Need to replace old, stained, stinky hall carpet.

Carol Ann
by Carol Ann
Would like to pull up old, stained, stinky carpet in hall and replace with something that will be easy to clean up old dog's accidents. 1) after carpet is up, how do I prep what's underneath that (sub floor?) and especially to get any residual smell out 2) What sort of flooring should I be looking for (hall is 17.5' X 4') ? Can't afford lots of money and would prefer to do it myself (woman, 66 yr old) but if I must, will pay for pro to do it all.
  6 answers
  • Nelly Hennessy Nelly Hennessy on Jul 02, 2017

    Have you check to see if you have a wooden floor under the carpet? If so have it refinish. If not the prefab. Wooden floors would be your best bet. It comes in color choices, and finish such as high gloss, matte. Please, have someone do this for you.

    the wood is cleaned with a wet rag, follow by a dry one to buff it!!

  • Suzette Suzette on Jul 02, 2017

    Hi Carol Ann, First things first. If you are going to tackle this, please make sure you wear a face mask! After you get the carpet up, Scrub the floor thoroughly with a solution of water and vinegar. Then, sprinkle baking soda directly on the stains and let sit for a couple hours or as long as possible. The baking soda will help soak up and deodorize the smell. Wipe away the baking soda with water and another clean cloth. Make sure your dog can't get near this area until you have finished. It could make him sick. If you still have animals, you may want to consider replacing it with vinyl flooring. If you go to Lowe's or home depot, someone there will be very happy to help you!


    Good luck!

  • Just Retired Just Retired on Jul 02, 2017

    I think the best option would be to just pull up the sub floor and replace it. Then put down tile or a floor that is durable and easy to clean with pet accidents. I would stay away from a laminate though because if it gets wet and you don't see it right away the laminate floor can swell in the seams.

    • Erin Berardinelli Erin Berardinelli on Jul 03, 2017

      A sub floor is just plywood nailed to the rafters, over the basement, that's what carpet n tile goes on. Definetly Put in a new subfloor, as the urine has to have soaked into the existing one, and that smell never goes away. Good luck

  • Crystle Gibson Crystle Gibson on Jul 03, 2017

    unfortunately, pet stains permeate extremely well. Removing the sub flooring is excellent advice. on one hand, if you remove the pet smell, you're golden, but if your pet goes there again, your efforts are pretty much worthless. :(

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Jul 03, 2017

    If you are dealing with a concrete subfloor a good scrubbing may be enough. I assumed from your question you were talking about a wood subfloor. Or if you meant the subfloor is the only thing between the carpet and basement except for the floor joists, and the subfloor does need replacing, in that case you may need a carpenter. I've helped put in new subfloors and I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own. I guess the concern is the urine has probably soaked into the subfloor and it may be difficult to reuse it with new flooring. I would pull up the carpet and see what you are dealing with.

  • Mike Marinoble Mike Marinoble on Jul 03, 2017

    I had this same problem in my house when we were expecting our baby. Lots of pet stained carpet and stains that had permeated the subfloor and were still gross and stinky. Here's how I successfully did it on the cheap: First, I tore up all the carpet and removed all the old tack-strips and any nails, staples or other irregularities in the wood. Turns out, somebody had put carpet over a nice hardwood floor but the stains had gone completely through the wood so it couldn't be saved. Next I used baking soda to soak up any oily pet stain residue, (there was a lot!). I sprinkled the baking soda on dry and worked it into the stains. I let it sit for about a day before vacuuming, sweeping and wiping it up with paper towels. It was still gross so I then used a strong bleach mixture, (2 parts hot water to 1 part bleach), to soak the subfloor. I evacuated my wife for two days for that part. When it was dry, the floor was blanched and free of the dark, oily pet stains. However, I wanted to be sure they wouldn't seep back up off of the 2x6 floor joists so I sealed it with 5 gallons of KILZ Sealant and Primer, (about $36 bucks at LOWES). To do our 1400 sq. foot home was labor intensive but the cost was amazingly low. Bleach=$12 Baking Soda=$10 Paper Towels=$12 and KILZ Sealant with a couple paint rollers=$40. The methods worked VERY well and I did it all for less than $75. Good luck and thanks for reading.