Removing the Sour Smell from Wet Carpet

There are many reasons why a carpet will smell sour. Perhaps former tenants had pets that urinated into the carpet, and it seeped into the carpet padding. Maybe there's a crack in the house foundation and water leaks into the flooring just enough to wet the carpet and padding to create a mold growth. If you've taken the inexpensive route to have your carpets steamed cleaned by an unlicensed firm, they may have left a lot of dirty water behind instead of sucking it all away. And then there's the sour smell left over by spilled milk, which is exceptionally difficult to get out of carpeting, especially if it happens in a car.

Whatever the reason for the sour smell in your carpeting, there are things you can do to help get rid of the stench. Here are some suggestions:

• Rent a steam cleaner and clean the affected carpeting thoroughly, and then suck up all of the water that you can, over and over again.
• Soak the area with white vinegar and allow it to sit for several hours, then suck up all of the liquid with a wet/dry vacuum.
• Once you're sure that you've removed all of the liquid possible, use air fresheners in the area.
• Pour several boxes of baking soda onto the carpet, sprinkle with water, and allow to stand overnight. Thoroughly vacuum the next day with your wet/dry vacuum.
• After making sure there's no moisture in the carpet or padding, sprinkle an entire canister of cinnamon over all of your carpeting and vacuum. I have white Berber carpeting in my house, and I sprinkle cinnamon on the carpeting each time I vacuum, and it never discolors the carpet.
• Use an enzyme odor remover to treat the carpet.
• Contact a car dealership and speak with someone in the detailing department, and ask what products they use to eliminate odors from used car carpets. Use whatever they suggest.
• Believe it or not, some people advocate using brake cleaner to eliminate sour carpet smells. Dab a small amount on a clean cloth, and then blot the area and rinse with soap and water.

If that sour smell is in your car, there is a product that will eliminate the smell once and for all, named Auto Vaccine. The same company makes a product for motel and home use named Room Shocker. Both can be found at this site: http://www.earthority.com/healthcare/disinfect/autovaccine/autovaccine.php, and both are environmentally friendly products.