[wayne zabel]

I cleaned a carpet last Thursday,it was a BW.Not the multi coloured type you often see but a chocolate brown colour with a lighter brown squirl running through it.

Carpet wasnt really dirty but a child had been sick on it and they decided to have it cleaned.

I sprayed some Clensan on the area that the child had been sick as they said it was smelling,I couldnt smell anything myself.I rinsed of after 15 minutes and then cleaned the carpet being careful not to over wet as it was BW.

After cleaning the carpet I gave a light misting of Clensan here and there as the client was concerned about it smelling still.

Got a call this morning saying that the whole of the carpet was now smelling of "cat wee".But the original smell that they had,had gone.

Any ideas about what could be causing this and how to rectify it.

I seem to recall a post a few months back about a certain type of carpet that caused bad smells after cleaning,anyone else remamber it?I'm sure that was a certain type of BW

Thanks
Wayne

[Colin Day]

My boy had some footy shoes that smelt like cat wee, something to do with the latex I think.

The same or a similar latex may have been used in the construction of this particular carpet...

I would ask her to wait and see if the smell goes when the carpet is completely dry, as treating it is futile I am lead to believe...

[clinton]

Did they ask you about if your insured wayne?

The vomit might have gone into the back of the carpet and even floorboards mate.

When the heating is crancked up it also brings the odour out more.

Did you lift the carpet up mate.

[wayne zabel]

I didnt lift the carpet as the sick had been in the centre of the room and also It was only a small amount from a toddler.

Ive just been round this evening and I couldn't smell anything at all.The lady of the house said she couldn't really smell much but the bloke was adamant that there is a smell but admitted it gets better as the day goes on but is bad in the mornings

Ive told him to give it a few more dayd then get back to me.

[markpowell]

might be old urine contamination that you have reactivated when cleaning
Mark

[robert meldrum]

I had a similar experience a couple of months ago and posted on here about it. The carpet was a long pile twist and a search found similar experiences in the UK and US.

Apparently it's an adhesive problem and no one had an answer as it's apparently a chemical reaction between the adhesive and water.

Masking it might relieve the odour but I advised the client to take it up with the manufacturer through the retailer as I regarded any carpet that reacted this way was not suitable for the purpose it was being offered for.

A carpet MUST NOT have an adverse reaction to day to day spills such as is likely to be found in any household.

[Carpet Dawg]

Could be what Colin or what Mark have pointed out.

Get back to her and tell her to give it a couple of days for the odour to disapear (should really disapear within 48 hours) explain to her its highly likely the backing of the carpet that is causing the smell. Point out that its a common problem with BW (minor bullpoo) and that you apologies for not qualifying her before you started.

Its happend to me twice before, customer rings says it smells acidic/p-like and then call me back to say its gone! happy days

In the future try chemspecs urine contamination treatment on the puke. Its designed for pish but does a great job on many body fluids.
Also, try nemsis odour nuetrilisor. Its a bit expensive but does a great job!!

[robert meldrum]

The carpet I had the problem with was NOT a B/W and the smell  was still there two weeks later

[Jim_77]

If it was a BW it can't be anything to do with latex, there isn't any in its construction!

[robert meldrum]

Wasn't sure about that Jim thought there might have been a skim over the base.  The one I did was a twist and known to be problematic ( not by me ) as the same problem had occurred previously and posted on the 'net.

[Neil Williams]

If it was a BW it can't be anything to do with latex, there isn't any in its construction!

Well I did wonder what was going on.
Wayne identified it as a BW and knew he had to be careful with wetness, and then tells us he belives it could be the backing....which way was it? Wet down to the backing which 'could' have brought up a smell, but then risking shrinkage, or, didn't wet down to the backing which rules that issue out but brings into play either overall contamination or is it actually a wool carpet which is giving off the smell that wool can give off.

[wayne zabel]

If it was a BW it can't be anything to do with latex, there isn't any in its construction!

Well I did wonder what was going on.
Wayne identified it as a BW and knew he had to be careful with wetness, and then tells us he belives it could be the backing....which way was it? Wet down to the backing which 'could' have brought up a smell, but then risking shrinkage, or, didn't wet down to the backing which rules that issue out but brings into play either overall contamination or is it actually a wool carpet which is giving off the smell that wool can give off.

I have never actually said it could be the backing that is causing the smell.That was another poster.

I identified the carpet as a BW as it had all the usual things seen in a a BW.ie pattern on the front visible on the back and definatley woven.I gave the client the option to not have the carpet cleaned as it was a BW but they went ahead.There has been no shrinkage problem at all.

Its definately not wool

[mark_roberts]

Did you do a burn test

Mark

[robert meldrum]

The cat pee smell is exactly what's been posted about earlier and on other forums and what I was dealing with...............a retailer told me they'd had a number of complaints and it was the latex that was responsible. From the information available there's nothing that deals with it effectively. Can't remember the manufacturer or name but it was around £30 per sq mtr and high density