Area Rug Angst

Apparently, my dogs read the Zadge's blog.  Harry has taught one of them bad habits from a distance.

A few months ago, I went to Edmonton for the day.  When I came home, I noticed a distinct doggy (urine) smell in the living room.  I couldn't find any puddles, but figured it must have come from the area rug.  I tried all sorts of ways to clean it, but the smell didn't go away.

A few weeks later, I rolled it up and removed it from the room. The smell was gone, so my next step was to take the rug to a company that specializes in cleaning area rugs.  They said they'd use a black light to find the stain and get it cleaned.  Worst case scenario, the entire rug would have been peed on and it would cost $300 to clean.

One. Month. Later.  They called me (after I've called them multiple times) to say that the owner of the business - who apparently has a bionic nose - had sniffed my rug, and he didn't smell anything.  They could clean it for me for $100, which wouldn't help with any urine enzymes, or if I was really worried about the smell, they could do the full $300 clean.  When I asked about the black light to find any spots, they said it would take another month or two before they could do that - and then they'd still need to clean it

I thought of tossing the rug, but it cost me over $800.  Replacing it with a cut of basic bound carpet would cost $500.  I'm not spending a lot of money on a new rug when I've got an old dog who is losing control of his bladder.  And, not having a rug isn't an option I like either.

Needless to say, I'll be picking up my rug tomorrow.  I called a friend who has a carpet cleaner, and I'm going to use that.

Probably should have done that in the first place.