Two years ago I purchased a beautiful wool Oriental rug from an upscale furniture store. The rug is manufactured by Fiezy, cost about $1700, and came from India. Upon delivery, I noticed the rug had a strange odor, but assumed it was the organic dyes or perhaps the wool. Over time this smell has not dissipated. I had begun to wonder if a pet had soiled the carpet, but careful inspection could locate no spots and the smell seemed to come from every area of the rug, even under the furniture.

I got online and after extensive searching found that many rugs made in India labeled "hand tufted" are not manufactured the same as other hand knotted Asian rugs. They have a layer of rubber or latex that acts as an adhesive for the tufting. The way to identify this type of manufacture is by looking at the underside of the rug. It will either be rubber or a heavy canvas fabric concealing the rubber. I have found blog posts stating these are commonly sold at Pottery Barn, Ikea and LoweÂs. Everyone participating in the blogs and I all have the same problem of a weird smell described as either burning rubber or bad pet odor.

I am seeking advice to neutralize the smell. I love the beautiful design of the rug (http://www.orientalrugsonline.com/rugs/Amore-8325F-Plum.cfm), so I would really like to resolve the odor problem. I initially considered getting an ionizing air freshener from Sharper Image, but upon further research, I discovered that ozone, the ionizing odor eliminator, accelerates the oxidation of rubber and can cause increased out gassing.

Does anyone have an adequate knowledge of chemistry to recommend something that will neutralize the odor or arrest the oxidation that also will not damage the wool and organic dyes used in Oriental rugs? Thus far all I have used is baking soda based rug deodorizer on two occasions. This provides a temporary resolution or mask of the odor, but the smell comes back after only a day or two.