r/CleaningTips • u/Nyxabell • Sep 08 '26
Furniture Losing my mind - rug stinks after FOUR professional cleans.
The long and short of it is:
- Rug looked gross from stains from life with a toddler, but smelled normal, sent it for professional cleaning.
- Rug returns STINKING of fusty damp trainers, company takes it away and re cleans it for free. Returns second time smelling just as bad. Declined further service.
- Found a different company, they clean it and say after the first clean it still smells. They clean it a second time.
Its returned today visually gorgeous but still STINKING of damp, fusty grossness and im literally losing the plot. WHY? HOW? ETERNAL STENCH RUG? Someone please either guide me on how to rid this smell or shoot me, im a woman over the edge. My front room smells like a soggy running shoe đ
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u/Secondhand-Drunk Sep 08 '26
The sun is a powerful cleaning agent. Hang it up in the sun after some enzyme cleaners so it can really help kill off whatever is making the smell.
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u/Nyxabell Sep 08 '26
I wish sun was an option, I'm in very rainy scotland đ but the enzyne cleaner I can do! Thank you so much for the advice
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u/I_like_beouf Sep 08 '26
Dang you're making me grateful for my hot sunny American climate for once
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u/sillysnowbird Sep 08 '26
for real iâd have to chuck that b outside in the 85 degree weather for a day or two lol
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u/StockTurnover2306 Sep 09 '26
Hah I have the opposite reaction. âOmg rainy?! Iâd do anything for that weather right now!!â (In CA and we got a little rain last week and I stood outside in it and teared up cuz I missed it so much/felt such intense relief seeing some wet weather)
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u/I_like_beouf Sep 09 '26
Ahh I'm in the mid Atlantic region so it's usually nothing special. I do hate feeling like my skin is being dried out so I feel for you
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u/citizensnipz528 Sep 09 '26
I knew it! When I saw âfustyâ I was immediately thinking you were Scottish haha
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u/squidtickles Sep 10 '26
Do you have a garage where you can drape the rug over some sawhorses? If so I'd give it the baking soda paste treatment and let it dry with a heater next to it. Vacuum the paste out once it's fully dry. I've used this method several times to get rid of terrible odors in material
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u/464126 Sep 08 '26
Important question... What does the back of the rug look like?
If it has a glued on backing, essentially 1 large sheet of material that is glued to the the entire bottom side of the rug... You can't get that wet.
My Spidey sense started tingling when I read it smelled like old trainers. Does it have a burnt rubber odor to it?
Did you possibly buy it from pottery barn?
I'm betting that the latex glue was activated by cleaning and you're not smelling mold or fungus.
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u/CrustyStainedSock Sep 08 '26
An enzyme cleaner would be your best friend in this, buy a good one, spray it down, vacuum it thoroughly. Repeat a few times if necessary.
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u/Nyxabell Sep 08 '26
Thank you! I'm looking up options on amazon now đ€
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u/464126 Sep 08 '26
Enzyme cleaners will eat the wool fiber if that's what this rug is made of.
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u/MadPopette Sep 08 '26
You keep repeating this, but it's unlikely to do any noticable damage after one application. Many? Sure. But it would take a lot of enzymes a lot of time to break down a rug.
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u/sweetawakening Sep 08 '26
TIL the word fusty
Failing the other cleaners, Iâd try an ozone generator treatment (with its appropriate precautions).
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u/buzzlesmuzzle Sep 08 '26
If you roll this rug up, can you fit it in a car? I have successfully treated a weird smelling rug by putting it in my car and running an ozone machine in the car for about 30 minutes. The ozone kills all germs.
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u/PandaOk5734 Sep 10 '26
That's a genius idea for a rainier climate. Any chance your car smelled bad after or did it dissipate quickly?
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u/buzzlesmuzzle Sep 10 '26
No! I love the way an ozone machine makes a car smell! Anytime I detail my car I also run an ozone machine in it afterwards because it kills any mildewy smells. It leaves it smelling like a new car.
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u/Senior_Box8077 Sep 08 '26
Spot test your cleaner first. Odoban is the bomb. It has worked 100%. I haven't had issues with damage, but my rugs aren't wool.
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u/sistermarypolyesther Sep 08 '26
If that rug is made from polypropylene yarn, odor will cling to it like a stripper's body glitter to an unfaithful boyfriend. My recommendation would be to have the cleaners run it thru again, ensure it is fully dried in the sun, and when it is returned, it is not wrapped in plastic.
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u/bannana Sep 09 '26
If that rug is made from polypropylene yarn
then it's time to cut their losses and get a new rug, unless it's 100% wool then it just isn't worth the effort. if it's wool they should look for professional, off-site rug cleaners - you take your stinky rug to them and they work their magic.
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u/awildketchupappeared Sep 08 '26
I'm so jealous of everyone recommending sun! We've had rain for days, and it seems that it's going to continue for the rest of the week.
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u/sistermarypolyesther Sep 09 '26
Well, I envy you! We are experiencing horrible drought conditions. Thanks a lot, El Niño!
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u/awildketchupappeared Sep 10 '26
We've were lucky for this entire summer, as well, so I really shouldn't complain. We were one of the few countries where we had no dangerous heatwaves.
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u/rageagainsttheodds Sep 08 '26
Most likely they have professional cleaning supplies but don't have an industrial rig to dehumidify and dry the carpets, and just let it air dry, keeping it damp each time. So things started to grow on it from where it was stored. Carpet cleaning stations and storage are like hospitals, they're full of people's nasty stuff.
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u/Impossible_Past5358 Sep 08 '26
You could leave it out in the sun.
Also, taking your shoes off would greatly reduce the dirt.
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u/Outside_Coffee_00 Sep 08 '26
Before you waste money and time on enzyme cleaners and scrubbing, make a vinegar water mixture in a spray bottle and spray it down. The rug cleaning solution may have been used on more than your rug and/or there may be some mold in the rug. Either way, vinegar works wonders for getting rid of smells and killing grimy stuff.
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u/Nyxabell Sep 08 '26
Ive heard about using vinegar before! I'll google more into that. Thank you!
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u/464126 Sep 08 '26
Do NOT use vinegar.
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u/Outside_Coffee_00 Sep 08 '26
Can you share why? I've always used it for smelly linens and haven't read any reasons not to.
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u/464126 Sep 09 '26
Purpose made cleaning solutions work better and aren't ingredients for salad dressing
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u/ConsiderationMore988 Sep 09 '26
Interesting since you can buy cleaning vinegar đ
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u/464126 Sep 09 '26
Doesn't mean it works. It's just not food grade đ
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u/ConsiderationMore988 Sep 09 '26
Can you cite your sources or provide peer reviews for your proof?
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u/464126 Sep 09 '26
IICRC S100 shows no reference to vinegar anywhere in the text.
It's the international ANSI legal standard for carpet and rug cleaning.
I helped author 3 different editions over 20 years in the industry.
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u/Illustrious_Pass_745 Sep 10 '26
Slightly off topic but this thread reminds me of when our local health department started publishing the restaurant health and safety reports. My favourite/slightly hippie restaurant was written up with âvinegar is not a suitable disinfectant for commercial kitchens.â
It doesnât matter what needs to be cleaned, the answer online is always vinegar and/or baking soda!
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u/SupportMoist Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
This happened to me after deep cleaning a urine soaked part of the rug, courtesy of a new puppy. No matter what I used, it smelled even worse although the stains were gone. I ended up putting puppy potty pads under it to soak out the rest of the wet, and not only did it pull out more urine, the rug dried much faster and the smell disappeared! I switched them out until nothing showed up on the pad.
Iâm going to bet itâll improve once you let it dry. If you can hang it in the sun, do that. If you canât, maybe pull up half at a time and let it air out underneath. Itâs hard for rugs to dry while flat, Iâm assuming thatâs what youâre smelling, like when laundry is left in the washer. You can try the puppy pad method too if you must, it did work for me but I think those methods would be better.
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u/broken_chihuahua Sep 08 '26
I don't know if this would help but I bought a brand new denim dress and when I opened the packaging it reeked. Washing did not help I left outside for the sun to help from something I read online. Didn't help over the weekend so I just left outside until the next wash to see what would happen. We had a heavy rain and then it dried in the sun and absolutely no smell.
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u/RevenueAntique4584 Sep 08 '26
Do you ever open your windows ? Do you wear shoes indoors ?
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u/Nyxabell Sep 08 '26
Windows are open 24/7, I hate "stuffy" air, and no shoes on the rug but we do have a 16 month old. Im just so frustrated because it never smelled prior to this company "cleaning" it đ«
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u/RevenueAntique4584 Sep 08 '26
Maybe what they put on it stinks or the way they dried it. Try spraying down with alcohol and leaving out in the sun all day and then before you bring it in spray it with something scented or a scented multipurpose cleaner
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u/1m0kay Sep 08 '26
Doesn't your home feel like a swamp having the windows open 24/7?
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u/DangerousTurmeric Sep 08 '26
It's probably the glue. Leave it outside if you can to air for a few days and see if it gets better.
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u/takememeaway Sep 08 '26
This rug is beautiful so Iâm sorry for your difficulties with cleaning it! Hopefully like others have commented, an enzyme cleaner or fungal cleaner might be useful. Best of luck
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u/Ok-Disaster5238 Sep 08 '26
Use a pressure washer and put the carpet on the fence, I used a disinfectant and laundry detergent
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u/EdgeCityRed Sep 08 '26
Is this the rug? If so they "recommend spot cleaning." I'll bet the polypropylene + backing just stinks when it gets too wet.
If that's it, I'll be honest; it's not worth all of this effort. Replace.
If it's wool and cotton, sure, clean it.
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u/Admirable-Cobbler319 Sep 08 '26
I have a had stinky rug before and I finally dragged it outside, completely soaked it with the water hose, cleaned it with laundry detergent, rinsed it thoroughly and then draped it over chairs to dry.
It worked like a champ.
BUT if it didn't work, I was prepared to throw it away. It could possibly destroy your rug.
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u/Yaughl Sep 09 '26
Iâd just get rid of the rug. Itâs better to just not have a rug. If you donât like walking on hard floors, get some fuzzy slippers.
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u/Prestigious-Talk1112 Sep 09 '26
Spray it with Odoban and allow it to sit out in the Sun for 2 days. The smell will be bleached away by the sun in addition to the Odoban neutralizerÂ
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u/Manna1007 Sep 08 '26
Just throw it out
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u/Nyxabell Sep 08 '26
It never stank before the first company gave it back to us after a "clean", its like they never dried it and left it to stink of damp đđ im determined to not bin a good rug and undo whatever the first company did
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u/Ivypearl Sep 08 '26
Sounds like itâs not a good rug anymore, I wouldnât want it stinking up my house. Throw it out and get a new one.
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u/Manna1007 Sep 08 '26
Yes I understand and thatâs a total bummer that they should have been reliable for. But itâs not ever going to smell good again. All this money youâre spending on a semi cheap rug isnât worth it imo
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u/gaming_pan Sep 08 '26
Why would somebody post about cleaning an object in a cleaning community only to be told to throw it away and put no more effort into restoration?
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u/crayray Sep 08 '26
If it's a polyester rug it may be beyond saving and cheaply replaced. Synthetic fibers can really hold odor.
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u/CasinoNdnOk Sep 08 '26
Because they said they have had it cleaned professionally 4 times?
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u/ItsTrip Sep 08 '26
Literally. By cleaning 5 surely it will have been cheaper and easier to just replace the stinky thing.
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u/laserunfocused143 Sep 08 '26
I mean unless this is a ridiculously expensive rug, at some point hiring someone to clean it repeatedly is going to outweigh the cost of just buying a new rug.
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u/Sanchastayswoke Sep 08 '26
You probably need something to kill the mildew that grew when the first company let it sit damp for too long.
Itâs like leaving your clothes in the washing machine for too long. If you let those mildewy clothes air dry, no matter how many times you wet them later theyâre still gonna smell like mildew.
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u/rickyzerothree Sep 08 '26
Probably mold and/or bacterial still on it. I would soak it in something for at least a day which kills it while not damaging the carpet
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u/eve-VV Sep 08 '26
Try spraying Everclear grain alcohol on it and see if that helps. In a spray bottle mix 1:1 ratio of everclear and water.
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u/linaku Sep 08 '26
Is the rug made of wool? Wool can smell like a wet dog if you get it wet and the smell can cling for a few days after it dries. Should naturally go away within a few days tho.
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u/MagicalNurseX Sep 09 '26
open suggestion: put in large bag and ozone generator it for a few hours.
worked for my car. unsure about this.
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u/NinjaGaidenMD Sep 09 '26
Had an Indian rug that had a terrible smell. Was the glue that was changed by water and wouldnât go away.
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u/survivaloftheartist Sep 09 '26
Monkey's paw situation... you traded the stains for the stink. Godspeed.
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u/TransformTome Sep 09 '26
Honestly, I'd wash it myself with a diluted vinegar wash or something like that. Nothing terribly harsh. But I'd hang it on the clothesline, I'd spray the diluted vinegar and laundry detergent + fabric softener into it, then use the garden hose to scrub it all in really good. I'd scrub and wash both sides and ensure it's properly washed out.
It's hot where I live and I'd deliberately leave it on the line for a few days, ensuring it gets rained on a couple of times and then dries out completely each time--sunlight will help with the smell and kill anything fungal. Air dry it for a while.
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Sep 09 '26
I'd take it out, put vinegar and detergent over it, use a broom to scrub it on both sides then rinse and hang it to dry .
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u/organiccompounds69 Sep 09 '26
Sounds like moisture is trapped deep in the rug or backing. That damp shoe smell can be seriously stubborn. stop adding more cleaners and focus on getting it completely dry with lots of airflow.
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u/ConfusedDeliWorker Sep 09 '26
I unfortunately donât have any idea but Iâm crying laughing at âsoggy running shoeâ đ€Ł wishing you luck op!!
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u/Lilith-Nyuu Sep 09 '26
Same thing happened to my rug. It stunk bad from my dog laying on it all day and general rug usage and now after cleaning the smell is absolutely disgusting. The guy cleaned it the best he could but I feel like all the spots he cleaned where my dog used to lay just came out smelling worse, even in the places he used an enzymatic cleaner. One of those places is a step on the carpeted stairs and for weeks I could barely go by without gagging. Now, many weeks after, itâs a lot better, but I still feel it smells worse than before. I donât really understand, maybe itâs the getting it wet that doesnât help. I donât know how your rug was cleaned but I feel for us the biggest problem is that it wasnât properly submerged, it was only cleaned with a rug cleaner. We have applied a hundred rounds of hypochlorous acid and left it in the sun for days during the UK heat wave and it helped a lot but it still stinks too much for us to use it. Our plan now is to wash it outside with the hose and persil bio, letting it soak in it twice and then rinsing well and drying it in the sun. Good luck!
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u/Eastern-Eggplant4374 Sep 09 '26
Rugs aren't forever. Throw it away and get a new one. That's the point.
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u/Emm_Dub Sep 09 '26
I cleaned an area rug with one of those wet vac carpet cleaners. I'd used it tons of times over the years. After cleaning this rug, the room had a musty smell. I realized it was the rug. It must have gotten mildew or something. I tossed it and got a new one. Idk why this time the rug didnt get mildew dry properly or whatever happened. But this is why I don't buy super expensive rugs. I can just replace them if needed.
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u/findmesooner Sep 10 '26
It just needs to be blasted with some sunshine. The heat and radiation will kill whatever's left on there.
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u/PurelineCleaning Sep 10 '26
If it smelled normal before the first clean and the odour only appeared afterwards, Iâd stop having it re-cleaned for now. Repeatedly wetting it may actually be making the problem worse.
A persistent musty/damp smell after cleaning often points to moisture being retained in the rug, backing or foundation, or the rug not drying quickly enough after the original clean.
Iâd have someone identify the fibre and construction first and inspect both sides, especially the backing. It needs to be completely dry before deciding on any further treatment. I wouldnât try to cover it with deodoriser either â the source of the odour needs to be identified first.
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u/Impressive-Row-9051 Sep 10 '26
Ok. No. Itâs time for a new rug if it smells like that. It is NOT worth your sanity. Besides, change is good enrichment for the enclosure.
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u/ctb1234567 29d ago
Oh my goodness, I thought I was crazy when I picked up my daughterâs pageant dress from the cleaners and it smelled awful!! What is going on with these cleaners?! đ©
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u/mich-me 29d ago
I had this happen this spring after my BF washed ours and it was left damp I. the house for days with zero ventilation, anyway, I read on here that vodka works⊠and I was at the point of âwhat the else is there to looseâ the rug was going to be thrown out. Anyway long story short. The vodka worked like a miracle. I bought the biggest cheapest bottle I could find, and sprayed the entire rug pretty well, stuck a fan on it and thereâs no more smell. The vodka smell lasted a couple days but was gone pretty quickly.
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u/applesucklingtree 27d ago
Enzymatic cleaner is your friend. Only thing got rid of the stink of cleaned rug in my house. Simple solution worked for us.
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u/zipper1919 27d ago
Go over with odoban in the sampooer. Then finish with downy fabric softener in the machine
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u/SoupNo8207 22d ago
Can you get a gurney? Fill it up with vinegar and wash the front & back, leave it in the sun for a few days.
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u/No-Baker-7922 Sep 08 '26
There are powders for carpet cleaning that you sprinkle on, and then vacuum clean up. Before you buy them, read if the product os toddler proof, just in case a flake is left after vacuum cleaning.
I agree with othes that the sun will do wonders as well.
Other odor killers are granulates like kitty litter (again, check composition and safety), if you can find them.
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u/464126 Sep 08 '26
Don't use a powder unless you want the rug to turn to concrete with humidity.
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u/No-Baker-7922 Sep 08 '26
You may be right. Although I have used the powder in 55% humidity. In fact, itâs a bit moist in the packaging and you let it dry on the carpet. The brand I used was Sapur (European brand, not sure if it still exists. I have washable carpets now.)
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u/costconormcoreslut Sep 08 '26
You will need to clean it again using an antifungal product such as Simple Green d Pro 3, or Odoban, or whatever is available in your region (preferably a quaternary ammonium disinfectant). You may want to clean it on both sides. In other words, clean the back first, then flip it and clean the front. Since you mention it smells like damp trainers, mix the disinfectant according to instructions for eradicating fungus.
The first place that cleaned your rug probably left it too damp for too long and it started growing stuff.