My wife and I recently bought a nice sectional, but I think it was sitting in the furniture warehouse for too long. It had this weird odor that wasn't too bad, but you could tell there was some kind of lingering smell that wasn't to our liking. So I used two things: The first was Nature's Miracle odor and stain remover. It's a bio-enzymatic cleaner that kills bacteria and eliminates odor. I bought this from Petsmart. Just follow the instructions on the back of the bottle. The next day I used Febreze powder for carpets, rugs, and upholstery. I bought this from Target. Also follow the instructions on the back of the can. I had my couch smelling nice and pleasant.
Hope this helps!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do you get foot odor out of a couch? My in-laws were staying with us, and they had the stinkiest feet. They slept on my couch and now I can't get it out. What should I do?
Do you have or can you get a shampooer? If not I'd dust it real well with baking soda when nobody is home (or at night) to sit on it. After the soda has set for a few hours I'd brush it in some and vac. If it has cushions that can be taken outside that would help
Ashley: Stop by your local health food store and buy a small amount of Yucca powder. Add 1 TBS of the powder to 1 qt. of purified water and shake well to disolve. Put mixture in a sprayer and spray on the source of the odor.
Have you tried febreeze? Might take several applications, but it should help.
You need a product called Odorzout. It's all natural,safe around family and pets, and actually gets RID of the odor not just cover it up. You just sprinkle on the area and let it sit for 24 hours and it absorbs the smell.
Get a gallon of OdoBan at Sam's Club. It makes 32 gallons.
Take a spray bottle, fill 1/4 full of OdoBan and the rest water. Spray the courch really well, until wet. As long as OdoBan touches the object, the odor is permanently gone. Spray tennis shoes with it, mop your floors, clean bathroom with it. It does't cover an odor, it completely gets rid of it. I got rid of skunk odor by mixing it half and half. Great for diaper pails, washing down walls, etc. Many restaurants use it to clean the odor of food off the walls. A capful in the rinse water of your washer, will take all odor out of clothes and actss as a softner. I've used it for years and it replaces many products. Jo Ann, Sarasota, Florida.
Someone had a major wee wee accident spending the night on my sofa and it smelled awful ... I used Febreeze.
I would wipe with soap and white vinegar then air outside when you bring it in. Use your Febreeze (it really works well)
Good luck.
"How Clean Is Your House" (on BBC) recommends sprinkling baking soda on fabric, rub with fingers, vacuum and then sprinkle crushed potpourri on it and let set for several hours.
Do not use on silk.
Real simple! Sprinkle the sofa with baking soda before you go to bed. Next morning vacuum well. Most other things just mask the odor not eliminate it. It also works on your carpet overnight.
It worked!! I was reluctant that the OdoBan would work but I thoroughly and generously sprayed my couch before bed and I smelled nothing but clean the next morning and the couch was dry with no residue. Thank you for letting us know about this stuff!!!
I just received a sofa and chair from my mom that she purchased at an estate sale. It has an unknown odor to it and stains. I am most concerned with getting out the odors, it's quite bad. My mom said she shampooed it, I also tried using an upholstery cleaner. Can you please give me some more suggestions? I do own a steam cleaner. What kind of cleaner would you suggest?
We had a freezer that when the power went out the food went bad. The absolutely only thing that would get rid of the odor and we tried EVERYTHING was Irish Spring Soap. You could put opened bars of it in the cushions underneath.
Febreeze and Oxyclean
Lysol spray. I like Dollar Generals brand. Spray until wet! Let air dry for an hour or so and then cover with a sheet for a few days. Works here. Chell
Don't know if anyone still reads this or not but we just got a sofa, love seat and recliner from a smoking family and the smell wos horrible once we got it into our home. I tried everything and was at my wits end until one day I came home and everything smelled so nice!! My husband mixed in a small spray bottle 1/4 bottle of downy fabric softener (the kind that has febreeze in it) and the rest with water, sprayed it all over the furniture then wiped it all down with a dry wash cloth.
I've recently bought a 'cheap with delivery' 2nd hand sofa and arm chair from ebay (leather with fabric backings). Bought from a company of farmers who collect unwanted things and store them in a barn whilst selling on ebay. For some reason I was so happy with the price and delivery that I didn't think for a second that these things might smell...Well they don't smell, they STINK. Think horse urine and you're getting somewhere!
I want to share what I've done to try to remove this stench because I've read things like, 'Spray vinegar on and the smell will be gone!' etc...I FOUND THAT THIS WASN'T TRUE!
First of all, I'm pretty sure that the vinegar just made the smell worse. The best cure seemed to come from baking soda and newspapers. I've read that alcohol works and think that this could be a good tip - we used mouthwash with alcohol in its ingredients and it seemed to have a better effect than vinegar (couldn't find any cheap vodka in England, hence the mouthwash).
Here's the procedure we went through:
The sofa and all furniture cushions:
First off, my boyfriend spent ages scrubbing the cushions and sofa with detergent (he was actually brought up on a farm himself but the smell that came out of the cushions nearly made him vomit!) The water that came out was brown, but even after the furniture was dry the stench was still there. Next, I used vinegar and water and scrubbed everything again. Whilst drying, the stench seemed to get stronger and now had the added bonus of being mixed with a strong vinegar smell! It was now truly impossible to be in the same room as our sofa!
Convinced vinegar should work as so may people had recommended it, I bought some cider vinegar (recommended somewhere) and sprayed that. After it had dried, the cushions and sofa still STANK like a zoo.
Our living room was unbearable so all the cushions went outside onto the balcony to sit in the sun and bake. Sun and fresh air didn't work either though because once everything had dried, the stench was still strong. I rubbed baking soda into everything and left till the next day. The next day, the vinegar smell had gone but the horse urine/camel's bum stink was still there...so I mixed new baking soda with vinegar/water into a paste and left that on.
The cushions were now painted white with paste, but after an hour some parts came up orange, as though the paste was lifting out some dodgy looking stains!
24 hours later I had to try to scrub the paste off (and consequently do not recommend making a paste for anything you care about - it didn't work on the smell anyway). Stench still there, I tried spraying vinegar and water again. After that had dried and the stink was still there..
I now sprayed everything with mouthwash. Aha! now we're getting somewhere! The cushions that hadn't had stains on were now starting to smell okay. The stinkiest ones still needed help so my boyfriend scrubbed them with dove soap and water. After that, I sprinkled HEAPS of baking soda on again and left them for 5 days before hoovering it off. Finally, I left newspapers all over the top and insides of the cushions for a few days. It took all of this and 2 weeks to get the smell to an almost gone level!
During all of this, the arm chair hadn't smelled as bad as the sofa after my boyfriend's first cleaning, but had smelled worse after the first vinegar session. So all I did with that was sprinkle baking soda on, hoovered it off the next day. It still smelled quite ripe so I sprayed with mouthwash - and this seemed to do quite a lot but the smell was still there so I covered it in newspapers and they seemed to absorb the smell somehow!
I need help. I have had my sofas storing in my mothers basement when I got divorce and now that I'm finally moving out. They smell really bad. They're in good condition so I dont want to get rid of them, but I just cant seem to get rid of the smell. I've been spraying them with febreeze and even tried to spray them with mouthwash and vinegar with some water all mixed, but the smell is still there. Any suggestions anyone? My kids dont even want you be in the same room with the sofas and it's driving me crazy. Open to all suggestions. Thanks.
How can I get the doggie odor out of my sofa? My dog took up residence on the couch.
Nok-Out removes odors. You can get it at Amazon.
Try Nature's Miracle Orange-Oxy Power Stain and Odor Remover from pet stores or Amazon. For preventative measures, throw blankets on the couch and constantly wash them.
Try cleaning with any of the suggestions but actually putting the cushions outside in the sunlight may help also. (not boiling hot sunshine). Almost all of the pet stores, Walmart, Target stores have a big array of products to choose from and you may have to consider what type of fabric your sofa is made of before actually making a purchase. Read the instructions and make sure it will not damage your material.
Easy to wash covers of any sort will help with any future problems.
I use Febreeze on my couch for doggie odors. I have a micro fiber couch and spray heavily. It dries fast and smells so good.
Okay, so here is the deal: my wife spilled some cat food, fish cat food onto our couch. We have tried several different methods in removing this terrible, foul odor to no avail. We have tried: lemon juice, Febreze, baking soda, and Dawn dishwashing soap. Nothing will remove this terrible stench!
At this moment we have the cushions baking in our front yard (temp is currently 96 degrees) with a generous amount of baking soda. At last check, fish smell. Please, is there anything we can do to get rid of this nasty, fish odor?
By Paul from Las Vegas, NV
I would call an upholstery shop, they might have a product they recommend or you could call your dry cleaner too, they usually have great tips we had something similar happen but thank goodness ours zip off and can go in the washer:)
"Kids N Pets"
cheapandcreative.blogspot.com/
This is reivew of kids n pets on line. I am sure if you went to Amazon they would have tons of great reviews. This product is great. I love it and I have been on here at Thrifty fun before shouting it's wonders.
This has taken diarrhea stains out of my pink carpet and all odor gone!! It doesn't mask the smell it gets rid of it. Cat urine is a thing of the past. I had a very sick and old cat and we had urine issues with her.
I always have a bottle of this product in my house. I have put a spray nozzle on my bottle as it helps it to go much further then the pour spout they have.
Give it a try you will be very surprised and happy.
P.s. as with all upholstery try a spot not seen first to check for color fastness.
Good luck and let us all know how it turns out.
Go to fabric shop and buy high density couch cushion to replace it, take the fabric off and wash it is cold washer water and do not dry in the dryer. If you price the cushion, watch for sales, get the ads, and also ask when it might be on sale. They may have coupons to use. Joann's has 40-50% off ones and that is when I buy expensive things.
I recover couches and buy cushions insides instead of cleaning them.
Have you tried white vinegar yet? Place some in a spray bottle, about 2 to 1 with water and spray on. Allow to dry and repeat as necessary. I hope it helps!
Oxyclean really gets smells out.
I have a cloth sofa with removable covers. I had a toddler over that had a potty accident on the sofa. I have removed the cover and cleaned it but it think the foam cushion is damaged also. My question is, how do I clean the foam or can I replace it at a reasonable price?
yes you can replace or use urine be gone it works great and neutralizes the odor.
You could also try sprinkling the cushion with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). Leave for half an hour and vacuum. I did this on a carpet where one of my cats did a Number Two and it worked beautifully; no smell and stains afterwards.
Good Luck!
I have found foam tha can be cut to your sizes needed at Jo-Ann's fabrics..(and no I don't work at one..I've purchased one there) and then if it is too big and needs a little trimming..use electric knife to cut..works like a charm....hope this helps,deb
In our area JoAnne fabric has foam for sale, they have up to 5 inch thick foam. It can go on sale or use a coupon from the ad.
I hope you can get the smell out.
I would wash it in the bathtub with a little detergent, rinse well and dry it out in the sun.
Is there some way that I can make my couch smell better? I have washed the covers on the cushions but it still smells. Thanks,
Jennifer from Tennessee
FeBreze!!! Even helps with Cat urine smell
You could try sprinkling some carpet fresh on it and vacuum it, or just use plain baking soda. That is supposed to take smells away.
Make your own scented spray for your couch. Use equal parts of water and fabric softener and put in a spray-type bottle. Can be used every day.
sewingmamma
I put downy scent chips into a small mesh bag.
(About 2 tablespoons in each mesh bag
Reverse the hose on your vacuum.
Put your items into a black trash bag,along with 2 to 3 mesh bags.
Now twist bag around hose and let vacuum ontill the bag is collapsed around your items and all the air is gone.
(35 to 60 seconds it should take)
Keep closed for 5 minutes.
Amazingly you smell fresh and clean!
You will love it!
I spilled coffee on my sofa. I cleaned it, but now it is dry and I still have the odor. Yuck.
By JC
Try sprinkling baking soda on the area and letting it sit for a few minutes. Vacuum the area thoroughly to remove the baking soda. This may work. If not, then the liquid may have penetrated to the foam underneath the fabric. If that is the case, you may have to have the couch steam cleaned.
I need to remove vomit smell from my sofa.
By Lisa from Gautier, MS
Get any spray bottle of "enzyme cleaner" from a pet aisle
or pet store - like Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle.
These will be advertised as removing pet urine and
feces stains and odor, but they work on
EVERY organic stain and smell. Magic.
This is a page about removing cigarette odors from microfiber furniture. Cigarette odors seem to permeate everything in a home especially upholstered furniture and curtains.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Removing Odors From Furniture. We purchased a fabric sofa some time back. The sofa is in good condition, but it had a peculiar smell. We hired an upholstery cleaner to clean the sofa.
