Sofa stinks after being cleaned

[Anono2022]

Hi. Hoping someone can help? Well praying lol.

Cleaned my sofas and rug yesterday with the Vax Spotwash Home Duo. I was really impressed with it's performance and felt better that everything looked and smelt fresh. Got as much water out as possible (nothing was being suctioned up in the end) dried for 10 hours, then reassembled the sofa cushions to use the room again, but went to bed do it's been left overnight. I've walked downstairs today and it bloody stinks like feet. It's not the rug. It smells like it's the sofa when my nose is to it but I've gone downstairs and you can smell it as soon as you get to the bottom of the stairs. Landing and stairs carpets doesn't smell at all. And I cleaned them after doing the sofa and rugs.

Please can anyone help me?.

T.I.A x

I can't help you I'm afraid, but I can sympathise as it sounds like a one of those awful anxiety dreams! (My worst household olfactory experience was a stinky paint job that took three long weeks to fade.)

I hope someone will solve the mystery for you on the thread shortly. Must be a chemical reaction of some sort?

Are the cushions feather filled?
They always stink when they are wet but the smell goes when they dry out

That's interesting, @tenbob.

OP, have you got a dehumidifier you can use to speed up the drying process (or can you borrow one for a day)?

The bolster cushions are feather inside.

I'm so bloody annoyed and upset to be honest. None if it smelt before. Just had a few unsightly water type marks on which I wanted to remove due to having a home assessment for my son today. I wanted it to all be fresh. I felt so accomplished. It was a lot of work to do but I was so proud at the results.
I looked forward to going downstairs earlier hoping to be hit by a fresh fragrance. I got to the bottom few steps and I was mortified that I had someone visiting when it smelt like that. I've opened all windows and took the cushions back off to air but bloody hell I'm not impressed.

No dehumidifier sadly

Open the windows and turn the heating up?

All natural materials smell when wet. Wool carpets stink of damp dogs after being cleaned but it’s only short term, and worth it for the satisfaction of everything being clean!

I'd hazard a guess it's because it isn't dry

I've used a wet vac on the carpet but did it in the summer, same for a huge rug which was left outside in the sun to dry

Open the windows & put the heating on, it'll help dry it out. It won't stink once fry.

I hate to say it but I once washed a couple of feather cushions and I never got the smell out 😬 hopefully you'll have more success!

Well it still stinks. But I still can't find the exact source. When I put my nose to things I don't really get anything but walking into the room you can really smell feet. Cushions feel dry to touch but may have some moisture in them still.

How short term are we talking for it to naturally disappear?

Do you have an open fire? Wet soot stinks horribly and if it’s that it might be that the sofa isn’t as clean as it looks and might need another go.

Thinking outside the box. If you have an electric blanket, you can use it to dry the cushions. Just make sure to cover heat up and create enough heat to dry the covers

No my house is really small. No fire. The heating is on. House feels lovely. I've ran my nose over everything. I just can't find exactly where it's coming from

It didn't dry probably. This is why those machines are awful. Call a professional to sort it out!

It will take a week or two, we had the same when we did ours. Best to do it in Summer so it dries quickly

I've had this before and it lasted a few days before smell had gone (had to check with sister in case I'd gone noseblind).

It will just still be damp parts of it and need to properly dry out which unfortunately in winter just takes a bit of time. I only get it cleaned now during summer months.

Thanks for the tip. My lesson has been learnt. I'll just have to ride it out

Hiya. Thought I'd update.

Smell reduced each day so I do believe it hadn't completely dried out, which realistically of course it wouldn't have dried so quickly 🙈
The smell was minimal this morning, I was expecting some fragrance but it was just like a mild chemically sort of smell. Not unpleasant but much more bearable.

But I decided to sprinkle the sofa and rug with baking soda and let sit for an hour. Used the turbo pet attachment on my vac to clean it up and the living room smells lovely.

Thank god, and thank you for the advice on here. I dont actually hate the machine now and am back to thinking what a good job it did

It's the dampness it's bcz it's not being properly dried I had that problem
With a rug when I used the rug doctor

I baught a sofa they dripped it of and day after i came in my living room and there was a fowl smell i found out after sniffing that it was the sofa and so i had it pro cleaned and it smelt lovely as it was
drying out i left windows open and it was sunny and dried out within a few days and low and behild now its comply dry it stinks again so im going to get rid of it and buy a brand new 1