Can this rug be saved?

[redjusplease]

DH spilled a full latte on our living room rug 2 days ago and now it smells like death. Turns out he attempted to clean it by pouring clean water over it repeatedly and soaking it up with towels.

Obviously I'll LTB. But also...can it be salvaged? Is it worth scrubbing with fairy liquid? Is there another trick?

(It's taken me this long to locate the source of the smell because it doesn't smell like coffee - it's sort of a sour pooey smell, and I hadn't been able to isolate it to this spot in the living room. So I've been hunting the house for rogue nappies / wipes; cleaning pram and scooter wheels; inspecting shoe soles etc.)

hire a carpet cleaning machine, or get a second hand bissel spotcleaner, and then make sure it drys fully x

It'll be the milk that's gone of. Yes you can clean it but you need to clean the full depth, not just the top. Scrub it on a patio or in the bath. I would use warm (not hot) biological laundry detergent but you do need to rinse it well after. Fairy might well do the job too.

*gone off.

Don't bother cleaning it, just make TB take it with him.

Depending on what the rug is made of I'd either hand wash it gently in the bath or spot clean it.

If it was expensive and prized, get it professionally cleaned.

Obviously it depends on the rug/what it’s made off etc so would advice caution with this method, but I hung ours over the kids climbing frame and jet washed it. It was filthier than I thought. 😮

Sounds like someone needs a lesson on how to clean a rug OP. He obviously doesn't know the basics.