Help! Living Room Carpet Has Awful Odor!

[pcasylum]

Well, the title kinda says it all, lol. In the last 2-3 weeks there is one section of my carpet that just smells terrible. It is a combination of my 2 yr old *constantly* dumping water in that spot (he likes to take cups, fill them up with water, and then dump. Wash - rinse - repeat), and my 2 yr old taking his diaper off and peeing. I have always sopped up the water/pee, and then hit the area with Bac-Out, but apparently this was not enough. The odor is enough to make me rip the carpet out and put in hardwood - if only I could afford it!

We're having a baby in a little over 2 months. I spent all day Sunday steam cleaning this carpet, but as it dried the smell returned. I have Nature's Miracle but haven't tried it yet, I've already used Bac-Out but would be happy to add more if anyone thought it would help. Vinegar? At this point I'm desperate. All I can think is all the family who will be over to see the new baby and smelling THAT.

Thank you for any help you can give!

[savithny]

Originally Posted by Baby_Makes_5

Well, the title kinda says it all, lol. In the last 2-3 weeks there is one section of my carpet that just smells terrible. It is a combination of my 2 yr old *constantly* dumping water in that spot (he likes to take cups, fill them up with water, and then dump. Wash - rinse - repeat), and my 2 yr old taking his diaper off and peeing. I have always sopped up the water/pee, and then hit the area with Bac-Out, but apparently this was not enough. The odor is enough to make me rip the carpet out and put in hardwood - if only I could afford it!

We're having a baby in a little over 2 months. I spent all day Sunday steam cleaning this carpet, but as it dried the smell returned. I have Nature's Miracle but haven't tried it yet, I've already used Bac-Out but would be happy to add more if anyone thought it would help. Vinegar? At this point I'm desperate. All I can think is all the family who will be over to see the new baby and smelling THAT.

Thank you for any help you can give!

Natures Miracle has always worked for me for pet smell issues (which kid pee kinda is).

Soak it with Natures Miracle and put foil over it. Let dry, repeat if necessary. Nature's Miracle really needs to fully saturate everyplace the original stink-causing substance has gone.

Howver, if its mold because of the constant wetness, I don't know if that will do it. I'd really strongly encourage the dumping of water someplace - non-porous.

[pcasylum]

Thanks! I will definitely try that. And we're all on "Stop the baby dumping water on the floor" patrol; the sad thing is the little bugger is fast! lol My fridge has water in the door, so as soon as he finds any container that holds water he does it again. I may have to have my husband disconnect the water line until he's a little older. It's so sad; we just moved in here a year ago and there were no yucky smells, and now this. If this doesn't work I informed my husband that he's ripping the carpet up - lol!!

[MsHiss]

This just saved a large area rug for me, try mixing Borax & Baking soda, let it sit on the offending spot overnight (or until dry if the area is damp) and vaccuum up. Good luck!

[kellybelly]

To me, it sounds as if the area is unable to completely dry, and putting any more liquid on it (vinegar or otherwise) might make it worse. Is it possible for you or your husband to lift that corner of carpet and get some fans going in that area for a few days? Also, what is under the carpet? If it is a wooden subfloor, it could be remaining damp. Or the tack strip that holds the carpet. Or the padding. If you can do that, you might find the area that is the source of the smell. Then a little more bac-out, and lots and lots of air. Good luck!! I hope you find a solution.

[mrs_rower]

We had a similar problem to the OP's in our living room, but ours was caused by leaks from the bathroom sink above and cats, not a toddler. When we finally got the plumber in (and took the cat to the vet for her infection and steam-cleaned) the smell stuck around-- the problem was the padding and the wooden underfloor, like KellyBelly suggested above. Drying with fans wasn't enough; we had to replace the padding which was moldy. While we waited for the new padding to arrive we bought a few of these natural odor eliminators that worked really well, without adding yet another smell to the mix. Hope that helps!