It is pretty frustrating to spend hours steam cleaning your carpet and then get a funky smell as a result. Moreover, when you perform steam cleaning yourself with ordinary tools and cleaners it leads to unpleasant carpets smell after steam cleaning. Here are some reasons why your carpets smell after steam cleaning
Overwetting
Having your carpet overwetting is contributing to the unpleasant odour you experience. Moreover, the carpet padding soaks up the moisture and does not help the carpet to dry up as quickly as it should. Hence, leads to that awful smell after you perform a steam cleaning. Secondly, when a professional cleaner does it, they use carpet dry cleaning methods along with hot water extraction. Therefore, ensuring the padding is completely dry. Also, the professional cleaner keeps in mind to use the right amount of water and cleaning solutions to dry the carpet perfectly. Thus, giving you a perfectly beautiful smelling carpet.
Weather
Sometimes over-wetting is not a problem at all. But, it’s the weather. Additionally, your location and weather matter when you decide to steam clean your carpet. Secondly, if you are living in a humid area where it rains a lot as well. Then, it might create a huge problem for you, as the carpet will naturally take time to dry up and soak up moisture due to the humid weather. Therefore, carpet cleaning expert stress having a steam cleaning on a sunny day, if you are handling it on your own to avoid the funky smell after steam cleaning.
Stains
Stains are another cause of the unpleasant odour. Moreover, it is because they settle deep inside the padding of the carpet. Secondly, when these stains are exposed to moisture while steam cleaning, they bring out a weird unpleasant smell. Moreover, if you have milk product stains and they come in contact with steam, it leaves an awful smell. Also, this awful smell probably lingers around for a long time.
Pet Urine
Pet urine easily gets caught in the carpet fiber and even the underlay of the carpet holds on to the urine smell. Moreover, ammonia in the urine causes permanent stains and also gives a very nasty smell which is hard to get rid of.
Now that you are aware of the potential reasons why your carpet is smelling of steam. If your carpets smell after steam cleaning: Here is what you can do after cleaning to get rid of the smell.
Drying
Speed up the carpet drying process as much as possible. Moreover, make sure to keep your carpet in direct sunlight. Plus, if the direct sun is not available then keep your wet carpet in moving air to avoid any kind of smell after steam cleaning.
Also, open the windows for better aeration which allows them to dry faster. The ventilation doesn’t allow any kind of smell after steam cleaning your carpet. If you have a fan then use it to improve airflow and freshen up by allowing your carpet to dry.
Grooming
After steam cleaning, you need to groom your carpet by brushing to lift and align the carpet fibers back to their original state. Moreover, this will help you promote good airflow and also reduce the dry timing. Secondly, to distribute the treatment solution evenly, brushing the carpet is a good idea.
Turn up the heat
When you do a deep steam cleaning during cold days, make sure to turn up the heat. Moreover, this will help you evaporate the water much faster than usual and dry up the carpet quicker.
Use dehumidifier
Using a dehumidifier during high humidity is an excellent idea after steam cleaning your carpet. Secondly, the dehumidifier controls the amount of moisture in the room and speeds up the drying process.
Some D.I.Y Ideas To Get Rid Of Your Smelling Carpet After You Steam Cleaning
- Take a cup of white vinegar and put two cups of warm water in it. Second, transfer this into a spray bottle and gently spray on your carpet after you steam clean it. Also, make sure not to overspray the carpet or it can lead to mould growth.
- Take baking soda and you can spray that on your carpet to help you get rid of the odour. Moreover, baking soda is a great odour neutralizer and also safe for your family and pet. Secondly, it doesn’t damage your carpet at all.
Conclusion
To get off the smelly carpet after you steam clean it, you just gotta make sure you pre-clean the stain from the core of the carpet. Moreover, before steam cleaning make sure you vacuum your carpet thoroughly. Also, the most important thing is to ensure you dry up your carpet after steam cleaning as quickly as possible. Additionally, you can use D.I.Y spray to ensure there is no funky smell in your house after steam cleaning your carpet.