Water was spilled on his rug a few days ago and now the smell of skunk where the water was spilled is becoming overwhelming. Tried scrubbing it with soap but once it dried the smell came back. And there absolutely was no skunk in the house. No animals in the house either. Wondering if my daughter peed on that spot ( she pulls her diaper off sometimes). Please suggest something to get rid of the smell I can't afford the steam cleaner right now but I have a wet/dry shop vac.10 points for best answer thanks in advance for your help
It could be spilled milk...or some other decaying food item...those can really stink. I would try undiluted white vinegar. Pour it on the spot and let it soak in for a while (put a towel under the rug so it doesn't soak through to the floor beneath). Blot it up and allow to dry. Pour baking soda powder on it overnight and then vacuum. If that doesn't work and you have direct sun where you are located...sit the rug out in the sun for the day. Sometimes the UV light from the son will kill any bacteria if the stain is some food item decaying. If you get the smell to decrease but not go away entirely....febreeze it at the end.
Boys track all kinds of smelly things into the house on their feet. It could be skunk smell. Everyone who has told you to use plain white vinegar is right. If you want to heat it to near boiling, that could not hurt either. Then dry as best as you can with white towels or color fast towels. Use the shop vac to extract as much water as you can and put a fan on the spot. You want to get it as dry as possible. Health food stores and pet stores sometimes sell safe enzymatic cleaners for pet stains. They really do work on all kinds of animal or urine stains and odors. Tomato juice works because of the enzymes in tomatoes. I would not put it on your carpet. It will smell like rotten tomatoes over time, and stain your carpet red. If your son did get into a patch of ground where a skunk had been, some of the smell might also be lingering on his shoes and clothes. Sometimes time is the best solution to bad smells. Time, fresh air and sunshine all work wonders. If you can't pick up the smell right away, just keep the room picked up, open a window when you can, run a fan to keep air circulating around, and open the blinds.
Your are gonna need to google this to prove i'm right because it sounds crazy. Tomato juice takes out that horrid urine/skunk stink. A skunk sprayed the front of my door once it was horrible. Its important to know if its carpet or a removable rug. Either way the liquid that made the stinky spot undoubtedly soaked through to the floor. Pour some canned tomato juice around then onto the spot before you go to bed let it sit over night. The next day vacuum it up with your wet/dry vac scrub it with plain old dish soap water. Then vacuum that up to remove the tomato stain. I HATE FABREEZE. It does NOT clean. It is only a fabric perfume that temporarily covers odors. When the perfume goes away the smell leaks through the dirty area again. If you do NOT want to use tomato boil two cups of water have you shop vac ready por the boiling water on the carpet vacuum it up at almost the same time. Repeat. the boiling water will kill any live bacteria sanitize the area. Which ever method you choose put a dry towel on the spot after you vacuum it walk on the towel you might need to fold the towel use tow or three of them to get it dry.
The only other substance that I know of that leaves a smell like a skunk would be skunk bud. How old is your son? Try using either baking soda and sprinkle it on the spot and leave for a bit then vacuum off or use a little bit of white vinegar and water and spray the spot and let dry. vacuum as usual.
