How do I get rid of the urine smell in the bathroom *carpet* ?

[Whisperlily]

We're temporarily living in a house that has carpet in the bathroom. Blech... If the house were mine, I'd rip it out and put down a *washable* floor. The problem is, with 2 little boys that splash/drip, it's starting to smell like urine. :(

I've tried shampooing the carpet with my shampooer, spraying various things that promise to tackle "pet odors" but nothing's working. I haven't tried shampooing with an Oxi-clean solution yet, that'll be my next step, but before I do that, does anyone have any good ideas? (Also, my shampooer doesn't get around the toilet well because it's such a tight space, so I can't even do a good job of shampooing the worst area!)

Again I ask... Carpet? in the Bathroom? *sigh*

[Close2MyHeart]

Oh yuck! I never understood why people put carpet in a bathroom. :shrug

My step-dad installs carpet and says windex gets everything out. I dunno if it would help, but it might be worth a try. :shrug

[Chris3jam]

Try the "Urine Gone" stuff (as seen on TV!! :shifty) for pets. Should work for human. . . .er. .. .. urine, too. :)

[Katherine]

honestly... I would write the landlord and ask him if you can install a vinyl floor at your own expense. Tell him you guys are doing your best to protect the carpet but it's would be so helpful with the kids to have cleanable floor. He'd be crazy to turn down an offer for a free upgrade. What's he got to lose? :shrug

[Katherine]

And I would try baking soda/vinegar for the smell.... scrub/rub baking way down into the carpet let it sit for a good while, and then spray or pour vinegar over it. Sop up what you can. Let it dry and then vacuum up the remaining powder.

Is there any way you can pull up the carpet and clean or pour baking soda *under* it? It's possible your carpet is clean, but the smell is coming from the subfloor and/or padding that has gotten wet. If the carpet is not glued down, you should be able to lift it and then replace it when you're done.

Also, if it makes you feel any better, I've had the same problem with my little boys (urine smell in the bathroom) and we have hard floor. I've about lost my mind cleaning *every* single thing in that bathroom trying to get the smell out. Little boys just have a gift for getting pee in strange places. :giggle

[MomTo7]

Try the "Urine Gone" stuff (as seen on TV!! :shifty) for pets. Should work for human. . . .er. .. .. urine, too. :)


FYI: I bought "Urine Gone" and it did not even almost work. :( My cat got mad and pee'd in my closet. I have to cleen it ever week and it still stinks! :(

I'd vote for ripping it up and putting down even cheap peel and stick tiles. If the landlord agrees...great. If not, you lose your deposit but not your comfort. :giggle

[Chris3jam]

Well, it seemed to work for us. But, it's the "real" stuff. . . . .the enzyme stuff. I forget the name. . ...

[kazoo]

Try something with tea tree/melaleuca oil in it. I have some Sol-U-Mel from Melaleuca that works fabulous on stains and stuff like that.

I had a carpeted bathroom growing up My mom hated cold bathroom floors so when they built, they put carpet in the bathrooms. The toilet almost overflowed once and I was mortified, thinking about nasty water getting embedded in the carpet. UGH! :think Is there a way you could get some thick plastic or something to put down around the toilet! Like those hard things they make for office chairs to roll around on? I guess there's always those toilet rugs w/ the cut-out for the toilet -- maybe a washable one of those? It wouldn't catch all the splatter of course, but might be helpful...

[Rabbit]

It really could be that the padding or subfloor have gotten nasty. You can pull the carpet up around the toilet and have a look, and then put the carpet right back. If it's just the padding, you can even rip that up, scrub the carpet, install new padding (very cheap) and put the carpet back. Then those rugs that fit around the toilet can help catch future drips.

[Whisperlily]

honestly... I would write the landlord and ask him if you can install a vinyl floor at your own expense. Tell him you guys are doing your best to protect the carpet but it's would be so helpful with the kids to have cleanable floor. He'd be crazy to turn down an offer for a free upgrade. What's he got to lose? :shrug


Well, I would definitely do this if it weren't for the fact that we're moving as soon as DH gets back. So we'll only be living here another 6 months or so. :shrug


And I would try baking soda/vinegar for the smell.... scrub/rub baking way down into the carpet let it sit for a good while, and then spray or pour vinegar over it. Sop up what you can. Let it dry and then vacuum up the remaining powder.

I think I'll try this. :yes



It really could be that the padding or subfloor have gotten nasty. You can pull the carpet up around the toilet and have a look, and then put the carpet right back.


This house is new to our landlords. They bought it a few weeks before we moved in. (They're dear friends of ours). I think the people who owned the house did a band-aid job of fixing some problems so they could sell it. I'm pretty sure this carpet (a low pile) is glued directly to the old linoleum that was in the bathroom. No way of peeling it up. It'll be a nightmare when they rip it out to replace it. Glad I don't have that job! :phew

[chelsea]

I don't know what to advise, but the thought of ripping up the carpet and finding years worth of other people's pee mildew almost makes me nauseous! :sick I'd vote for hiring someone else to do it instead. :P~

[RachamMama]

vinegar does it.... :yes

[Iarwain]

Bac-Out (made by Bi-O-Kleen) is very good at removing odors because the enzymes actually digest what causes them. I'd definitely try the baking soda/vinegar first and if that doesn't work Bac-Out probably would. In any case the biggest thing is that whatever you use has to soak down in to the area so it can get to what's causing the odors in the first place. Pee that is soaked deep into the carpet isn't going to be touched by something sprayed on the surface.

And ITA that bathroom carpet is intrinsically a BAD idea. We lived in an apartment once that had a carpeted bathroom and the toilet overflowed... :sick

[allisonintx]

You can try all of that :yes but it probably won't actually work because you're looking at a soaked carpet, pad and subfloor or concrete. I fought and fought to get rid of the smell, including bleaching the carpet (we have olefin which is bleachable) and it still smelled. I used enzyme detergents, Essential Oil, pet odor removal products, Human urine is very hard to get out of fibers when it has been there for a while, especially in a bathroom. I would pull out the carpet and pad, paint over the subfloor or slab with KILZ and lay stickie tiles, if I was in a rental where that was the problem.