Getting Urine Smell Out of Basement Carpeting

I think you will probably have to just suck it up and replace the carpet. It's probably in the padding and cement under like you said.

First of all I would contact the company that came out to clean my carpets and let them know you are not happy with the results. Either they will 1. come back out until they DO get it right or 2. they will give you your money back.
I have always found that vinegar works the best combined with Baking Soda. Clean carpets with vinegar/water solution-let it completely dry and sprinkle some baking soda....but depending on the area would you spend as much money trying to rid of the smell compared to just getting some new carpet/flooring??? You could be correct in the fact that the urine could have got down into the padding and concrete. Which will make it even more difficult to get rid of the smell-eww! Worse comes to worse you might just have to rip up the carpet and treat what's underneath but I don't think you have enough time to get all that done within the time frame of your guest arriving! Combined that new carpet tends to have a strong odor itself as well and might not be appropriate for someone to sleep in for a few weeks-personally I love hardwoods or laminate-it's so much easier to me but others say they hate it-but I love it! Good Luck-I don't understand people......why didn't they lock the dogs up into a crate??? At least then if they did their business they could have cleaned it up without compromising their home??? I guess if the dogs were kept down there for long periods then that is why-how shameful would it have been to lock them up in a crate all day long? However much better for the dogs to run around downstairs and urinate and poop everywhere....personally if it were me I would just rip it up and dispose of it! Crates are meant as a means of their den and those dogs had free range to poop and pee where they wanted not compromising their "den" space. Although I don't agree locking them up in there ALL day. If you are that busy then you don't need a dog.

If you already had it cleaned I would stop throwing more money at it and rip it out. Unfortunately if it is that bad, the urine probably soaked through the carpet into the padding and concrete below... no cleaning can get that out.

If the urine has soaked into the concrete you may have to get it sealed before putting in new carpet, or the smell will remain. Also make sure to wash down the walls, if some of the dogs were male, there is a change they peed up the walls as well. Friends of mine bought a condo a while back with a "cat room"... they ended up having to replace the flooring and part of the drywall (where the male cat had marked) - it was disgusting.

Good luck!

We had to treat ours with Nature's Miracle and really super saturate it, then keep fans blowing on it for about 5 days. Google "real" Nature's Miracle because evidently what goes by that name now isn't the original. We got the original formula (can't remember its name) and it worked. If that and the enzyme cleaner don't do it, you'll have to replace the carpet. The urine most likely saturated through the pad underneathand may have rotted it.

I hate to say it, but have you thought about just replacing the carpet?? I don't know how big the area is, but you could probably get a nice carpet for a reasonable price, although I'm not sure you'd be able to do that in a week, but maybe.

Otherwise I agree with the baking soda idea. Did the previous owner use a professional company or just "clean" it himself? I would call a place like Stanley Steamer and see what they say and how much they'd charge, this is probably a farily common issue for them. Good luck!

I would find another carpet guy. Someone who can specifically clean dog urine. I don't know that you can do it yourself if it's that bad. Our carpet guy has a special enzyme he uses that cleans to the concrete under the pad. He has saved our carpet more than once at our rental property.

Our neighbors in our old neighborhood were renting the house next door. The previous tenants had three dogs that were not housebroken. They kept them gated in the great room area (because the lady didn't want them to pee near her children's room. At least she had some standards) .The landlord had the carpets cleaned, but over time the urine from the pad came up through the carpet. The landlord would not pay for a second cleaning, so in an act of desperation, my friend cleared the living room. She brought the house in and soaked the carpet pretty good, hoping to loosen what was coming up. I think she poured Simple Green on top and ,using a floor scrub brush, she scrubbed the carpet. She used her carpet cleaner to get the water up. She kept having to rinse the carpet to help clean up the Simple Green. She gave it one last soak and then spent hours and I mean hours vacuuming up the water to get it as dry as possible. She even borrowed our steam cleaner so she and her husband could simultaneously clean. They also had fans blowing to help speed up the drying. They were pretty meticulous because they wanted to be sure it was dry and didn't mold. It did not fix the stains, but it no longer smelled. They just put an area rug over it. They wound up buying the house, but they made sure to invest in new carpet right away!

My parents bought a new home and we came to visit when my daughter was around one. She was crawling and walking. My parents moved in and realized they had pet issues with their carpet. They couldn't schedule a time before our visit with the carpet guy (Our trip was last minute and they work and couldn't take off). They did not want their grandchildren climbing, crawling or smelling the carpeting. Their temporary solution was to rip it all up. They scrubbed the concrete floor and added some area rugs for comfort. After we left they had new flooring installed.

We've had carpet issues (not urine, thank heaven) and it's time to take the cash you're pouring into cleaning and get new carpet and new padding. Animal urine is notoriously bad for permanent stains and smells. At a minimum you should, if you really feel you just must keep the carpet, rip it out and replace all the padding that's beneath it -- all of it -- before having the carpet professionally cleaned. Still, I'd say, replace everything. Sorry, but you'll have to pay up either way -- home remedies won't work on this, it's beyond anything baking soda or Nature's Miracle can handle. And as others note, the concrete beneath it may be permanently affected as well. I'd go to the nearest reliable, professional carpet store and tell them what's up, and replace it all, cleaning and drying the concrete professionally before you lay new padding and carpet. If you have kids they will want to play down there and you don't want them playing where there is a forever lingering smell.

Have you tried plain ole baking soda? Sprinkle, let sit, then vacuum - repeat as necessary.

Good luck!

I'd rip it out and clean the concrete with something like pine sol - hopefully it's not in the walls. That would be really nasty. When our house was first built we had guests in the unfinished basement (it had walls and ceiling but not carpet) we just threw some rugs around to make it a little more livable. The kids loved it - you could bounce basketballs, skateboard, skate and everything! Also when you go to replace the floor consider pergo - it is more expensive than carpet but it is indestructable and super easy to clean!

If I had company coming in a few days, I'd call a professional company and have them come out and work on it. I'd also pick their brains about the best long-term remedy.

If the odor is that bad (I love Nature's Miracle and it works for us nearly every time!), you may need to pull up the carpeting and padding and dispose of them. Will your in-laws tolerate a room with a bare floor? At least then you can check the flooring and do some cleaning before they arrive.