Clean carpets do not typically produce any apparent odor. However, carpets that experience water damage and are not completely dry tend to produce a musty and pungent odor that permeates onto the whole house. This is not only highly unpleasant for the people who are living in it, it can also cause uncomfortable symptoms like nausea and headaches.

Carpet Odor

Carpet fibers can easily trap airborne dust particles, allergens and other contaminants. They include mold and mildew spores which can be found in almost every environment. When a carpet gets wet, its fibers absorb and retain the moisture, preventing it from drying up. The carpet then becomes an ideal breeding ground for mold, mildew and other bacteria, resulting in the production of an unpleasant odor.

After a carpet traps moisture, it only takes about 48 hours before an odor develops. Water damage comes in various forms. A broken pipe, leaking ceiling and flooding are all examples of water damage. Regardless of how it happens, once a carpet sustains water damage, it is crucial to engage the services of carpet cleaning professionals within the 48 hour window to prevent a musty odor from filling up your home.

Carpet cleaning experts are armed with specialized decontamination and water extraction equipment. They can ensure that the carpet is thoroughly cleaned and dried. If professional water damage and mold remediation techniques are not performed as soon as possible, the damage to the carpet may become irreversible.

Removing Carpet Odor

The unpleasant carpet odor can be tricky to remove. Some people may use a consumer-grade carpet cleaning machine to remove the bad smell. However, it is not effective in removing the mold and mildew that are already growing in the carpet nor the odor that they produce. Hiding the odor by applying topical deodorants onto the surface of the carpet offers a temporary fix but is not practical as a long-term solution.

That’s why you need professionals to help you. Here are some professional techniques utilized by carpet cleaning specialists to salvage a carpet with an odor.

• High-Pressure Hot Water Extraction with Deep-Flushing Tools

This technique helps to remove contaminants in the carpet to thoroughly clean it. This method is sometimes enough to get rid of the odor as well. However, this is not always the case.

• Injection of an Odor Neutralizer

To remove a strong and persistent odor, it is sometimes necessary to inject an odor neutralizer onto the carpet. The formula of the odor neutralizer has to be specific for the type of contaminant for it to do the job. Technicians executing the task are specially trained to identify the origin of the odor, which could be mold, mildew or some other contaminants.

In certain cases, the carpet may need to be detached from the floor so that the odor neutralizer can be applied onto the underside of the carpet, the padding and the surface of the floor.

At Reilly’s Oriental Rug Cleaning, we use advanced cleaning equipment and solutions to effectively remove all contaminants and moisture from your water damaged carpets. We can meet all your commercial or residential property cleaning needs at competitive prices. Contact us at 201-445-0800 or email us on Info@RugClean.net today!