Blog

Every Spring we post our advice about raised humidity and problems with carpets not drying and consequently starting to smell.  Well this problem can also manifest itself over the Winter months as well!

Yes, it's that time of year again folks.

After what seems like months of constant rain, it looks as though our summer is finally here. And with summer comes warmth and higher humidity! 

We are at that time of year when we start getting lots of phone calls from customers saying they’ve cleaned a carpet and their customer has contacted them a few days later saying the carpet is smelling. 

What causes this is the high humidity in the air, which prevents the carpet drying quickly, as humid air can’t absorb any more moisture. After a few hours, tiny Mould and Mildew Spores deep in the carpet pile start to germinate and grow. As they grow, they off-gas a musty smell. 

Some cleaners are still making the mistake of going back and re-cleaning the carpet. This is the worst thing you can possibly do as you are just adding more moisture and will make matters even worse. 

These Moulds and Mildews require moisture to thrive so will go on giving off an odour until the carpet is completely dry, which in the humid months, June – September, can take up to a week, sometimes even longer. 

Berbers and Saxony (long pile) type carpets are the most susceptible to these problems. 

How can you avoid it? 

You can use Dri Pods or Air Movers to dry the carpet at least some of the way before leaving the property or leave a Dri Pod in situ and pick it up later.

Sometimes rinsing with a suitable product with anti-fungal properties, such as

• Envirosafe (https://www.restormate.co.uk/envirosafe)
• or Craftex Micro Kill (https://www.restormate.co.uk/micro-kill) can help to mitigate this problem. 

ORDINARY DEODOURISERS/MASKING AGENTS AND ANTI BACTERIAL DEODOURISERS WILL NOT WORK. 

If you want to use deodourisers during the cleaning process then we would recommend using

• Alltec's Odour Clear range (such as Odour Clear Fresh Linen - https://www.restormate.co.uk/fresh-linen)
• or Restore Odour Neutraliser (https://www.restormate.co.uk/odour-neutraliser)
• or Restore Ocean Fresh Odour Eliminator (https://www.restormate.co.uk/ocean-fresh-odour-eliminator) which are also anti-fungal. 

To remedy an existing problem, install dryers and spray carpet with Envirosafe or Micro Kill and brush well in and simply leave.

Please note this is a different scenario to when the carpet has actually been over-wetted. In this situation the backing, underlay and sub floor can all become wet leading to serious issues. In these instances, all the various layers need to be treated and dried out and, in extreme cases, the underlay may need replacing.