Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

Getting Rid Of Wet Carpet Smell

The church I clean had a toilet overflow on Sunday night in the basement restroom. It was discovered Monday morning with about 2 inches of water standing in the carpeted floor. A wet vac has gotten the water up and I ran a fan on it but what is left is a WET CARPET smell! Does ANYONE know of a product that will help? I am desperate.

Sharon, Ky

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RE: Leaky Sink Damaged Carpet

Sprinkle soda bicarbonate all over the carpet (if the carpet is dry) Leave for 30 mins or so and vacuum up. You can add a few drops of essentil oil or perfume to the soda b. Otherwise, just rip it up and through it out. If you have hardwood floors, finish it off! Good luck (03/09/2005)

By omgjsc

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RE: Leaky Sink Damaged Carpet

I hope you have a WET VAC to get most of the water out of the carpet. If you don't have a wet vac, you can lay towels down and walk on the towels to soak the water out. You could place the towels in the spin cycle of your washer to wring out the water and reuse the towels to soak some more water out.

To remove the odor, I would suggest spraying the carpet with Febreeze which you can buy at the grocery store. It is fabulous for removing smoke smells, and I would think it would be great to remove any foul smell. After wet vacuuming, I would spray on the Febreeze generously and work the Febreeze down in the carpet with a stiff scrubbing brush. Then let it dry. I highly suggest a fan to blow on the carpet to help it dry faster.

As far as your ceiling, just let it dry...a fan blowing up on the ceiling would be helpful...and THEN, you will have to "kill" the stain with "Block", "Bin", or "Kilz" or some other stain killer you can buy at the paint store. Buy a throw away sponge brush. Most of these stain killers contain shellac which would require alcohol to clean out. You'll spend more than 59 cents worth of alcohol to clean the brush.

After the stain killer drys, you will have to paint over the "blocked out" stain to match the rest of your ceiling paint. Do NOT just try to paint over the stain without first sealing the stain. The paint itself will NOT block out the stain. (03/09/2005)

By Lee Smithson

RE: Getting Rid Of Wet Carpet Smell

Oh the wonders of white vinegar. Use a carpet cleaner with white vinegar and water. Also set bowls of white vinegar around the room. The smell of the vinegar will not linger. It will soften the carpet and do away with the odor. The bowls of vinegar might even do it without shampooing, but I wouldn't advise it. Don't worry about the vinegar smell. It will be gone as soon as you remove the bowls. (05/25/2005)

By Ardis

RE: Getting Rid Of Wet Carpet Smell

trying to cover the smell instead of getting rid of the problem is gross. Any time carpet has water damage,it is better to replace it,because wet,dirty carpet is a perfect environment for mold. (11/16/2006)

By karen

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Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

My toilet overflowed in my apartment (for about the millionth time) and got to the carpet right outside my bathroom. My room smells funky now. Is there something I can do to help rid the funk? The carpet is like, 20 years old so that's part of the problem. Replacing it isn't an option. I feel like that's my landlord's responsibility (that, and fixing the toilet). I just want the smell gone before I have a bunch of visitors this weekend for graduation! I've left towels on top of it to soak up the moisture and its almost dry. Will the vinegar/baking soda mix bleach the carpet?

LPT from Athens, GA

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RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

Have a written complaint about the toilet and the carpet and present it to the landlord/management company. Keep a copy for yourself. If it is not fixed in 7 days, go to your Tenants Council for further advisement. Also check with your local Legal Aid about options. This is a health hazard and you can void your lease due to that. (05/08/2007)

By tlbuck

RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

In some cases the local fire dept. will come with big fans and help dry out carpets. Call their INFORMATION LINE NOT 911! Make your landlord fix both. "Carpet Fresh" might help a little. Also you can add VANILLA EXTRACT to paint to help kill the paint odor. It worked for us a couple of weeks ago. Great Granny Vi (05/08/2007)

By Great Granny Vi

RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

I had something similar to that happen to me in my kitchen (washing machine overflowed). I pried up the metal strip between the kitchen floor and the dining room carpet, then lifted the carpet off the tack strip in that area. I put things under the carpet (I recall putting a potato masher under it, among other things) to keep if off the floor a bit, then ran a fan so the air blew under the lifted carpet. When the carpet was dry it still smelled a little weird, but I used Resolve on it to give it a good cleaning and eventually the smell went away. I doubt you will have a great-smelling carpet by this weekend for your guests, but you can probably have it at least dry by then. (05/08/2007)

By Katie A.

RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

If you have access to a steam cleaner (a friend or relative or try calling rental shops in your area, some are very reasonable) fill the tank with hot water and white vinegar. This make take a few times...also fill a spray bottle with full strength vinegar for the worst spots. I swear by this. I moved into a house that smelled VERY strongly of cat urine and this really helped.Best of luck to you. (06/25/2007)

By Duckie

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Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

We had a heavy rain, and the 8x8 area rug I had in the basement got wet. I took it outside to dry, however now it smells. How can I get rid of that odor?

Terri from Springfield, MA

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RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

I have not tried this on wet carpet, but it has worked on absolutely everything else I've tried it on, including sour clothing.

X-O ODOR NEUTRALIZER
CALIFORNIA VETERINARY SUPPLY
www.calvetsupply.com
1-800-366-3047

Made from nature's safest and most effective ingredients: extracts of herbs, fruits, and cereal grains in pure deionized water. X-O neutralizes all odors on hard and soft surfaces. Effective on ALL odors. Safe for skin contact, avoid the eyes. Totally non-toxic and bio degradable, this concentrate works directly on areas for odor neutralization, or even on the air in a room. Can be used indoors or outdoors. Can be used directly on the animals, if necessary.

Applications:
Health Care: diaper pails, bed pans, etc.
Smoke: tobacco, cooking, fire, must and mildew odors
Pet: housing, litter boxes, dog runs (even dirt and rock)
Bathroom: toilet seat, vanity, shower
Kitchen: garbage disposal, compactor, refrigerator

Good on both hard and soft surfaces, including glass, stainless steel, chrome, countertops, floors and fabrics. Ready to use right out of the bottle - simply spray or pour on. Good on both hard and soft surfaces, including glass, stainless steel, chrome, countertops, floors and fabrics.

(09/14/2008)

By BABBIE

RE: Getting Rid of Wet Carpet Smell

Any smells on carpet need an enzyme spray. This will eat the bacteria on the carpet that causes the smell, you can purchase at any commercial cleaning product company. (09/16/2008)

By Paula