Your room could look perfect with its decor and well-arranged setting. However, nothing could ruin this setting faster than having your carpet smell like stinky feet. If your space has such a stench, your first thought will be to fix it.
An effective way to get stinky feet smells off your carpet is to disinfect it with baking soda. This component is a neutralizer that penetrates the carpet and eliminates stubborn smells. Other alternatives will be to sanitize your carpet with vinegar or Vodka.
It’s only normal to want your space to smell as lovely as possible. Unfortunately, stinky feet odors can ruin this notion and could make your visitors want to turn around and run. Fortunately, you have this post to help you deal with such scents.
Why Does My Carpet Smell like Stinky Feet
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There are several reasons why your carpet has a nasty smell. Below are some of these reasons:
Wet carpet
One of the most common reasons for awful smells is moisture. So once your carpet starts to smell, consider the possibility that it must have soaked up water at some point.
You might have overlooked wet patches on the carpet, believing that it’ll dry. You should know that when you don’t expose it to adequate sunlight, fungus, molds, and mildew may start to grow. In no time, the carpet will begin to give off unpleasant odors.
Pet Urine
If you’re a lover of animals, you probably have a pet or two scurrying around your house. Try as you might, you can’t get your pets to stay away from the carpet (unless you lock them up all day). Once or twice, your little friends will be prone to carry out their business on the carpet, except they are well trained.
It’s worse when you don’t notice their urine on time. The liquid will soak into the carpet, becoming almost impossible to get off. After a while, the gases from their urine will cause your space to have a foul smell.
Food and Drink Spills
No matter how cautious you are with your food and drinks, you’re bound to spill them someday. If you love eating or drinking where your carpet is, infrequent spills are likely to happen.
Tiny drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean, so occasional coffee, milk, and tea spills will accumulate. You might dismiss the smell at first, but they’ll eventually become unbearable.
Age
The older your carpet gets, the weaker it becomes, therefore becoming prone to release musty odors. They may not be as bad as other causes of smells, but they’re not pleasant either.
Smoke
If you’re an ardent smoker, it’s best to avoid the parts of your house with carpets. This is because carpets easily trap smells and they’re bound to smell like cigarettes if you keep smoking where they are.
How to Remove Stinky Feet Odor from Your Carpet
Carpet odors can be frustrating as they tend to stick, refusing to come off. Once the stench gets bad, regular cleaning might not do the trick. Instead, use any of the methods below to eliminate stinky feet odors.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda has proven to be one of the natural odor neutralizers. Apart from being cost-effective, it’s easy to use and requires no special application process.
Before starting, ensure you get every piece of furniture out of the way to expose the carpet only. Then, vacuum the carpet to remove dirt, debris, and pet hair.
Once the carpet looks clean, sprinkle enough baking soda onto its surface. If you’re using a pile or deep fiber carpet, use your fingers to work the powder past its surface. Continue until you’ve covered the entire carpet.
Let the soda sink into the carpet for a few hours. You can leave it overnight for more effective results.
Make Use Of Baking Soda and Other Essentials
Baking soda will eliminate the odors, but you must add other elements to get a fresh smell. One of these is natural oils. These oils are herbal mixtures with strong scents that are effective air fresheners.
Good examples you can use in your home are lavender and lemongrass. Still, it’s okay to use other scents apart from the oils above.
Mix one cup of baking soda with five drops of your oil. If one cup isn’t enough, double the measurement of your powder and oil. Then, mix both thoroughly before applying the combination on your carpet.
If the bad smell is mild, wait for two hours before vacuuming. You could, however, let the combination sit overnight to remove tougher odors.
Sprinkle Vodka
Alcohol is an excellent option for achieving a unique scent while battling foul odors. The best alcohol for this purpose is Vodka. It’ll not only reduce the smell but kill bacteria that might have grown on your carpet’s surface.
Spray some vodka on your carpet and let it sink in for 15 to 20 minutes. Use towels to absorb excess Vodka if there are any. Afterward, sprinkle some baking soda and wait for 2 to 3 hours before vacuuming.
The only downside to this option is the cost. Vodka is quite expensive, making it the less preferable method of getting rid of odors.
Use Vinegar
How a sour-smelling solution gets smells off your carpet may seem unclear. Nonetheless, vinegar’s smell becomes irrelevant when used to combat unpleasant scents. It’s also cheaper and sometimes more effective than baking soda.
To apply, you’ll need a cup of vinegar, two cups of water, preferably warm, and a spray bottle. Pour the warm water and vinegar into the bottle and shake well. Proceed by spraying the carpet with the solution.
Apply Ready-Made Neutralizers
If you don’t prefer the homemade options, you can use any ready-made neutralizers. These liquids are made from chemicals that can deal with bad smells.
These solutions are available at your local or online stores. Ensure you read the instruction before applying them to your carpet.
Tips to Avoid Stinky Feet Odors
Don’t wait for your carpet to get smelly before you take action. Instead, prevent carpet smells on time with any of the methods below.
Clean Your Carpets Regularly
Vacuuming is the most efficient way to maintain your carpet and keep it in good shape. Clean your carpet every day to avoid the accumulation of dust and debris that could damage it over time.
Ensure Your House Is Well Ventilated
The proper passage of air is healthy for you and your carpet. Therefore, this should be your priority to avoid the accumulation of unpleasant smells.
Proper ventilation ensures that smells don’t linger in your house long enough for them to get trapped in your carpet. Ventilation also prevents humid air, too much moisture that could leave a musty smell in your home.
Clean Spills or Pet Waste Immediately
Liquid spills are inevitable if you have pets and toddlers running around. Once you notice spills or a wet patch on your carpet, wipe them off immediately.
If the spills leave an odor behind, use any of the home remedies above to eliminate the smell.
However, if you’ve done your best with home and ready-made remedies but cannot achieve good results, resort to more extensive options. For instance, you could take off your carpet, wash it with shampoo, and allow it to dry outside.
Another option is to contact a professional cleaning company to advise you on the best thing to do. In the worst-case scenario, you might need to get a new carpet.
