How to Get Rid of New Carpet Smells in Your Home

My friend Marty just had carpet laid, and now she has those familiar "new carpet smells" in her house. Carpet itself emits stinky chemical odors, not to mention the smells from the adhesive if it's glued down. The last time I had carpet laid, I complained about the smells to the installer. He remarked that he had been laying carpet so long that he doesn't even notice any odors anymore. For the rest of us who don't like- or are even allergic to- the smells, the sooner we can eliminate them, the better. Read this informative article and learn how to get rid of new carpet smells in your home!

#1 Isolate the New Carpet Smells and Ventilate the Room
When I got new bedroom carpet a few years ago, I shut off that room from the rest of the house. I
slept in another bedroom for a few nights until I could rid of the new carpet smells. I opened up the windows to help ventilate the area. If you can set-up fans in opposite windows and get cross-ventilation going, that's even better. One fan should be pulling air in while the second fan blows air out the window. I've heard that putting plants in the room helps rid of new carpet smells.

According to The Carpet and Rug Institute, ventilating the room for one to three days is all you need to do. I think it depends on how sensitive you are to the chemical smells, especially if have allergic reactions or respiratory problems.

#2 Vacuum the New Carpet Over and Over Again
Sweeping the new floor covering also helps get rid of new carpet smells in your home. This works well if your vacuum has a HEPA filter.

An extra odor fighter you can use in addition to sweeping the new carpet is baking soda. Sprinkle baking soda on it and let it sit overnight. Vacuum the soda up in the morning to get rid of new carpet smells in your home.

#3 Use Febreze or What Odor? to Get Rid of New Carpet Smells
Marty considered spraying her new carpet with Febreze Carpet Odor Eliminator. I thought it would work, but I hesitated about spraying the floor covering with more chemicals. I suggested a natural, non-toxic product called "What Odor?" if she was going to go that route. The late Billy Mays pitches it on the web site video. Yes, he's still selling products. You can see the "What Odor?" video here to find out all about this product.

#4 Use a Steam Carpet Cleaner With Vinegar and Water
To get rid of new carpet smells in your house, you can do what I did. I poured two cups of white vinegar into the tank on my carpet cleaner. I then filled the tank up the rest of the way with hot water. Vinegar is well-known for it's odor-killing properties. Clean the carpet as you normally would, but without using shampoo. If you don't want to do it yourself, call a professional to do a hot water extraction to get rid of new carpet smells in your home.

Afterward, I turned the fans back on in front of the open windows to continue ventilating the room. The air movement helped dry the carpet too.

#5 Use AFM's SafeChoice Carpet Seal
If you can still can't get rid of new carpet smells enough to satisfy your nose, you can use a carpet sealer. AFM makes a "unique sealer designed to prevent the outgassing of harmful chemicals used in carpet backing." SafeChoice Carpet Seal is non-toxic and odor-free. The company web site is here.

Resources
http://www.carpet-rug.org/about-cri/what-is-cri/frequently-asked-questions.cfm