I wrote asking for help with my 16 year old cat who was urinating all over the house. Well, unfortunately the problem has been solved by his death but now the problem is removing the smell from the carpet. I have cleaned the carpet but the smell is still there. Probably from the pad getting wet but I wondered if anyone has any ideas? Thanks ahead of time for all the good advice I get here.

-- kathy (davidwh6@juno.com), October 25, 2001

Answers

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

febreeze?? or some other order remover?

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

You're best chance is with a good enzymatic cleaner and a good cleaning ('steam' cleaning would be best). I've used Nature's Miracle. You MUST keep it damp long enough for it to work entirely and to penetrate the area entirely. Probably your previous efforts didn't reach all the spot.

I was never able to get the smell out of a wooden door because I couldn't saturate it enough. If you saturate the spots, and keep them damp with the enzymatic cleaner, then use the carpet cleaning machine (or service), you MAY get the odor out. You can find the areas using a black light to make them show up, supposedly. I haven't tried that. The enzymatic cleaners are not cheap, but cheaper than replacing the carpet.

White vinegar is said to neutralize the urine and it's odor, but I think that works best on fresh damp spots. GOOD LUCK!

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

I had a problem with an ancient dog and the ensuing accidents. I saw that some people suggested Natures Miracle here. And that worked to some degree for me. But, I found Odor Mute much more affective in my case. It comes in a powder and you can make the strength you want. I found it cheaper than the other stuff. I think I got it at KV's.

-- pc (pcha@ludl.tds.net), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

I have never had any luck with getting pet or human stains out of carpet. Save yourself the time and expense, I would toss it.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

Kathy: A friend of my folks who details cars swears that pet stains can be removed from carpet with club soda (followed by extraction I suppose). I haven't tried it yet but plan to this weekend. I'll report back.

-- Frank (fhill@absolute-net.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

Deepest regrets on the loss of your feline friend...Unfortunately you may have to ditch that carpet. I helped a friend tear out carpets that had been used (and used and used) by cats and the problem didn't stop at the carpet, the subfloor was saturated and had to be defunkified. I regret to inform you that my steel trap mind has once again slammed shut on nothing and I can't remember what they used for this process. If I remember sometime in the near future I'll come back and let you know. Good luck and once again, my sympathies...

-- gilly (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

We had success using a steam cleaner and going over the carpets twice. First pass was with vinegar and water, second time with shampoo. Were our dogs P O'd at us :>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair67@yahoo.com), October 25, 2001.

Response to getting bad smells out of carpet

My only advice would be to toss it, based soley on my not-so- irrational belief that a carpet is just a dirty towel that doesn't get washed between uses. ICK!

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), October 25, 2001.

Kathy, Just went through this myself with dog that passed 2 weeks ago. Try Oxy-Clean. Make up a thick solution and saturate the carpet with a brush scrubbing it in. Let carpet dry and vaccum. Then I just cleaned over spot with regular rug cleaner. Worked great. Good Luck, Joanie - blowing away in NW Ohio

-- Joanie (ber-gust@prodigy.net), October 26, 2001.

I'd try the Odor-Mute. Got mine at Sam's Club. But if it's gone through the carpet to the liner, well, it's not going to be easy. I had an epileptic dog that let go during his seizures and urinated each time. Ended up tearing the carpet out (it was old, so no loss). And NOW there are no wall to wall carpets in this house,and there won't be again!

Jennifer L., blowing away in Northern NYS! :)

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), October 26, 2001.

We had the same cat problem and we pulled up the carpet, removed and replaced the pad and used some odorizer/cleaner from the pet store to clean & sanitize the bare wood floor, relaid and then cleaned the carpet again. the main problem is the odor goes THRU the carpet to the pad and floor and just cleaning the carpet does not do the job. Good luck and sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved pet.

-- Dottie (shaferd@msn.com), October 26, 2001.

We purchased some stuff from Just Rite cleaning products, 5700 Riverview Dr. Lisle, Il 60532, 888-419-1299, that did a good job. However in one instance the urine had gone through the pad and into the floor. The only thing to get it was to throw the pad away, sanitize the floor, and clean the carpet. It was on a stairway so the carpet pieces were small enough we could take them outside and wash them. Lots of luck!

-- Chris Engle (engle_c@yahoo.com), October 27, 2001.

I agree with Soni. Carpet is a pretty nasty invention. Nothing but a big dirt magnet. Even when it looks clean, it's full of dirt and who knows what else. Just run a steam cleaner over it and see the crud pulled out of it. I often wonder why it became so popular, other than it's the cheapest means of covering floors nowadays. I've never believed in keeping any animals in the house but I'm wondering, isn't cat urine a pretty overpowering stench inside a house?

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), October 27, 2001.

youre not going to like this , but i think getting rid of it may be the only solution , in one of our old houses we had same problem , we had to pull carpet , pad , and sub floor replaced, still didn't work , had to pull off sheetrock ,then finally , whole room new , and that fixed it :(

if not too bad , try anything , but first clean with water....and clean with water in between other fixes ....dont want to make chemical concoction that might harm you ,

and i sympathize with you on the loss of your pet

-- Beth Van Stiphout (willosnake@hotmail.com), October 29, 2001.

I got an enzyme-based drain cleaner (yes, drain cleaner) recently and made a 25% solution for spraying the carpet. Works on barf and human urine, but no one in our house is standing two inches from the carpet and blasting it down to the padding like a dog does. This stuff is eight dollars for about a half gallon. Sorry, I don't remember the name. It's green and I got it at the local hardware store.

Good luck.

-- Bob (robertblessum@netscape.net), November 01, 2001.

I had about the same problem. only the cat hated new carpet. Icalled the carpet store they told me to lift the carpet from the pad cut out the stained pad and replace it with new and scrub the floor and carpet with baking soda and water with a couple drops of dish soap.

-- nicole morgan (bamorgan@mindspring.com), November 01, 2001.