pet smells in the carpet

[onegrea...@yahoo.com]

Hi, I have a small dog who has had a couple of accidents on the carpet.
I just moved here six months ago, and the carpet is really old and
gross. I bought a product that has enzymes in it and treated the areas
where I thought the dog had his accidents -- using the "sniff"
technique. Then I bought a rug shampooer and used the product that came
with it (Bissell) and shampoo'ed the heck out of the carpet.
Unfortunately, what I think I ended up doing was spreading the smell.
Is there anything I can do at this point? I tried covering the carpet
with the baking soda carpet deodorizer stuff and vacuuming it up, but
to my nose, it now smells like baby talc with dog smell underneath. I
hope to convince the landlord, eventually, to just rip up the carpet
because it is probably 15 years old, but in the meantime -- especially
when it gets hot and humid -- the smell is somewhat gross. -- Any
advice for what to do at this point is appreciated - Brenda

[Don Aslett/Marsh Creek Press]

Brenda,

If I had a dime for every time I've heard these woes... Pets are
often a source of carpet stains and odor problems and what's worse is
that the spots and stains they create are some of the most difficult to
tackle.

As far as stain removal, I am sorry to say that those consumer grade
Bissels and the like can do an alright job on surface spots but when
stains and odor penetrate the carpet fibers themselves and the pad
below, those cleaning tools are rendered virtually useless. One option
is to hire a professional cleaner (or rent equipment and do it
yourself) to come deep clean your carpets. This treatment will soak the
carpet down to the pad and remove any lingering dirt and residue that
may be trapping the odors you are referring to. Also, it sounds like
this may be a rental unit that you are living in so you may be able to
strike a deal with landlord to split the cost, or maybe he/she will
have it done for you, after all, its cheaper than replacing the carpet
as you suggested in your question.

Also, you mentioned having tried the enzymatic cleaner, but this really
is about as good of solution as there is. Many people however struggle
with it as the method of application is somewhat difficult to follow.
For example, when using an enzymatic cleaner you can't use hot water,
can't use any other cleaner or disinfectant first, you must keep the
area wet while the solution is working and leave the solution on long
enough to do the job, so as you can see there is plenty of room for
error. So Brenda, don't write enzymatic cleaners off entirely,
perhaps you can just give them another shot.

As far as the odor goes, once the stains, and odor causing bacteria
have been removed the odor should go away. But in the meantime there
are a plethora of odor masking products out there, for example, X-O
(available at cleanreport.com) is an all-natural odor neutralizer, key
word being neutralizer. Unlike many common products X-O actually
neutralizes the odor so the smells do not come back as quickly. Not to
mention it makes a handy non-corrosive cleaner, safe on most surfaces.

Please check out the thread on carpet cleaning as this may further help
with your predicament. Thanks for writing!

Don