WANTED!!! Help with musty carpet smells in an old home

[Precious]

Just rented an old (from the 40's) home.
The carpets smell musty and dirty..
After cleaning while we were moving we couldn't keep the house opened
up for more than an hour or so a day for about 3 days thus the carpets
took on a wet dog/cat pee smell..
She claims not to have had small pets in here and we were told not to
have any either.. (this might be why)..
but it smells..
I have tried everything and spent about 20.00 in stickups and plugins
to get some sort of better smell in here.
Moving is bad enough but I hate the smell so bad I don't even want to
be here anymore.
My husband said to put ammonia in pie tins with cotton balls in them
around the rooms.. I haven't tried it yet but wondered if there are
anymore and if this hint works..
thanks
Chey

[Maryann Foster]

Cleaning and Stain Removing for Carpets And Rugs

IF YOU PLAN TO SHAMPOO YOUR CARPET, FIRST TRY PRE- CLEANING: Sweep the
carpet, which will make the nap stand up and loosen the
imbedded dirt. Next vacuum. With this work alone, the rug should show a
noticeable improvement, so much in fact that you may decide to delay
shampooing.

To neutralize odors: Borax and cornmeal. Sprinkle the carpet with a mixture
of 1 cup Borax and 2 cups cornmeal. Let this mixture stand for an hour
before
vacuuming.

Carpet Freshener Combine 3/4 cup baking soda, 2 tbs. corn starch, and 1/4
cup perfumed talcum powder. Sprinkle on dry carpet, let stand 5 to 15
minutes, then
vacuum.

Stain Removal: Clean up spills as fast as you can. Blot or scrape up as much
of the spill as possible, blotting from the outside toward the center. Test
the stain
remover on an area under the sofa and wait 15 minutes to see if it damages
the carpet color. After you clean the carpet, blot it dry and weigh down a
small cushion of
paper towels with a heavy object to soak up all the moisture. Don't panic!
General stains, use Borax according to label directions. Borax can be toxic
if ingested.

Blood stains: Cold water or Club Soda. Sponge stain immediately with cold
water or club soda and dry with a towel. Repeat as necessary.

Ink stains: Cream of Tartar and Lemon Juice. Place cream of tartar on the
ink stain and squeeze a few drops of ice on top. Rub into the stain for a
minute, brush off
the powder with a clean brush and sponge immediately with warm water, being
careful not to saturate the carpet backing. Repeat if necessary. - Isopropyl
Alcohol*
Be sure to wear gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. Blot rubbing
alcohol onto stain.

Non-oily stains: Vinegar and Liquid Soap. Mix together 1 teaspoon of white
vinegar, 1 teaspoon liquid detergent, and 1 pint lukewarm water. Apply this
mixture to
the non-oily stain with a soft brush or towel. Rub gently. Rinse with a
towel dampened in clean water. Blot dry. Repeat this process until the stain
is removed. Dry the
carpet quickly using a fan or blow dryer. There is a chance that vinegar may
bleach some dark, sensitive colors, so try it on an inconspicuous area
first.

Soot stains: Salt. Sprinkle the area generously with salt. Allow the salt to
settle for at least 15 minutes before vacuuming.

Stains and odors: Vinegar and Liquid Soap. Vinegar will kill the odor of
urine and prevent staining if you can get to the spot right away. First
absorb as much
moisture as you can with dry paper towels. Next rinse the area with warm
water and apply vinegar and soap solution into the stain using a clean cloth
or paper towel
and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse with a towel dampened in clean water and
blot dry. There is a chance that vinegar may bleach some dark, sensitive
colors, so try
it on an inconspicuous area first.

Dents and Depressions: (From furniture or heavy objects.) Shift location of
furniture from time to time. Brush the dented area, or use a grooming tool
to loosen
and stand-up the mashed tufts. Using a steam iron, steam the dented area
lightly and brush up the tufts with your fingertips. Do not let iron touch
the carpet. Hold the
iron 2-3 inches above the carpet. (For carpets containing acrylic or
mod-acrylic, use the warm setting on a hair dryer, as steam may melt the
fibers.) To avoid further
crushing, use casters under furniture legs.
Precious wrote in message <362761cb...@news.earthlink.net>...

[Precious]

thanks for these terrific hints! :)
P.

[Jim & Melissa Squillace]

to get rid of musty carpet smells first spray with lysol disinfectant.
when dry sprinkle with baking soda. let set over night. vacuum. Try to
keep the windows open as much as possible..have you checked the carpet
pads?..you may need to pull up the carpet and spray them also. Another
thing you could try is an odor nuetralizer spray..these are used in
hospitals. You can get them at any hardware store or pet store. spray
the carpet with them after the lysol and baking soda treatment.
Also..have you looked under the carpets to see what kind of flooring you
have? I rented a 40's house with a hideous carpet..I pulled back a
corner and it had a hardwood floor underneath..after a bit of waxing it
was beautiful. Lots of houses built then have hardwood floors under the
wall to wall carpeting. Hope this all helps..good luck.
Melissa..owner of "Precision Housecleaning"

[Padrick Carnahan]

You can find out if there are any urine stains in the carpet by using a
black light at night. A urine stain will fluoresce a Yellow-Green color, an
optical brightner left by a irresponsible carpet spotting solution will glow
a bright Blue-White color. If you find any urine DO NOT apply any form of a
disinfectant. There are very effective urine decontamination products on
the market that become ineffective once a disinfectant has been used. A
professional carpet cleaner will be able to remove these urine odors for
you. If the carpet backing, pad or the sub-floor have been effected, the
cost can get large.

If you can't find any urine stains with the black light, the smell could be
coming from a mildew problem. If carpets take over 24 hours to dry after
being cleaned, it may have caused a problem. Most trained carpet cleaners
can have your carpet dry in a matter of hours. Mildew under a carpet may
not be worth while trying to remove.

You may try using a dehumidifier to remove any moisture from the air. When
the air is dry, the mildew or the bacteria associated with a urine stain,
may go dormant. While this can eliminate the odor, you do not remove the
source of the odor. Once the humidity returns the odors will come back.
Usually these type of odors are much more noticeable after a rain or on a
hot, humid day.

You could also try using an ozone generator to remove the odors from the
air. Ozone does have limitations and some dangers, but it can be a great
tool. Once again, the ozone does not remove the source of the odor. The
odor will return once the ozone generator is turned off.

There are some other ways to deodorize a room, but you really need to find
the source of the odors to pick an effective method.

Precious wrote in message <362761cb...@news.earthlink.net>...

>The carpets smell musty and dirty..

>After cleaning while we were moving we couldn't keep the house open

>took on a wet dog/cat pee smell..

>Chey
>