Why Does My Area Rug Have a Rubbery Smell & How Do I Get Rid of It? – Sedona AZ
Cleaning stinky rugs is just another day in the life of those of us at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care here in Prescott AZ. Many clients come to me and ask if we can remove the odors in their area rug. For musty odors or those caused by urine, the answer is typically yes. However, if your rug is smelling like rubber or latex, there may be nothing we can do for the odors with cleaning alone.
Rubbery odors are pretty exclusive to tufted area rugs. This type of rug is made by punching loose tufts of wool through a foundation fabric (as opposed to knotting the yarns individually). This then gets held together by a layer of latex glue and a piece of monkscloth laid over the back to give the rug a finished look. Depending on the quality of the glue the manufacturer used, odors can arise years down the road for very soon after purchasing the rug.
Low-quality glue creates this rubbery latex smell that can stink up a whole room in no time. Certainly not the most appealing odor and not something you want to have coming from a rug that you enjoy having in your home!
Unfortunately, these types of odors cannot be corrected with cleaning alone. The problem is with the construction of the rug itself. We at Arizona Oriental can do a great job at getting other odors out, but we unfortunately cannot do much for odors caused by the glue holding the rug together.
For older tufted rugs that are showing signs of the backing detaching (parts of it are beginning to lift up), there is the possibility we can remove the current backing and scrape away the old, low-quality glue. We will then thoroughly clean the rug, apply a fresh lay of higher quality glue, and lay a new piece of monkscloth over the back. Getting rid of the old glue can help to lessen the doors – they may not go away completely, of course, but doing this often helps quite a bit.
If your area rug has mystery odors and you can’t figure out what the cause is, feel free to give us a call or stop into our rug washing facility any time! Don’t let your stinky rug get you down!
Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!
Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Sedona, Prescott, Prescott Valley, and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training, including certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures the area rugs of our client’s receive the utmost in care.
Call us for more information on the cause of your stinky rug's odors and quotes at 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available). (04-20-17)
