Stinky Carpet

peter021072

Hi, my Aircon has leaked and dumped a lot of water on a shag pile in my bedroom. The dampness seems to have released the most appalling smell. I've tried sprinkling baking soda and the commercial variants of it with scent to dry it out then vacuuming it, but it's not reduced the smell much, just created another smell variant which is just as disgusting. Does anyone know of an effective smell remover whether it's old style or not?

Vitor

Maybe hire a carpet clearer, most supermarkets offer them

peter021072

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82052196#Comment_82052196

Yeah I was thinking of that, I suppose I will need to choose a detergent as well unless that comes with the cleaner. I'll take a look around some of the local shops to hire one.

Ayr_Rage

Shag pile, that must have accumulated a lot of interesting contamination since it was popular in the 1960's and 1970's.

peter021072

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82052537#Comment_82052537

Not my choice. The house was built around 1980, and I've owned it since 1990, but I've looked after a number of dogs and owned one, including one from an owner who couldn't be bothered to protect the dog from fleas! After they broke out in that carpet, I refused to look after the dog. Only then I learned what happens if you have an infested carpet and the dog is no longer around to attract the fleas!

Brie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82053297#Comment_82053297

I feel your pain. We used to have cats that were absolute flea magnets no matter what we used to fight the little biters. I hope the people that bought our last house managed to eliminate the problem.

peter021072

Fleas go through a cycle and were gone in 2 months after vacuum as well as spraying. This was 20 years ago so not a problem now, but it shows what that carpet has gone through!

CapricornLass

Its not still damp, is it? Perhaps the underfelt? If that is still damp/wet, then I don't think it will matter what you do to the carpet, until that has been sorted out.

peter021072

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064035#Comment_82064035

It gets damp every time I spill water from the ad hoc water collection system under my failing air conditioner (aka the oven tray). It's very hard to move water from a shallow tray into a bucket every 2 hours without spilling it! However, I'm getting better at at it!

QrizB

It's very hard to move water from a shallow tray into a bucket every 2 hours without spilling it!

If this is going to be an ongoing problem, you could place the entire mobile aircon inside one of these to catch any spills:

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Heavy-Duty-Tuffspot-Mixing-Tray---Black/p/543009

Most builders merchants and DIY sheds will have something similar. No more damp carpets.