Our carpets have a sour, musty smell how can we get rid of it.?

Question

We used a safeway carpet cleaner and now our carpets smell like sour, musty, cat pee...what can we do?

Answer 1

Baking soda works wonders!

But, it sounds to me like the padding under the carpeting has been damaged (moldy, mildew smell), and may need to be replaced.

Answer 2

Sounds like a mold problem and it didn't dry properly, unfortunately if its the padding underneath the carpet, baking soda is not going to work.  Try calling a professional cleaner, like service magic, however I think your going to have to replace it.

Answer 3

Your carpets took too long to dry and mold and mildew started growing.  I don't know what a Safeway carpet cleaner is, but I have very good luck with the Rug Doctor carpet cleaner found at most large stores and hardware stores.  It cleans the carpets well and extracts most of the water.  The only thing I can suggest is to clean the carpet again with a heavy duty carpet cleaner solution and put in the additives that they suggest for cleaning carpets frequented by pets.  If you have air conditioning, turn it on and let it help take the excess humidity out of the air.  If you don't, put fans out and keep them blowing on the carpet until it is dry.  If you still have a problem, you may have to call a professional.

Answer 4

Try some baking powder. Sprinkle it on the carpet wait 15 minutes, and vacuum. That should do it!

Answer 5

The smell is deep in the carpet and in the pad.  Unless you get rid of the pad underneath the smell will always be there. If you steam clean it again, put some white vinegar in the cleaning solution. It is supposed to nuetralize odors. My carpet is the same way from previous pet owners. It seems like in warmer weather the smell is more noticable. Sorry, wish I had better news for ya! Good Luck