Many people wonder how to remove new carpet odor after they have installed new carpeting in their home or office and find that there is a pungent, irritating smell to it that just will not go away. Unless you have installed natural fiber carpeting, you will almost certainly deal with the new carpet smell that is common to flooring that is made with nylon, polypropylene, acrylic and any number of other synthetic materials. Natural fiber carpeting such as 100% wool tends to emit less or no odor except for, in some cases, some initial smell from dyes used to color the material. Rugs made from jute, although considered a natural material, usually has a hemp or grassy odor that may never really go away completely.
If you have purchased carpeting recently and want to eliminate the new carpet odor, here are some suggestions as to how to remove or significantly reduce the offending emissions.
1. Steam Clean – Even though your new flooring is obviously clean, it helps to steam clean your new carpet with a nontoxic steam cleaning detergent in order to remove loose fibers, dye residues, and residual chemical rosins from the fibers. Good products to use are any number of green, nontoxic steam detergents on the market or you can visit the AIM Company online and purchase Safe Clean steam cleaning detergent.
2. Seal with Carpet Sealer – After you have steam cleaned your floor and have vacuumed as much water residue from the fibers as possible, while still damp, apply a nontoxic carpet sealer to the carpet. A good carpet seal is Safe Seal that is quite effective and can be found at the AIM Company. The instructions suggest that you apply by spraying the Safe Seal over the entire amount of carpet space you have steam cleaned. Be sure to let dry thoroughly before walking on the flooring. If you have a room humidifier, you can place it in the carpeted area to hasten the drying process and to insure that you have thoroughly stripped the floor even to the foam padding underneath.
3. Re-do if Necessary – If this process does not lessen or eliminate the odors as much as you want, you can redo the process. You may find that certain materials are harder to get rid of new odors than others. A hundred percent nylon carpeting for example, tends to respond better to sealing than combination materials or those made purely from polypropylene. In fact, 100% nylon carpeting emits a little less obnoxious odors even when new than many other materials.
If you find that you just can not tolerate the new smell that new carpeting almost always emits, then you may want to consider using wood, tile or natural wool floor coverings. However, if you choose to use new carpeting, you will find that just knowing how to remove new carpet odor can bring a breath of fresh air to your home.