How to Get Rid of New Carpet Smell

If you’ve ever bought a new car, inevitably it had that “new car” smell. Same goes for buying new carpets for your home. Once they’re installed, there’s a “new carpet smell” that can linger for days. Now some people love this smell and it brings them great joy. It’s a way to signify they’ve bought something new for their place and they’re making a new start– hence, the new smell. Others, though, do not like it when their carpets smell in any way, and they might actually hate the new carpet smell, so much so that they’ll do anything to get rid of it.

What are some tips for getting rid of new carpet smell?

Air it Out

First, you can try opening up the doors and windows of a newly carpeted room in order to “air it out.” If it’s summertime, turn on the AC, and if it’s winter, turn on the heat. This way those systems will get air circulating in the rooms of your house. Meanwhile, having the windows open will help that new carpet smell escape to the air outside your house. If and when you have a fan, use it in the room you want to air out, with it blowing “out the window.”

Baking Soda

Another way to combat new carpet smell is to sprinkle some baking soda on your carpet. Rather than vacuum it up right away, like so many people are impatiently inclined to do, let it linger a day or two in the carpet. Then vacuum it up. Should the smell persist, repeat the process.

What causes the new carpet smell anyway? There are chemical compounds in carpeting, which are put there by carpet manufacturers. To get rid of these compounds, try vacuuming your new carpet once daily or once every other day– this should help get rid of the chemical compounds and rid the carpet of its smell.

Some people have tried using detergent on new carpeting, to try and “wash” the smell out. This generally replaces one odor with another, and not in a good way, so avoid using detergent on carpets.

Buying the Right Carpet

Finally, there’s such a thing as “Low VOC” labelled carpeting– this is what you want to buy if you truly want to avoid new carpet smell in the first place. VOC stands for “volatile organic compounds.” If carpeting is “Low VOC” then it’s not going to have a strong smell.

At Carpet Closeouts in Phoenix, we can help you pick out the right carpet for your needs, and we can even help you figure out which ones “smell more” or “smell less.” Call us at 602-493-7700 or visit our showplace on N. Cave Creek Road for more information.