Smelly Carpet
(by Amy Tate [Iowa])
April 10, 2001 10:40:33 
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Chuck [OR])
April 10, 2001 11:40:36
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Greg [MN])
April 10, 2001 11:45:39
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Terry [CO])
April 10, 2001 12:32:50
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Michelle [NY])
April 10, 2001 12:41:15
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Michelle [NY])
April 10, 2001 12:44:19
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by JoAnn [GA])
April 10, 2001 13:15:07
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Jim [Ohio])
April 10, 2001 14:09:04
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by June [Pa])
April 10, 2001 14:10:43
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Kerry [CO])
April 10, 2001 15:05:44
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Reid [ks])
April 10, 2001 15:20:57
RE: Smelly Carpet
(by Tom [Indiana])
April 10, 2001 22:21:03 | I recently rented a home that required no pets. After moving in and the humidity rose so did this horrible smell! I asked the landlord about it and she said the tenants before us had dogs in the house when they were not suppose to. She refuses to replace the carpet. Shouldn't she have kept the deposit from the previous tenants and replaced the carpet? The smells is really bad. What recourse do I have? 166.44.104.163 |
| The landlady should take up the carpet, replace the pad, and clean the carpet. That's a job, but a lot less expensive than replacing the carpet. I'd suggest that you demand that she either fix the problem or let you out of your lease and return all deposits, etc. If you have a lawyer have him write her a letter. She's in an unfortunate situation, but that's not your fault. 198.172.19.2 |
| Pet smells can be pretty bad. If the smell wasn't obvious untill the humidity rose, it's probable that your landlord didn't know about the problem until after she returned the previous tenant's damage deposit. Asking her to replace the carpet is going overboard. Perhaps you can ask her, in a non-confrontational way, to clean the carpet. 209.32.152.85 |
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Invite your landlord over so she can smell how bad it is. Perhaps she is not fully aware of the extent of the problem. But, if she is not willing to clean or replace the problem, you have two recourses: (1) move out or (2) Sue in small claims court. If you move out, do it via notification that she is in breach of the lease because the place in not habitable due to the smell and give her opportunity to correct it. You may have a fight getting your deposit back and defending yourself against the obligation of the lease. Otherwise, sue in small claims demanding she correct the situtation. Those are my thoughts, but someone else may have better ideas. 129.80.22.133 |
| Tough situation. I have had that happen with a cat and I did not smell anything until it got warmer out (humidity). But now you have moved in and all your furniture,etc. is on the carpet (obviously much easier without furniture). I agree with Chuck, except that in my complex there is sound board between upstairs/downstairs which also absorbed the smell(I was just going to treat the floor under the pad and replace the pad.Ended up having to cut out soundboard-my point is that sometimes it is not as easy as it looks. 24.169.98.129 |
| P.S. Amy: As a LL I am cringing when I say this, but you may just want to keep bugging her until she is sick of hearing from you about this-if you let it go so will she-because LL does not want to deal with this. 24.169.98.129 |
| The LL's on this site have given you good advice, but there is one more step. Your requests should be in writing. Keep a paper trail. Should you need to break your lease or sue in small claims you will need verification of everything. Sit down right now and write down everything that has been said between you and your LL. Then write a request for relief from the smelly carpet and mail it to your landlord. Keep copies of all correspondance and if there are verbal contacts between you two keep a notebook on everything said, and follow it up with a letter to the Landlord outlining what you understand from the conversation. You will be better prepared if the situation is not resolved in a timely manner. 209.214.64.10 |
| I'm with Chuck on this one. If that ever happened to one of my rentals, they'd get new carpet and pad. The tenant would have to agree to put up with the inconvenience of the new installation. The tenant would then sign a statement that carpeting is new carpet and I would add that to the check-in list. 63.183.54.106 |
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All of the above, and in the meantime, you might try spreading baking soda on carpet. Baking soda is the "wonder drug." It removes odors. (You can even use it as a make-shift deodorant.) It makes chocolate cake rise, You can brush your teeth with it. You can put some in with your wash. 205.188.195.33 |
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I agree that the landlord should do something about the problem. However you could take some action to rectify the problem in the meantime. Most janitorial and chemical supply companies sell an enzyme product designed to take the smell of pet urine out of carpets. One brand name is Microdyne. It costs about $20 a gallon. Mix it with water, put in a spray bottle, wet the carpet and let it sit overnight covered with plastic. It can work wonders. My own house had been empty for a couple of years when I bought it and a broken window had made it a haven for neighborhood cats. I couldn't afford to replace the carpet when I bought it but Microdyne took all the odors out and made it habitable. A poster on another thread about this topic a few weeks ago mentioned that a black light will tell you where on the carpet the problem areas are. 64.111.67.182 |
| At the very least I would ask that they rent you a carpet cleaner and whatever chemicals you need and see if that will work . You know even if you keep a person's deposit i have never seen a deposit big enough to replace carpets . 152.163.207.188 |
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A good product to use here is OdorXit. But this is going to involve taking up the carpet and pad and treating the floor, then putting down new pad, and putting the old carpet back down. Some times you have to even pull up the nail strips, treat under them, then replace with new ones. 1-877-OdorXit 63.52.218.108 |