Said It Here

How to get chemical smells out of carpet

Chemical spills like nail polish remover leave behind a stubborn, lingering odor that survives professional carpet cleaning and home remedies like baking soda and vinegar. This leaves the room reeking for days despite the carpet looking completely clean, preventing people from getting rid of the persistent fumes.

Overview
People affected16 accounts across 4 forums
Workarounds found46 items attempted
Community agreement462 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

  • People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
  • This comes up 17.2× more often in r/CleaningTips than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

46 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Airing out the room
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    Cleaning with baking soda and vinegar
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Sprinkling bicarbonate of soda on the carpet, letting it sit, and vacuuming it up
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Using air fresheners
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Replacing the carpet padding
    Did this help you?
  6. 6
    getting a dehumidifier for the basement
    Did this help you?
  7. 7
    performing deep cleans to remove settled dust and dander
    Did this help you?
  8. 8
    Carpet cleaning
    Did this help you?
  9. 9
    Spending hundreds of dollars on specialized odor removal products
    Did this help you?
  10. 10
    Removing the carpet entirely
    Did this help you?
  11. 11
    Pouring vinegar down the pipes
    Did this help you?
  12. 12
    Running hot water to fill a dry P trap
    Did this help you?
  13. 13
    Pouring bleach down the sink
    Did this help you?
  14. 14
    Using enzymatic cleaners like Natures Miracle or Odo Ban for pet urine
    Did this help you?
  15. 15
    Painting walls
    Did this help you?
  16. 16
    Gutting the basement
    Did this help you?
  17. 17
    Cleaning hardwood floors
    Did this help you?
  18. 18
    Planning to clean air ducts
    Did this help you?
  19. 19
    Considering or renting an ozone machine
    Did this help you?
  20. 20
    Running air purifiers
    Did this help you?
  21. 21
    Checking drains for sewer gas
    Did this help you?
  22. 22
    Getting carpets professionally cleaned
    Did this help you?
  23. 23
    Sprinkling baking soda and vacuuming
    Did this help you?
  24. 24
    Planning to replace the carpet
    Did this help you?
  25. 25
    Deep cleaning the apartment
    Did this help you?
  26. 26
    Opening windows
    Did this help you?
  27. 27
    Running fans
    Did this help you?
  28. 28
    Using chlorine dioxide bombs and sprays
    Did this help you?
  29. 29
    mopping and vacuuming every few days
    Did this help you?
  30. 30
    using a large air purifier
    Did this help you?
  31. 31
    getting fabric and rugs cleaned
    Did this help you?
  32. 32
    washing dogs every one to two weeks
    Did this help you?
  33. 33
    cleaning dog beds and harnesses
    Did this help you?
  34. 34
    using odor-neutralizing products like zero odor pro
    Did this help you?
  35. 35
    Applying baking soda and letting it sit overnight before vacuuming
    Did this help you?
  36. 36
    Spraying a 1/2 warm water and 1/2 acetone mixture and allowing it to evaporate before vacuuming
    Did this help you?
  37. 37
    Using an enzyme spray or cleaner marketed for pet messes
    Did this help you?
  38. 38
    Using a carpet cleaner machine with Bissell or Oxi Clean solutions
    Did this help you?
  39. 39
    Using Odoban with a cleaning machine
    Did this help you?
  40. 40
    Applying ammonia in a well-ventilated area
    Did this help you?
  41. 41
    Using an ozone machine
    Did this help you?
  42. 42
    Hiring a professional upholstery cleaning service
    Did this help you?
  43. 43
    Using an enzyme cleaner designed for pet odors
    Did this help you?
  44. 44
    Renting a carpet and upholstery extractor machine
    Did this help you?
  45. 45
    Leaving the cushions and covers outside in direct sunlight and a breeze to dry fully
    Did this help you?
  46. 46
    Running an ozone machine in an enclosed space
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Flooring1 person · September 2026

“No matter how much I carpet cleaned or the hundreds of dollars on products it always smelled like piss.”source ↗

Admirable-Engine5263 · r/Flooring · 373 upvotes
r/hvacadvice2 people · September 2026

“I moved into a 70 year old house and the old owners lived here for the last 50 years. They were in their 80's and the house smells like old people. We got all of the walls painted, the basement has been gutted, and all the hardwood floors were cleaned before we moved in.”source ↗

“It's been 5 months since we've moved in and it has not even seemed to get any better. My sister came over to borrow a shirt and when she got home, she said her roommate could smell the old smell from down the hall on the shirt. I then wore one of my jackets out of the house and could smell it all night on my jacket.”source ↗

“I am obviously now freaking out because I've bought nice couches and rugs and worry the smell is soaking into all my things and ruining them.”source ↗

be_kind_always18 · r/hvacadvice · 22 upvotes

“I’m in the same boat in my new apartment. Smells like cat shit and mold. Apartment maintenance guys are fuckin worthless.”source ↗

Parking-Menu2654 · r/hvacadvice · 1 upvotes
r/CleaningTips12 people · September 2026 – November 2026

“cleaned up drunk throwup that stayed overnight , this morning im cleaning it with warmwater and vinegar and soap. but the smell it still on there. what to do?”source ↗

Unusual-Inevitable32 · r/CleaningTips · 18 upvotes

“All of it reduced smell maybe 30%, I still feel it strongly in living room... Horror, why is it so hard. :-(”source ↗

No-Setting-5054 · r/CleaningTips · 11 upvotes

“What can I do to make the doggy smell go away?”source ↗

“Why can I not get rid of the odor?”source ↗

SleepingBeauty0007 · r/CleaningTips · 9 upvotes

“i’ve cleaned myself and opened the window and turned on fans and i cannot get this smell out.”source ↗

“i’m super sensitive to smells like this and it’s driving me crazy and giving me a headache. HELP how do i get it out???”source ↗

Hungry-Astronomer641 · r/CleaningTips · 7 upvotes

“when I turned on the washer, the worst smell came out of it. Strangely, the smell was not coming from the washer itself, the smell was coming from the sink.”source ↗

“I also would appreciate if anyone knew a good brand of urine remover to get the dog pee out of the carpet.”source ↗

RottenPeener · r/CleaningTips · 6 upvotes

“Old rugs smell like feet - help”source ↗

“They’re old like backing is brittle. Thin. Cheap. But what I’ve got. They were in a place that apparently had a mildew issue.”source ↗

“I don’t have physical strength to scrub.”source ↗

Training-Prize3140 · r/CleaningTips · 4 upvotes

“I had a couch with strong odor, we left it in full autumn sun and a breeze and it cleared up substantially.”source ↗

AdmirableRespect9 · r/CleaningTips · 3 upvotes

“Got carpet cleaned professionally looks pretty good but the smell is still there.”source ↗

“Carpet looks brand-new but smell is killing me.”source ↗

Fit_Half_76 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“I’ve tried airing out my room + cleaning with baking soda and vinegar hoping that will make the smell go but it still reeks even a couple days later.”source ↗

mayanp · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“the carpet in our bedroom still stinks like dog.”source ↗

“I’ve tried sprinkling baking soda and leaving it for an hour before vacuuming but it didn’t work.”source ↗

winenotbeabitch · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“I kept wondering why it smelled like dog by our front door.”source ↗

nakedpagan666 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“You could try baking soda, letting it sit maybe overnight before vacuuming, but honestly they sound like a lost cause.”source ↗

Urist_Bearclaw · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes
r/HomeMaintenance1 person · September 2026

“I ended up investigating a spill and noticed that the edge of the carpet smelt a bit earthy. This goes pretty much around the basement on exterior walls wherever there is carpet.”source ↗

DrewDOTpy · r/HomeMaintenance · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised