I moved into my apartment about a month ago, and I’ve noticed a bad smell in my bedroom. It’s not terrible, but you notice it when you first walk into the room. No other room in the apartment has this problem. It seems to be coming from the carpet. I tried spraying Febreze on my carpet, and it worked for a few days, but the smell has since returned.
Anybody have any ideas on how to clear the air permanently?
Two options I can think of:
Replace the carpet
Give it a really good going over with a vacuum cleaner, then shampoo it
My whole apartment smells like smoke- the scent is mostly trapped in the carpet, which I have Febreezed but can’t shampoo. I’ve had good luck masking it with the Renuzit Super Odor Killer, but it’s not a very strong smell.
I’d probably start by removing the dead body under the floor.
You said it’s an apartment. So I assume you have a landlord, go talk to them. Since it’s already been a month, they may say it’s your problem, but if your landlord is nice, he/she may deal with the problem, especially if he/she KNOWS that it is the fault of the last tennent (ie pets, leaky waterbed etc…). If nothing else, perhaps they can recommend something for you.
Why not raise the question with your landlord, and the quicker the better? It may be the padding underneath the carpet, too… Is it a chemical odor? A smoke/tobacco/marijuana smell? Pets? Cats? Mustiness/mildew? Water damage? Do you see any visible stains? Is there any unfastened area where you can see the underneath (to check for mold/mildew/fungus)?
Perhaps the landlord or management office would permit you to shampoo it and/or replace it if that doesn’t work… about how old would you say the carpet is? How expensive? Deep pile cut, or short, or commercial-like very short nubby loops?
Some carpets just stink, period. I believe Olefin has a strong chemical odor, but I could be mistaken.
It’s a funky smell, almost like a locker room smell. It’s not pet stink; I’m quite familiar with cat urine (I don’t have pets in the apartment, BTW). My parents have a carpet shampooer, and I was thinking of asking to borrow it.
I haven’t talked to my landlord about it, but I probably should. I was assuming that they’d say it was my fault or that I should have reported it right away. I didn’t notice the smell for about a week due to the fresh paint smell everywhere.