out of the carpet?
Well, you have options and not all of them involve an expensive steam cleaner. Baking soda and vinegar are always a good way to go. Check out this guide for a few more carpet cleaning methods that will actually work.
Enzyme Cleaners
Even the most well-behaved, potty trained dog can have an accident in the house. You may be able to soak up the stain with some kind of cleaner and a cloth but the odour will still be there.
The smell of pet urine is pretty hard to get out unless you invest in an enzyme cleaner. Enzyme cleaners produce good bacteria that feed on the molecules in organic material such as blood and pet urine. This process gets rid of stains and also kicks odours to the curb.
You can get them in almost any hardware store or order them online. Make sure you use the cleaner as directed on the bottle.
Baking Soda
If you have one thing in your kitchen cabinets it’s baking soda. It’s great for baking cakes or getting rid of smells. Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on your carpets.
Leave it alone and allow it to sit for a few hours if the smell isn’t too bad. If you’re dealing with strong odours, allow it to sit for a little over a day.
Vacuum up the baking soda when you feel like it’s been sitting on the carpet long enough. Empty the vacuum’s filter and repeat the process if the smell is still deciding to stick around.
Vinegar
If the carpet smells a bit musty then there is a good chance you’ve got mould and mildew on your hands. The good news is that you can get rid of it with basic home products.
Vinegar works as a powerful cleaning solution that can tackle most things in your home. Including your carpets.
Pour one cup of vinegar and two cups of warm water in a spray bottle. Spray your entire carpet with it and wait for it to dry. The strong vinegar will help get rid of the musty mildew smell.
Keep in mind when you’re spraying your carpet that you shouldn’t go overboard. Mildew and mould love moisture and will grow in large numbers if you soak your carpets all the way through.
Baking Soda and Essential Oils
If the baking soda method didn’t do it for you, try to add a few drops of essential oils into the mix. They have a heavy scent that’s great for overpowering strong odours.
Choose your favourite scent and put about fifteen drops of it into a container. Combine the drops with two cups of baking soda, put a lid on the container, and shake it well. This will evenly distribute the oil into the baking soda.
From there, follow the steps that we laid out before. Sprinkle the mixture on the carpet, let it sit for up to a day depending on how bad the odour is, and vacuum it up.
Make sure to keep your pets in mind when you’re trying out this method. Dogs don’t like strong scents like peppermint and citrus smells like lemon and orange will make your cat sick.
Carpet Shampooing
Your carpets may smell bad because they have never been deep cleaned. If this is the case, head to a hardware store and buy a carpet cleaner or rent one if you can’t afford to purchase one outright.
Choose a deodorizing shampoo and set up the machine as directed in the user manual. The carpet cleaner will distribute water and cleaner and extract it at the same time so you won’t have to worry about your carpets getting soaked.
Throw the Whole Carpet Out
If your carpet is several years old or covered in stains that you can’t seem to get rid of, it might be time for you to toss the entire thing out and replace it.
Certain stains like urine will destroy a good carpet. There will be no getting the odour out so you’ll have to start over.
If you’re not sure if your problem warrants a replacement, call a carpet cleaning and pest control company. They will check out the situation and give you their honest opinion.
Have Your Carpets Cleaned by a Professional
Speaking of professional carpet cleaners, if none of the methods we’ve been over have worked, it might be best for you to hire someone else to do the job. They’ll be equipped with all the tools necessary to get rid of bacteria and allergens as well as take care of smells.
It also saves you time and money. For example, say you tried to clean the carpets yourself and you ruined them.
It will cost quite a bit to have them replaced. With a professional, you pretty much never have to worry about this scenario.
How to Get Smells Out of the Carpet and Enjoy an Odorless Home
Is there an unknown odour wafting through your home? There’s a good chance that it’s the carpet. They attract all sorts of smells from pet odours and years worth of other spills.
Learn how to get smells out of the carpet or hire professional carpet cleaning in Sunshine Coast. Contact us to ask about our services and book an appointment.
