Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Eddie_Rhone on October 06, 2008, 02:16:00 pm
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Got a problem Old lady phoned week or so ago said she had been using dettol wipes on her kitchen carpet and had walked the smell onto her lounge carpet Asked us to clean lounge carpet to remove smell On carrying out survey i said i couldn't smell anything strong but she was certain Carried out cleaning of carpet and also used Prochem's Clensan to ensure odour was treated.
As you have now guessed early last week rec'd phone call from lady saying that while carpet looks wonderful smell still there. Visited lady and cannot smell anything she describes it as a dank smell like a wet dog or wet blanket but is only aware of it in the areas of the room she walks in, not in the corners or behind sofas.
I don't have any experience of Ozone generators but thought using one might be a way of correcting the odour or if the lady can still smell the odour after treatment at least we can say we have done everything.
Any suggestions of how to deal with this situation gratefully recd plus anyone with any knowledge of using an ozone generator any advice welcome
Kind Regards
Eddie Rhone
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Eddie, this is the hardest odour of all to get rid of, Psycological. If there is a substance causing an odour then it is pretty straight forward to deal with. In instances like this it can be virtually impossible to satisfy the client.
First of all she said it was Dettol, now itslike wet dog.
Nasty thing to say but it may be her that is smelling.
We've had these in the past along with all the ones who think they have Fleas. Don't knock yourself out trying sort her. I certainly wouldn't be going to the expense and risks of using an Ozone generator. At most I'd go back and spray a deodouriser and leave it at that.
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You beat me to it John.
Number of times a client has said they can smell something and I couldnt.
Carried on and did the clean using nothing but special in the nice smelly line and at the end they were ok.
Id go along with what John said, some deodouriser that will linger for a day or so and hopefully"the" smell will have gone.
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Hi Eddie
I have used very successfully StaKill, it's about £2.50 for a 750ml spray bottle, it is specifically for mal odours, vomit, urine stabilizers etc., it smells good and as it is a bactericide it will kill any mal odours, I have it with me at all times now.
It's a low cost and you will have gone the extra mile for your customer, which will pay long term benefits
Your local supplier should sell it it's made by Stapro.
Regards
Martin 8)
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OK so are we saying they still smell it in their head even though there is no smell, or is it that there still may be a very faint wiff but this triggers them smelling it as before?
Thing about smells is you can strongly associate them with something, good or bad. Granny may link the smell to losing her faculties or death which affects the intensity of the perception.
I would try and suggest that the smell you are getting is something similar but different, and preferably pleasant.
I still keep getting a whiff of pee. Really? You know the more I smell it, the more I think it's like new mown hay, reminds me of being out in the country on a sunny day, can you smell it yet or has it gone completely? ;D
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jew drops on her mustache. tell her to get a shave.
sorry couldn't resist.
my first clean was a wool carpet, stunk of wet dog, as it was my first carpet and i wasn't used to the smell, i could smel it for days. kept asking the misses if she could smell it but she obviously couldn't. if it was a wool carpet then she just thinks she can smell it. thats why you can't.
or maybe its not, just a guess from a novice.
derek
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Wether it's in her head or not, go and do it for her, go the extra mile.
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Thats all and good but what do you do. It is hard to get rid of an odour when there are no specific causes of the odour in the first place. It can end up being an absolute pain and can even end up the customer blaming you for the problem in the first place.
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And what have you learnt from this which will make life easier in the future?
Advise people when treating an odour that their nose has a "memory". Tell them not to come into a room where an odour has been treated and start sniffing to test the air. If the smell is still blatently obvious then it will hit them between the eyes-it doesn't need a wine-tasters nose to confirm if there is still a problem.
First of all this will usually stop them calling you out, secondly advise there may be a secondary charge to re-visit-especially if there is nothing to smell.
The problem is that as soon as we try and treat an odour we can no longer smell it because of the treatment we have applied. We won't know the full results until it has properly dried.