De-Odorize Stinky Carpets Easily and Naturally

I had never experienced stinky carpets in my life until recently… and whew! Not an experience I cared to repeat! And then… repeat it again I did. For some reason, our carpets (I don’t know if it’s because we’re in a basement apartment or what) seem to be particularly prone to collecting odors. What seems to happen is that moisture seeps into the carpet and never properly dries, thus creating a mildew-y nasty smell that can be tricky to eliminate.

Thank goodness for Google! I knew vaguely that baking powder was supposed to help with this problem, but wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. Of course, every article I read had a slightly different approach to it, and some were more detailed than others, so in the end I kind of pulled my own method together based on what I read.

The first stinky carpet episode required several treatments (yes, it was that bad! The problem was that a drink had spilled underneath the couch, so we couldn’t find from whence the smell was emanating until it was really bad.). The second stinky carpet episode was significantly improved after just one treatment, and although it could probably use one more, I haven’t had the time to actually do that yet (on my lengthy to-do list…). So instead of actually doing it, I’m writing a blog post about how to do it. (Ha!)

The magic ingredient is baking soda. Yep, that’s it! I buy it in a big bag at Costco because I use it for all kinds of cleaning purposes. You’re gonna need a big bag for this particular project, too, because it uses up a LOT of baking soda.

I also added some Purification essential oil, which really helped a lot as well. You can add Purification or any essential oil, or you can just use the baking soda straight up.

How to DeOdorize Stinky Carpet

Here’s the process for de-stinkifying (that’s a word right?) your carpet:

1. If moisture is involved (in my case, the first time it was), soak up as much of it as you can with rags.
2. If you want to use essential oils (I recommend Purification), add a few drops to your baking soda (depending on the amount of carpet you want to cover, you’ll probably be using several cups of baking soda).
3. Liberally (I mean liberally!) sprinkle pour baking soda over the affected area. Spread the baking soda around with your hands or a spoon (or a spatula, whatever gets the job done!) until all the stinky carpet is covered. Don’t be afraid to push the baking soda down into the carpet a bit; that will help it be more effective.
4. Let it sit overnight.
5. When you’re ready to clean it up, first use a broom and a dustpan to brush up as much of the baking soda as possible. Don’t try to vacuum it all up or you’ll run the risk of ruining your vacuum cleaner.
6. When you have only a thin layer of baking soda left, vacuum it up.
7. Once all the baking soda is removed, do a “sniff test”. Get your nose right up to the smelly spot on the carpet and take a whiff. Is it still stinky? Then repeat the process.
8. Repeat as necessary until all odor is gone.

And there you have it folks: Better than Febreze or any other chemical-laden toxic carpet cleaner. Plus also, cheaper! Yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.