It’s about time to free your carpet from the trapped dirt! To do so, you have a few options – renting a cleaning machine or calling a professional cleaner.
Sometimes after cleaning the carpet, the stains are gone, but unfortunately, you end up with the whole place smelling bad, musty, and sour.
Do not worry – it happens more often than you probably can imagine. Many people find themselves in the same position. But now, you should find out what is causing that smell, and we will gladly tell you how to get rid of it!
Let’s start with some general information we all should know before starting our investigation:
Most commonly, carpets are made of fibres. They have lots of nooks and crannies between the weaves or pile, so there are many spots to absorb moisture. The funky smells after cleaning the carpet are most commonly caused by not giving the padding underneath enough time to dry.
It can also indicate the presence of mildew under your carpet.
The smell should disappear after your carpet is fully dry. The time for drying always depends on how warm the air is and how wet the carpet is. There are a few questions you should ask yourself to determine the cause of the smell.
Was there any smell before your carpet was cleaned?
In case your answer is yes, here are the possible reasons:
- Check your pipes, inspect your HVAC system, look for leaking faucets – maybe there is a flood you are not aware of.
- As we already said, mildew growth is often the case. Lift a section of your carpet and look underneath for grey, green, white or black spots. If you see some, then you have mould.
These two factors can completely destroy your carpet, and without a doubt, they can cause the smell
How well was the carpet cleaned?
- If you rented a carpet cleaning machine, maybe it was not powerful enough to suck up the moisture from the fibres.
- If you hired untrusted professional help, there’s a chance the cleaning technician was inexperienced and overwetted your carpet.
- Maybe the drying conditions were poor, which happens if the room has high humidity levels or insufficient air circulation.
- In some cases, to remove dried-on stains, we need to overwet this area of the carpet. Then you need to do a couple of dry passes to suck up as much of the moisture as possible.
- When warm water comes in contact with dirt, this creates the perfect environment for bacteria growth. And then the musty smell intensifies while the bacteria grows due to heat and moisture.
Book a professional cleaner?
We are happy to offer you some of the most competitive prices in the industry.
Here are some easy DIY ways to get rid of that smell and breathe new life into your carpet:
- Avoid stepping on the wet carpet, putting furniture over it, or trying to vacuum it with your household vacuum – these can just make things worse!
- Ventilate – open all windows wide to ensure proper air circulation near the wet carpet.
- A simple tool you can easily find in every household – pour some white vinegar in small open containers, place them around the room. It will absorb pretty much any stink, including the carpet smell.
- Kitty litter is also great to soak up the bad smell – use it like vinegar around the room. Just be careful if you are a proud cat owner, as your pet can treat it as a bathroom.
- Another great way to neutralise an odour is to sprinkle baking soda on your carpet, and it will help absorb the smell. Leave it overnight and the next day vacuum it up.
- Borax is also used as a mould-killer, and it can help reduce the smell – put It over the carpet the same way as baking soda.
What if nothing works?
An excellent professional will examine your carpet, tell you what the problem is and then get rid of it. You can trust our equipment as the cleaning machines we use are powerful enough to eliminate all the stains without overwetting!
And last but not least, we will provide you with instructions on how to take care of your carpet right after a deep clean. This will prevent you from having all kinds of smelly carpet issues in the future!
Read Also: Top 7 Best Tile Floor Cleaning Machines
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