how to clean a large area rug...???

15 years ago

One of the big dogs escaped from upstairs and took a "dump" on my large area rug...

Even after cleaning it...it still smelled...so Barb...Jeff's girlfriend took it out on the porch and sqirted it with the hose and scrubbed it.

She left it out there to dry...

I think some bad kitty's came by and left their mark on it...(nothing smells as bad as a male cat mark)

Last night I brought it in and fill my big bath tub with water and lots of the blue color PineSol....scrubbed it and rinsed and rinsed...then even poured heavily Downy(ed)water over it...

This morning it still smells pretty catty if you get the drift...

Is there any way to neutralize that smell?

If not I'm going to have to toss that rug. I hate to. It's one of those large oriental rugs.

patti

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Comments (12)

houstonmom_gw
15 years ago
Try dousing it with white vinegar. Then after the rug has dried, sprinkle on baking soda letting it sit for awhile before vacuuming it up.

Another option would be a product put out by Rug Doctor called Urine Eliminator.
pattico_gw
Original Author
15 years ago
I may try both...thanks...

Heading to the store right now...will see if they have both.

patti
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The one question I keep asking myself whenever i think about having our oriental rugs here cleaned professionally again is: these rugs, at least the ones that I own, come from the Middle East where they've been weaving them and walking on them for thousands of years. How did they clean theirs? How do they clean them today? I'm thinking that they use water and just dry them outside in the shade or in the sun. I don't know , but it seems very reasonable to me. The last time I had one of mine professionally cleaned, they used some chemical, and we had to haul it out to the garage where it aired out for a week before I could stand the smell enough to bring it back in the house. Never again! This past Summer, I actually took a small rug of mine out to our back portal (covered porch) , used the hose to clean it, blotted out the water as best I could, and let it dry in the shade out there on top of our mesh patio table. It worked fine and looks great. I plan to wash all of mine this way from now on, although all rug washings need to been done during our warm weather months. As Mayweather mentioned, they're very heavy when they're wet. My large ones will need to be washed and left to dry on our large covered front portal, one at a time, next Summer.
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iowagirl2006
15 years ago
Patti - I know my sister uses an enzymatic cleaner for pet urine. She also uses a black light to see where the pee is - and then uses the enzymatic cleaner to neutralize it.

You can get it at pet store - and maybe even walmart.
linda_in_iowa
15 years ago
White vinegar is the best for urine smells.
User
15 years ago
Pet stores like PetSmart and Petco sell all kinds of cleaners/deodorizers especially formulated for pet urine and they work well. Some of them come with a guarantee too. Good luck.
FlamingO in AR
15 years ago
Patti, same thing happened to us- I took an 8 x 10 rug outside to clean it and some cheesy cat peed on it. Ended up pressure washing it and then dousing it with one of those pet odor eliminators, letting it dry, pressure washing it again to get THAT smell out (blech, so perfumy, it was killing me) and then soaking it with white vinegar and letting it dry again, in a place where the cats couldn't get at it. It took about 2 weeks, with all the drying that had to occur, but it came out perfect.
3katz4me
15 years ago
The pet store products specifically for that purpose work well in my experience. I also have my rugs professionally cleaned on occasion by a rug cleaner (not someone who comes into the house to shampoo carpet) but in the interim those other products seem to work well.
chisue
15 years ago
Can you have it professionally cleaned -- cheaper if you can cart it in and home again. I wouldn't think Pine-Sol could be good for a nice wool oriental.
vala55
15 years ago
The man who cleaned our rental carpets said they cannot get out cat urine. My Sis thinks she has it out of her carpet, but she does not. She is just used to the smell.
Marcia Thornley
15 years ago
You need a live bacteria product. Try looking in the yellow pages for a janitorial supply company. They will have it.
The live bacteria in the product actually digests the bacteria in the carpet causing the odour. And when you use it, keep it wet for awhile. Once the carpet is dry the bacteria die off and stop eating.
lilliepad
15 years ago
Patti-This WORKS!
16 0z Hydrogen Peroxide
1 Teaspoon dishwashing liquid
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
Mix together and soak area, leave on till completely dry if a white residue appears it can be vacuumed or brushed away.
Just mix it up and pour it on the areas where the cat sprayed.

Vala-The reason you can't get the smell out of your carpet is because the urine has soaked into the padding.If you don't get the padding clean the smell will still be there.If you will use the formula above and saturate the carpet all the way to the padding,the odor will come out.When I had a cat that peed on my carpet,I had it professionally cleaned and the odor didn't come out because steam cleaners and other commercial cleaners don't saturate the pad.You have to get to the pad with the cleaning solution.I found this formula,used it and it worked.Try it!
FlamingO in AR
15 years ago
That's the solution for skunk spray. It never occured to me to try it for cat urine, but I will if I ever need to again, what a great idea.

how to clean a large area rug...???

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how to clean a large area rug...???

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pattico_gwOriginal Author

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