How to get alcohol smell out of carpet

During the festive season you’ll probably host a gathering (or two) You might also have to tackle stubborn alcohol stains on the carpet. Sadly, the smell is a lot harder to get out of carpet than laminate floorboards or tiles.

Soft surfaces hold onto moisture and odour, so it can be difficult to completely remove any unpleasant pongs. But with the right tools, you can have your rug smelling fresh once again. Want to know the secret? We’ll give you our top tips in this article.

Removing alcohol smell with Bio one™

So, you’ve thrown a party. And now you’re left with some stubborn and sticky stains on your plush flooring. Firstly, don’t panic. The funky-smell coming from your carpet might seem like it will never go away but with just two items you can make it good as new. Gather some paper towels or a rag to soak and wipe, and an enzyme cleaner, like Bio one™.

1. Sniff out which areas are causing the smell and focus your spot cleaning there.
2. Spray the area thoroughly with Bio one™ until it’s entirely covered and very damp.
3. Allow the solution to soak into the fibres for five to ten minutes.
4. Dab off any excess with a cloth. If your home no longer smells like the local pub, just leave the area slightly damp and you’re all done. Repeat from step 2 if it needs more work.

Why does spilled alcohol make such a bad smell?

The scent of your favourite wine, beer or spirit, can make your mouth water when it’s poured into a glass. But when booze gets spilled on your carpet and the smell sticks around, it can become really unpleasant (especially when you have a hangover!). Why? The ingredients. For example, the flavour of beer can be influenced by yeast varieties, hops, grains, and flavourings like fruit and spices. These are the same things which cause the unpleasant sour odour that lingers in your home after a beer spill. The worst part – the longer you leave the accident without cleaning it, the more potent the bad smell will become.

How long does the alcohol smell last?

It probably lasts a lot longer than your favourite bottle of wine. How much time the odour sticks around does vary. This depends on a few factors – how much alcohol was spilled, when it was cleaned and where it happened. Even if you made an effort to mop up the accident straight away, the stench might still last a few days without an enzyme cleaner, like Bio one™. If you topple some onto the rug and don’t remove it quickly, the damp padding beneath may eventually cause mildew to grow. Mildew creates a rotten-egg odour until it’s professionally cleaned – and you definitely don’t want that to deal with.

Tips for handling alcohol spills and smells

When cleaning your rug, don’t use a red or dark-coloured cloth. That’s a recipe for disaster as it can cause colour transfer between materials, leaving you with a worse stain than you started with. It’s best to clean up alcohol spills on your carpet with a neutral, white cloth or simple white paper towels. 

When cleaning, blot in a circular motion, moving inward from the edges to prevent spreading or smearing the stain.

Testing brand-new cleaning products is vital. The last thing you want to do is damage your flooring. Do a patch test on a small, discrete section. Only use cleaning products that are safe for carpet and rug use, like Bio one™.

How to prevent your carpet from smelling?

Now we know how to remove alcohol and odours from the carpet, here are some useful tips to stop it from happening next time. 

• Let some fresh air in. Any odours in the house can be weakened with enough ventilation. If you open windows and doors, it’s much less likely that your carpet will develop odours over time.
• Your carpets can be ruined if too much moisture seeps down into the fibres. Invest in dehumidifiers to help you get rid of any excess moisture in your home. 
• Regularly dust and sweep away any dirt on the surface of your rug using your vacuum cleaner or a clean brush.
• Stay on top of cleaning your carpets and keep them smelling fresh with products like Bio one™. A quick spray will leave a fresh scent and remove bacteria to stop any nasty odours in their tracks.
• Every couple of weeks, expose your carpet to the sun. This helps dry it out, stopping moisture build-up which could lead to mould or mildew, however, don’t do it too frequently as it could cause colour fading.

What are enzymes?

Don’t be fooled to think that because enzymes are natural they are less effective than chemical cleaners. Enzymes are nature’s very own powerful cleaning tools. Making them the go to choice for customers who do not want to spray harmful chemicals around their home.

Simply put, enzymes are all around us performing millions of important tasks in our bodies and in nature every single day. They are a type of protein that act like a biological catalyst to speed up the break down of organic compounds.

Similarly to how saliva, (which contains enzymes), initiates the digestion process by breaking down food in our mouths, cleaning enzymes use the same ‘enzymatic digestion’ to effectively break down and eradicate the organic proteins present in urine, faeces, vomit, drool, dirt, food, and more.

This process not only makes cleaning easier but also prevents the growth of bad bacteria – the root cause of those unpleasant odours – in the air, on surfaces, and within the fibres of your soft furnishings.

Try out Bio one™ today, vomit and the other nasties is what nature created enzymes for.

Keep Bio one™ to hand for all those alcohol happy accidents and clean ups. – BUY NOW