How do I get rid of that horrible stench in my house?
Question:I got this house from my grandmother. she used to pee and...other things all over. the whole huse is horrible and discusting. I have had the carpets cleaned several times and its making me go broke but it never helps.
Answers:
Tear the carpets out and buy a professional odor remover to put down on the base floor if its made from wood. As far as your baseboards go you'll need to replace them.
i always just spray axe all over my house
You will have to have the carpets removed. Call a company that specializes in fire and water damage and see if they have a recommendation.
Rip the carpet up and replace it.
I guess you could sprinkle baking soda...everywhere...and then vacuum it up.
If it were me, I'd rip out the carpets (take up the backing, too.)
Even a really nasty sub-floor would be better than really nasty carpet. But it might just be, like, concrete or something (depending on how old the house is.) You might luck out and get some kind of tile or wood flooring under the carpet.
But I'd rip out the carpet before trying to clean it. Ugh. You can only clean a carpet so much--you can't get it 100% clean even under the best of circumstances, and your circumstances aren't the best.
Rip it out and put down some cheapie vinyl flooring if you have to. You could get sick from carpet that dirty.
Rip the carpet out and chuck it on rubbish day, it is full of germs (bacteria) that smell and can make you sick.
Leave the windows open to air it out.
Check for water damage. Sprinkle baking soda on the floors and let it absorb the odors before vacuuming it up.
You will likely have to pull up all the carpets that have been stained. The odor could also have permeated the carpet pad and floor boards. Our condo that we bought a few years back was a foreclosure. The woman who lived there let her cat and dog pee on the rugs. We pulled up the stained stinky carpet, cleaned the sub- floor with TSP and then painted it with two coats of odor-blocker primer/sealer. That did the trick. But human waste is not only stinkier, but could be a health hazard. Talk to a cleaning company that specializes in tough-to-clean things (they clean up places where someone has died) - they have specialized cleaning chemicals.
Get rid of the carpet , then clean and air out the house. Use a strong cleaner,(go to the pet store and buy urine remover).
run a dehumidifier, open the windows and door as much as possible, but there is a possibility that you will have to take up the carpets and replace them
First of all, the carpets and padding need to go. The floors may need refinishing while you're doing that, so best be prepared for a lot of work.
Here's what I'd do (full details.) First, tear out the carpets and padding.. You can do this yourself, it's a tough job but completely DIY. Take up the tack boards in the corners, too. You are not going to be able to save the carpets so stop trying.
Next, see what floor you have underneath. If it's hardwood then you're very lucky. If not, then you just have to wait to get new carpets or floors but you can still deal with the but smell now and worry about that later.
If there is any mold or fungus, wash the whole floor thoroughly with bleach using a mop so that it's not soaking into the wood too much. Make sure you do this when everything is REALLY well ventilated or you'll be in trouble. But DO NOT do this if there is no mold.
If you have hardwood, you can rent a sander from a DIY store like Home Depot or Lowes. I recommend the belt sanders over the radial ones. Sand the floor down but ONLY if it's hardwood. Don't waste your time or money doing this if it's not.
Then go to a pet supply company either locally or online. Buy enzyme cleaner there, the sort used to clean up after dog urine. Don't just get the little spray bottle as you'll probably need at least a gallon per room. If they don't have a good price then go online and get some from a company like Foster and Smith. If you cleaned the floors with bleach, make sure all the bleach is cone before you use the enzyme. You don't want to start chemical reactions. Clean all of the floors with the enzyme cleaner and let it sit for a week or two to do it's work. It sometimes takes time to break down the chemicals, and you may have to clean some small sections more than once but this should work.
If your floors were hardwood then now you want to refinish them using a satin acrylic finish. Do not use gloss as it will show every little flaw in the floor when it's done. Do not use polyurethane as it gets messed up on a floor too easily in my opinion. If you want, you can apply a stain to the floor before you use the acrylic, just make sure the stain is fully dry before you use it. Acrylic finish also has the added bonus that it will dry much faster than poly will.
If you don't have hardwood, then just toss down some throw rugs and make do until you can get new carpet or flooring. At least your house will be clean and it won't smell.
As far as the walls go, use a oil-base primer paint on them like "Killz". That will cover any of the stains or other problems on the walls. Then I can recommend getting the book "Decorative Paint & Faux Finishes" for a lot of other DIY painting tips once the primer has covered any wall stains.
It might take you a little while, but this is definitely cheaper than paying someone else and when you're done the house will be truly beautiful.
I don't know if this will work, but I had a similar problem. We bought a house and the previous owners kept their cats & kitty liter in the office. I sprayed fabreeze and it really didn't work. I got an oil burner & burned gardenia oil and it got rid of the odor.
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