Elements of successful deodorizing

by Jeff Cross

Novice carpet cleaners are easily confused in they believe that to remove bad odors (malodors) in carpet or furniture, all they have to do is apply some type of deodorizer.

Many cleaners have spent good money on product but haven't used solid technique in using it.

Some of the steps that make for successful odor control are easy.

Keep it simple

The first thing to do is find the source of the odor.

Carpet cleaners realize that the dog or cat is part of the customer's family and they are there to stay. This makes odor removal a challenge. Never guarantee complete odor removal if the pet remains in the home.

So, on any particular job, do your best find the odor's source (either in the carpet, furniture, drapery, etc) and get ready to work.

The odor's source could be on a hard surface, such as a wall or baseboard.

There are tools you can use to find the source of the odor. A black light will fluoresce contamination, but remember there are other substances that will react to the light, too.

Another tool is a moisture detector. Urine deposits tend to remain "wet" or "sticky" - this means a moisture detection tool, the type with sharp prongs, often finds exactly where the urine is.

Go to work

Step one is to clean the surface. If you cannot remove the majority of the source of the malodor, the next step and value of deodorizer application will be limited.

But realize that the value of the surface should dictate to some degree how much effort you will use.

If a small room of carpet is heavily contaminated and you need to remove it to replace the carpet cushion, seal the floor, and then clean the back and top of the carpet, using a lot of time and chemical... it may be less expensive for the customer to replace it.

That's the customer's choice.

Flooding techniques

No matter the chemical application you will use, you must "recreate" the crime.

This means adding enough chemical to completely wet out the contaminated areas.

For extremely heavy contamination, you may need a "squishy" saturation. That makes using a special water extraction tool to remove the moisture that you injected very important.

Types of deodorizers 

The following information is typical of what is on the market today, for the professional carpet and furniture cleaner.

Oxygen based

Many effective deodorizers used today are oxygen-based.

These work by applying the product to the contaminated site and giving the oxygen (hydrogen peroxide-based or sodium percarbonate, as two examples) time to attack the contamination.

The product will weaken during contact time, but this is expected because the goal of the deodorizer is to release oxygen to the contamination. 

Used in the right application, it works very well as it breaks down odor-causing matter.

Oxygen deodorizers have bleaching properties, but are generally safe for most textiles. There are many types on the market; follow directions completely. 

Sodium hypochlorite (common household bleach) is also an oxygen deodorizer, but not safe for most textiles.

Enzyme based

Enzyme deodorizers work by breaking down what holds contamination together.

The enzyme deodorizer — you could call it a "friendly bacteria" — attacks the contamination, creating enzymes that break down odor-causing matter.

You could make the comparison to your own digestive system. As food is introduced, bacteria create enzymes that help in digestion.

Just as with oxygen-based deodorizers, enzymes must be wet and reach the contamination (and be fairly warm — but this can be difficult) for a specific length of time.

Many of these deodorizers work as long as they are wet and until the contamination has been completely broken down.

Biocides

Biocides are simply chemicals that kill, thus the part of the name "cide".

These are deodorizers that target specific applications, with familiar terms such as fungicide, bactericide, sporacide, etc.

Any chemical deodorizer that claims to kill bacteria, microorganisms or other matter is a biocide.

The benefit to biocides as deodorizers is many of them can be used in or as a pretreatment and then rinsed out during cleaning.

Modifiers

Chemical modifiers work by changing the structure of the odor causing matter.

The chemical attaches itself to the odor-causing matter and alters its molecular makeup, making the odor be perceived differently or non-existent.

Encapsulants

Simply speaking, an encapsulant "coats" or "encapsulates" foul-smelling matter.

It's a type of chemical sealant.

Odors come from the by-product (waste) of bacteria. In order for us to smell or perceive odors, odor molecules must release into the air and make their way to our noses.

An encapsulant deodorizer hinders or stops that action completely. It seals the contamination and keeps the odor molecules from entering our airspace.

The challenge is getting enough encapsulant onto the contamination remaining after cleaning the source.

Masking agents

Masking agents are chemical applications that add a good odor to a bad odor.

Adding a masking agent to contamination doesn't do anything permanently. It gives the area a pleasant scent and "masks" the bad odor while cleaning.

Of course, many malodors are worse when damp, so a masking agent can minimize a bad odor while the textile dries.

Physical sealants

Many odor-causing contaminants (read: urine) find their way into subfloor, existing typically of concrete or wood.

It's very difficult to get a typical deodorizing treatment into these surfaces.

It’s easier — and more economical — to simply seal the surface with a sealant barrier.

A typical sealant could be a specialized paint or a common paint primer.

Some specialized sealants for our industry are chemical applications that create a vapor barrier after drying.
 
Parting thoughts

Successful deodorizing can be a difficult chore.

Remember to keep it simple, first removing the source, cleaning the surface and thinking about what remains and what it will take to destroy or hinder "off-gassing" of odor molecules.

Be cautious about adding moisture to sensitive fabrics, especially fabrics with natural fibers.