To ask for help with my rug

[DwangelaForever]

Ok so over the weekend we had a leak in our bathroom that was going into ceiling so we didn't use our bath/shower until the plumber came on Monday morning. To save bringing my toddler and baby to my mum's to get washed like we had done we set up the baby bath in the living room. Toddler managed to unplug it and water from the bath went everywhere all over the rug.

The stupid person that I am I put a towel down on it to absorb the water and flipped it so it would be beside warm radiator. Needless to say this wasn't the best course of action and 3 days later my mat is still slightly damp and smells like a mixture of wet dog and cats piss.

AIBU to ask how I can get rid of the smell/clean it properly? (I know I'm not but I'm posting here for traffic)

P.s no laughing at the thread name 😁

How big is the rug? Will it fit in the washing machine?

I have many handmade rugs and do this:

Assuming the rug is too large for a washing machine, get the rug outside onto a hard surface. If you can, and it's raining which is all the better, pop a few dabs of dishwashing liquid or shampoo on it and work the suds into the fibres using a long handled broom. Agitate gently with the broom. Let the rain wash the suds out or pour cold water over it until the run-off is clear. (Tribal rug makers say you should wash until the water is clear enough to drink) Lay the rug on a floor inside to dry, using towels to absorb excess water.

You may need to repeat this a few times if it still stinks, but eventually you will get rid of the smell. Diluted Zoflora sprayed over, front and back, is excellent I find for getting rid of dog smells. Even if you don't think its worked, leave it for a week or so you'll find the smell has gone.

Profession cleaning, especially for valuable rugs, is horrendously expensive, at least £100 each, so give the above a try. There are some quite useful youtube videos to help you too.

If you can't machine wash then wait until it's completely dry and cover it in bicarb for a few hours, really rub it in and get all the fibres covered, then Hoover/shake it off.

No it's quite big it's one of the rectangle ones from Ikea that are £40

@fluffer will it not go all smelly again if I just leave it indoors to dry again?

I would dry it off thoroughly by hanging it on an airer in the bath. Open the window and shut the door.

What type of rug is It? I have a vax carpet cleaner which cleans carpets and hard floors. If it's a shag pile then I would be tempted to use a dry shampoo and vacuum it up using the hose attachment.

What fluffer suggests might be difficult at this time of the year, I would use my vax with the upholstery fitting. That will leave it almost dry and then put it over the airer in the bath to dry off.

It won't go smelly if it's clean and the air is circulating, and really you have no choice because of the time of year. In manufacturing and professional cleaning they are left to dry flat naturally to avoid distortion.

You could put towels underneath in rotation to speed the process but actually they dry quicker than you might imagine, unless they are very thick and at £40 yours probably isn't?