5 Easy Ways to Get Odors Out Of The Carpet In a New Home

The papers are signed, the deal is closed, you open up the door to your new home and....ew, what’s that smell?!

Sometimes when you move into a new place, whether it’s a house you’ve just purchased or a rental apartment, you walk in on that first day and uncover some smells you didn’t notice in previous visits. While carpeted homes are lovely on the feet, they can unfortunately trap a lot of odors that don’t depart along with the previous residents.

If your new carpet has some less than pleasant smells, this guide is for you. Here are 4 easy easy ways you can remove odors from the carpet in your new home.

1. Open the Windows

While opening the windows won’t necessarily remove the carpet smell itself, a bit of fresh air can go a long way in getting rid of any bad smells in the short-term. If the house has been unoccupied for some time, you’ll definitely want to get the fresh air circulating.

If dampness is the reason behind the smell in the carpet, opening the windows can help the carpet dry out. This won’t entirely remove the smell in the long-run, but will prevent it from getting worse and give you some fresher air to enjoy in the meantime.

Even if the carpet in your new home smells as fresh as a rainbow, we still recommend you open up the windows anyways! Nothing beats the fresh smell of the outdoors while you explore your new abode. You’ll also save money on the air conditioning bill if it’s warm outside, instead of movers and family letting in the hot air and making it go into overdrive. 

2. Turn On a Dehumidifier

As we mentioned above, dampness is a common cause for why a carpet smells. Beyond opening the windows to bring in some fresh air and help dry things out, running a dehumidifier can also help remove the dampness that is causing your carpet to smell. 

If dampness continues to be a problem, you should investigate the cause and address it directly. After all, the best way to get rid of carpet odors is to prevent them from happening in the first place.

3. Use a Deodorizing Carpet Cleaner

It’s not a bad idea to give the carpets a thorough cleaning after moving in, but this is absolutely critical if the carpets smell bad. Whether you rent a machine or call in a professional, getting your carpet shampooed is a great way to remove dirt, allergens, stains and odors from deep down within the carpet. A simple vacuuming just won’t do the trick.

There are a lot of different carpet cleaning products out there, but in this case, you’ll want to choose a carpet cleaning product designed to remove stains and odours. You can even use these products as a spot cleaner, whether it’s a particularly bad stain or for future spills.

It’s best to get the carpet shampooed before you move your furniture in. This will make sure every spot gets deep cleaned to get rid of any smells that could be lingering. However, if you were caught off guard by the smell, it may be too late. In this case, you can simply go around the furniture and do the best you can.

In high-traffic areas of your home, you should ideally be shampooing your carpets once or twice a year. If the first cleaning didn’t quite remove the smell you may want to schedule your next cleaning for a few months down the line to tackle what’s still lingering in the carpet.

4. Baking Soda

If you’re looking for a DIY carpet odor removal solution, baking soda is your best friend. That’s right, it’s not just for your fridge or school science experiments!

Using baking soda to get smells out of your carpet is pretty simple. First, block off the area so that no people or pets come walking through. Next, take your baking soda and sprinkle it liberally over the carpet. You can also use baking soda as a spot treatment, but in the case of a new home, you’ll probably want to be safe and do the whole thing.

How much baking soda you use will depend on the size of the carpet and how much needs to be treated. If you’re doing the entire carpeted area of your home, you can probably expect to use at least a box or two. If you have a high pile carpet, you should work the baking soda into the carpet with your hands so it can work its magic well beyond the surface.

After you’ve applied the baking soda to the carpet, let it sit overnight (or at the very least for a few hours). Just like it does in your fridge, the baking soda will absorb the odors the carpet is holding on to. 

When the next morning comes around, simply vacuum up the baking soda and the odors will go with it. If the carpet really smells bad, it may take more than one treatment as baking soda can only absorb so much at once.

5. Buy a New Carpet

We hate to have to bring this up…but sometimes the best way to get rid of odors in a carpet is to get rid of the carpet itself. While all of the tips we’ve offered above should do the trick in most cases, sometimes a carpet is just beyond saving. This is especially true if the carpet is old, the previous residents were heavy smokers or the carpet was heavily soiled from pets. 

If you do go the route of having to buy a new carpet, don’t forget to use the advice above on a regular basis to keep your carpet sparkling clean and stay ahead of odors setting in in the first place.

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Nobody should have to live with a bad smelling carpet. By using the tips above (and Sheiner’s very own carpet stain cleaner and odor remover!) the odors in the carpet in your new home will become a memory of the past, just like the people who lived there before you.