This rug really stinks.....

[Owner FOSC]

Please see the photos. This area rug is dog urine saturated all around (not too much in the middle because it came from under a dining table). We love this clients dogs - they have been good for business.

I'd appreciate some input on cleaning it. My normal products for urine in carpet are Bridgepoint PetZone with a waterclaw, followed by Urine Stain Remover if necessary. I also have their TCU but haven't preferred it. It does have a very heavy vinegar smell, and I do have about 3 quarts left.

I did leave the client a bit of the Bridgepoint Urine Stain Remover and she swears by it for her carpet. She also used some on this rug. I do know that she has, in the past, just flooded this rug in her driveway using a pressure nozzle on a garden hose (that was not for the urine problem).

I'm not too concerned about making it worse because it's so bad now, and the customer knows the issues and risks. I would like to make it serviceable for her. By the way, she said it cost $3000.

Thank you.

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[Scott W]

Take the rug off site and build a soak /wash pit from some PVC pipe and plastic liner. Use your TCU Neutralizer and a lot of water to flush the urine out of the rug. IT can soak for several hours of needed. Then add fresh water to the pit while pumping dirty water out. Use a squeegee to push soiled water out of the rug during this rinsing process.

The rug should now have enough urine removed that you proceed with your normal cleaning.

PetZone and Urine Stain Remover both pose some risks when used on wool.

[Dbonezny]

I had an issue like this before and the advice that was given to me was, cleaning a rug that was treated this way is like trying to clean a used diaper. If you've informed your client of the possible risks and the amount of damage that was caused by the dogs and the customer running their hoses on it, then you can only do what Scott suggests.

GL!

[Owner FOSC]

Well, I think it worked. I did make a pit with 2x4s and plastic, saturated the rug (after testing of course) with about 9 gal of solution. That's all the TCU I had at 1:8. Almost immediately the urine and solution started running to the low end. I let it dwell about 1 hr then extracted, flooded the rug with water and rinsed, then did my normal cleaning for a wool rug. It came out great except for all the tufts from when client's pets had scratched it (see "A $3000 Mess..." post). The fibers are a little bit stiff too.

Once it dried I put a UV light to it and saw almost no trace of urine. There is still a residual odor, which smells more musty than like urine. The odor is about 90-95% better. I picked up the smallest bottle of Bridgepoint Hydrocide Extreme to try on it. I'll get to that today or tomorrow and let you all know the results.