Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 10/9/2010

Question
A recent move into a rental and finding out that the one bedroom reeks of animal urine, we contacted the owner and had the carpet ripped back and sanitized, new foam layer put down and the rug cleaned and put back down, but the smell is twice as bad now and there seems to be no answers in sight.  Now, my question is, what is the best approach to solving the problem?  We really cannot afford to go somewhere else at this point.

Answer
Dear Chiyo,

Few things will remove the nasty smell of old urine in a carpet, and once a carpet is so soiled it may be best to just discard it and start over.

But if you're willing to give it one last shot, I'd recommend you find a local feed store that sells timsen.  This is a powerful disinfectant/deodorizer used by dairies to remove smells like rotten milk, so you know this is nasty, mighty stuff. Use gloves and follow directions.  But I think if you add this to the steam-cleaning shampoo bin of a rent-a-carpet cleaner machine, you might have your best shot at getting rid of the odor.

If timsen won't remove it, I really think nothing will.

Hope this helps.
Dana