I had a lovely Karastan Original wool rug, soiled by our elderly dog over and over. I paid $100 about 7 or 8 years ago for a professional to clean it, deodorize it, hang it to dry, etc. I was so excited when it came back since I had tried so many things which didn't work. Then, it rained, and the smell was back as bad as ever.

I literally gave it away at a garage sale.

A flat weave may be easier to clean, though. I'd use vinegar and water, then purchase a rug cleaner. We just borrowed DS's for water in the basement to extract it from the carpet and clean it, and it was fantastic. Hoover, around $185 at Sears. You could probably find one much cheaper.

Good luck,
Dee

For years I have used Stanley Steemer. I have them just steam clean, not deodorize.

They said they can do wool, but I would call to check. They usually have great coupon deals.

We also have them clean our kitchen tile and grout.

We put a tarp down in the garage, move the rug out there, and use our Bissell rug cleaner. We then let it dry for a few days, then put it back. I have this rug on engineered hardwood floors, and don't want to risk moisture damage by cleaning it in place.

My dog hasn't had any accidents on this wool rug, but she does shed, roll, and waller on it, and it gets a musty doggy smell after a while. We just gave it a cleaning about two weeks ago, and it cleaned up well and is much fresher looking and smelling!

What do you use for spot cleaning?

I use white vinegar and water, or Nature's Miracle when I have it. And there aren't any stains, it just smells.

I have a foreclosure dog. She's a sweetie, but likes to pee on soft things.. like my rug.

Odoban.. sold at Home Depot for less than 10bucks a gallon. Blot up the urine from on top of the carpet and underneath it, and then I douse the spot with half Odoban and half water, and then blot that up the same way.
I've used Odoban on sofas, curtains and carpets and it hasn't damaged them at all.
On rainy days, like today, I smell the light scent of Odoban.

lauriedeee - Have you used Odoban successfully long after the urine was deposited and cleaned up with other products or is it successful only on freshly deposited urine? In other words, would it help if I went back and used it on old spots?

Java

Leafy,

We too have a Hoover steamer vacuum that works great. It has made it through three kids and multiple pet clean ups.

Since you have an ongoing problem, why not get a steam cleaner so you can clean up after each accident?

I seems like steam cleaning a rug on hardwood floors would be hard on the wood?

I don't have anywhere (like an empty garage) to put the rug while it is damp. And it's wool. I think it will smell bad while it is wet?

Javachik, Odoban works on new urine and old. My old dog used to pee on the floor constantly, and she was a big dog so we had rivers. I'd mop it up but the room she was in started smelling like old urine. It was disgusting especially on rainy days. I found out the urine was seeping under the woodwork where I couldn't get to it. I tried everything. Enzyme cleaners, special pet odor removers, and nothing worked. Then I read a post from a landlord saying how he used Odoban to get rid of cat urine smells. I tried it. I poured it full strength in the area where she urinated and let it seep under the woodwork. At this point we were desperate. I think I did it 3 times full strength and the odor is gone. When it's used full strength the Odoban scent can be overpowering, but it goes away and leaves a lighter scent behind. It's been a year and no disgusting dog pee smells at all.
I use it on my carpet too. If my new female urinates on it I just pour the Odoban on it and sop it up.

I couldn't live without that stuff with all the pets I have. It comes in a few scents now too. The only scents my Home Depot carries is Lavender and Eucalyptus so I use either but they also have Orange and I think the other one is mango/strawberry or something like that.

Leafy, I would not steam clean the carpet on top of the hardwood - I would be afraid that the dampness would damage or warp the wood underneath. You could put a tarp or a plastic dropcloth under rug, clean it, and leave the barrier in place until the rug had dried, or move the rug to an area in your house that isn't hardwood (is your kitchen tiled, for example) and clean it there.

I don't really notice much of a smell when my wool rug is drying in the garage after a cleaning - it usually smells like the rug cleaning solution. However, it is in the garage, not in my living room :)

Given your situation, I think I probably would invest the $150 and let the professionals clean it.

Leafy, I know you said no dog training info and I hope this doesn't fall under that...but I had a geriatric cat who started to pee on anything that was on the floor. Somehow, I found puppy pee pads at the pet store. I guess they have a scent that attracts dogs, but it worked for the cat, too. They aren't attractive, but aren't that large and if you tried one on the rug, perhaps you could see if she would choose that area to pee on, then you can gradually move it away from the rug into a less visible place. Or just leave one on the rug and change it when she uses it. Much easier than constant cleaning.

I think I will go for the professional cleaning and look into the odaban for follow-up. Our kitchen floor is also wood, so cleaning it in there isn't an option and I am not sure I want to smell it wet in my living room.

Olychick, no worries :) We tried pee pads several times, first after six months of "regular" housetraining had little effect--thinking maybe that is what she had been trained on in her original home. No go. She won't use them.

She has gone a long way (from NEVER going potty outside under any circumstances to always asking to go out first and being "accident free" all day, every day when we are not at home. So, she clearly CAN hold it, but something about 4am when there is a full moon on a day with a T in it when her moon is in Aquarius (or some combination of events equally impossible for us to figure out) just makes her pee on the southwest corner of the rug.

$150 for 3 more years sounds worth it. Or research other rugs? Maybe an indoor/outdoor rug that you can take out to the yard and hose off every so often?

That is one lucky whack job pup to have landed with someone who has such a good sense of humor.

I am going out to look for that Odoban. I would try that first and then spring for the $150. Definitely don't steam clean directly over the hardwoods.

Give your pup a pat from me. She would get along famously with my mother/son tag team.

Aha, when you said she pees at 4 a.m., then you can do what I did.

Try this after you have your first pro-cleaning, which is a good idea.

Before my Boston Terrier passed away last year, she was doing the same thing...at night. So every night before bed we'd roll the large round rug where furniture wasn't sitting on it. It looked like lumps of little mountains, and she'd end up pottying on the wood floor.

Every morning I'd clean the floor and lay the rug down for the day. It was a hassle but I knew she wasn't long for this world.

Another thing you could do is buy doggie gates and set them up overnight.

I had to roll 1 large round rug, and two long runners every single night and every morning. But it kept the carpet clean!

Until the cat would come puke on it. LOL.

*Please, no dog training advice. I have successfully housetrained more than a dozen dogs to perfection but this whack job came from a shelter as an adult with zero training and more OCD and behavioral problems than you can shake a stick at. She just won't train past this point and no, she won't sleep in a crate--we tried that for 18 months and she barked. the. entire. time. I can't afford the divorce! On the other hand, if you can arrange for Cesar Millan to come stay with us and work with her, PM me and I'll give you my address!*

I know you asked for no dog training advice, but I'm just wondering if you might put a puppy pad down in that area and see if she would use that. Worth a try! As for cleaning the rug, I don't think $150 is a bad price at all.

tina

OakleyOk, you are a genius! Why didn't I think of that? I am the last one to leave the living room at night, and I could easily roll the rug up--there is no furniture on top of it except at the end opposite where she pees.

Of course, I believe she will still pee on something during those mysterious 4am episodes, but all the other rugs she would have access to are either machine wash or pretty disposable kitchen rugs.

Woo hoo! I am going to do the professional cleaning and then do the rolling up at night.

She can't live forever and when that day arrives that she goes to meet her maker, I am going to buy a new rug.

I have several wool flat-weave rugs: low-cost Navajo, Saltillo, and Kilim rugs.

I wash them in the home washer, with Woolite, using the extremely gentle cycle and adding a 1/4 cup of Febreze liquid to the rinsewater.

then I hang them in the garage to dry.

Leafy, it took me a while to figure that one out too! Let me know if it works.

We no longer have dogs, but when we did, Odoban was the best of all the products I tried. Wool seems to hold the odor more than other fabrics, and I don't think you can ever totally get rid of the odor. Humid climates tend to bring those odors back. But Odoban does minimize it. As much as I loved our "girls", I don't miss having to deal with this. As they aged, they did not have the run of the house, especially at night. No more dogs in our future.

When Stanley Steemer does the cleaning, their machines extract the water out of the rugs so they are barely damp. I've had rugs cleaned from them for over 10 years and have never had a problem with the HW's underneath.

Only time I regret is I had them out on what turned to be one of the coldest days of the year, and the rug took a little longer to dry.