Posted by Gene on September 06, 2006 at 15:20:46:
I use vinigar on materials. It seems to cut thru odor better than anything and leaves a fresh smell. It also works great for washing the walls.
Getting rid of the carpet should do it. If the subflooring actually smell/are stained…then coat them with some good heavy stail block paint, to help seal it in.
Getting rid of old smell - Posted by Brian_wa
Posted by Brian_wa on September 06, 2006 at 14:54:02:
I recently bought a house that has a very weird smell (like the kind of smell at old retirement homes). Please don’t be offended because I’m just trying to describe the smell. I recently got the house painted and yet the smell was still overwhelming.
I’m in the proccess of replacing all the carpet and would like to know if there’s anything that I could use prior to installing the carpet to ensure that the smell would be gone.
Please help!
Brian
Re: Getting rid of old smell - Posted by Joe
Posted by Joe on September 07, 2006 at 13:28:32:
I went to a Janitorial Supply store and they provided me with an ENZYME solution. Worked great! You have to remove any carpeting and then apply it to the concrete or sub-floor. It was only about $10.
Re: Getting rid of old smell - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on September 07, 2006 at 08:10:00:
Brian:
I agree with the others. The odor is soaked into the carpet. And if it’s as strong as you say, probably into the sub floor below, it’s it’s wood, not concrete. Replacing the carpet, and sealing the sub floor should do it.
I usually have these problems renting to “South Asian” tenants, and a strong “curry smell” permeates from their cooking. If I don’t replace the carpets, I steam clean them, sometimes more than once, and paint all the walls.
Because I rent apartments, and need a quick turnaround, after the apartments are freshly painted, I paint the baseboards again with white high gloss enamel paint that emits a strong odor, and lingers for a while, masking the smell of the curry while showing the place. Oil based polyeuterine on kitchen caabinets does the same. Trim the moldings if you need more paint smell. Meanwhile, people looking see that I’m painting the baseboards, and comment on how good it’s looking.
I find that in a few weeks both the enamel paint smell and the curry smell are gone, if you don’t go out of your way to sniff.
Frank Chin
Re: Getting rid of old smell - Posted by Wayne-NC
Posted by Wayne-NC on September 06, 2006 at 16:25:41:
Try odorexit.com