When it comes to eliminating odors from carpets, it’s important to work on removing the smell and not just masking it. Many cleaning professionals use powder, spray or liquid deodorizes, but these often don’t have a long-lasting effect.

Some of the best carpet odor removers are chemicals with bio-enzymes, which destroy odor-causing bacteria embedded deep in the carpet fibers and converts them to carbon dioxide and water.

Digesters are typically formulated to allow carpet-cleaning detergents to be used in an extraction cleaning process, typically a restorative clean. If a food source exists, such as vomit, urine, food or drink, the digesters will consume the food source eliminating the odors.

“Almost all odors have the same chemical breakup so the enzymes are so universally well regarded for removing odors,” Martini says. “Typically, when removing odor from a carpet, applying the enzyme to the carpet and covering it with a damp towel, it will keep the enzyme alive as long as there’s moisture.”

As the enzyme “eats” the odor, it will discharge hydrogen and oxygen and will eventually evaporate. Just be sure that the surface is damp and not wet, or it could add mold to the equation.

When possible, adding fresh air helps to expedite the process.

Some odors are more complex and require pre-treating before the extraction process.

“Each odor is specific to a product. If you’re dealing with milk, you should use enzymes, if you’re dealing with mold, you need a bleach product, if you’re just dealing with a dirt smell, a disinfectant cleaner should suffice,” Nef says.

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