Carpet is soft, comfortable, and can often mean the difference between an unwelcoming room and one you want to spend all your time in. But carpet fibers can also be a breeding ground for funky smells over time, whether they come from pets, cooking, or smoke. While finding a natural cleaning solution on Pinterest or a carpet deodorizer at the store for a quick fix is tempting, neither is likely to get rid of lingering odors for good. There’s a better way to deal with carpet smells.
Let’s take a quick journey back to fifth grade science class. How does your sense of smell work? To put it simply, tiny sensory cells high up in your nose have odor receptors. The smell after a rain storm and the smell of a poodle that was just playing in it both release different odor molecules. These microscopic odor molecules are detected by your odor receptors, which send a message to your brain that identifies a particular smell. There’s one catch: you have only have a limited number of odor receptors.
Human smell is influenced by thousands of nerves working together. Volatile, evaporating materials all around us have odors, but we can only detect a small portion of them . Whether you absorb aromas through your nostrils or your throat via taste, your sensory neurons are providing a unique smell to your brain. Smells that truly reek – like garbage dumpsters on a hot day or freshly cut onions, are a result of your nerve endings on your eyes, mouth, nose, and throat working together. Carpet is in a league of its own when it comes to smells.
Detecting the source of a smell in the home can get really complex, really quickly. It’s one thing if food liquid leaks from the bottom of a garbage bag into your trash can. There’s a quick fix for that: run some soap and hot water and scrub the inside of the trash can. And the same goes for cleaning a non-porous hard surface floor like vinyl plank. A quick mopping and boom—smell eliminated. But what about a family cooking with aromatic spices all the time? Or a house full of smokers? These odors don’t have a visibly identifiable source, but still seem to perpetually linger in the home
Carpet is often a prime suspect for trapping smells. The source of a carpet smell isn’t always what you think. Thick, shaggy fibers seem like a great hiding place for old food and cooking oils. But it’s not just about particles resting on or among the carpet fibers—if that were the case, then vacuuming would eliminate the smell. As you know, vacuuming isn’t enough.
Carpet smells originate from liquids seeping into the backing layer of the carpet. Quite often, this is a latex pad that the fibers are attached to. When liquids find a home in the padding (and in the subfloor beneath it), that’s creating an environment ripe for bacteria, allergens, mildew, and eventually strong odors that never seem to go away.
Your adorable cavalier puppy just peed all over your new carpet. As a homeowner, this often induces a fight-or-flight response. We frantically scramble for a rag (or anything) to clean up the spill and make sure a spot doesn’t remain. This is great for carpet stain prevention, but it doesn’t address the liquids or particles that make their way deep into the padding and begin a new lifecycle of annoying smells.
Baking soda is also a common suggestion for deodorizing a carpet. Simply pour a little bit of baking soda on the spot, let it sit for a few hours, and finish the job with a thorough vacuuming. But this usually needs to be done immediately after a clear spill for the best chance of fully deodorizing the carpet. Also, keep in mind that kids and pets need to be kept out of the powder zone.
Other suggestions for deep cleaning are not as advisable. Many of these “tips” you see in social media feeds suggest mixing hydrogen peroxide and soap. If you’re unfamiliar, mixing chemicals incorrectly can be extremely dangerous. Another suggestion seen recently is to use cinnamon to help get odors out of your carpet. That’s a good way to permanently stain your carpet, especially if it is lighter in color. Plus, do you really want your home smelling like a Christmas candle year-round? If you’re considering any of these ideas, use extreme caution and run a test on a small portion of the carpet before blasting your whole house with your new creation from the internet. Our advice? Trust a professional carpet cleaner for deep cleaning.
Most of us will try anything to save some time and money before hiring a professional cleaning company. That’s perfectly normal. So we turn to carpet deodorizers.
Carpet deodorizers can be a great way to counteract smells from pets, moisture, or carpet that hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. Most deodorizers are available as a powder or spray, and application methods will vary as well. In a world of quick fixes, carpet deodorizers are definitely one of the first household utilities that come to mind if you need to mask a musty basement smell or wet dog before your guests arrive.
It could be time to replace your flooring entirely. Whether you’re looking for carpet, vinyl, tile, laminate, or hardwood, finding floors that make you happy is easy when you work with Empire. Schedule a FREE In-Home Estimate to see our extensive carpet options in your home.
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