Carpet and Pad Removal in Boise for Pet Odor That Won't Quit

The carpet in the back bedroom looks fine. It's been vacuumed, shampooed twice, and is only a little faded by the window. Then a hot summer weekend leaves the house closed up, the smell is waiting at the front door, and it's time to think about carpet removal in Boise.

We hear some version of that a lot. People have tried every cleaner on the shelf and paid for a professional shampoo, and the smell still comes back.

By then they're done fighting it. Here's what's usually going on under there, and what pulling it out actually looks like.

Why shampooing doesn't fix it

Pet urine doesn't stay in the carpet fibers. It soaks through the backing and into the pad, and the pad holds onto it like a sponge.

From there it works down into the subfloor. A carpet cleaner mostly reaches the carpet itself. The problem is a layer or two below that.

Heat brings it back. A closed-up house in a Treasure Valley summer will wake up an old stain fast, and winter does the same once the furnace is running and the windows stay shut until March.

So when is cleaning not worth it anymore? If the smell came back after a professional cleaning, the pad is usually soaked through. More cleaning won't get to it.

What pet odor carpet removal in Boise involves

We start by cutting the carpet into strips. That way it rolls up tight and comes out without dragging across your walls and door frames.

Then the pad comes up. In most homes it's stapled to the subfloor every few inches, and a soaked pad likes to tear instead of lifting in one piece. It's slow, messy work. It's also where most of the smell finally leaves the house.

Next we pull the staples, so whoever installs your new floor isn't working over all those little metal points.

We check the tack strip around the edges too. Pets favor corners and the spots along walls, so the strip there is often stained or soaked, and that comes out. Clean strip on the other walls can sometimes stay if your installer wants to reuse it.

A single bedroom doesn't usually take long. A whole floor of an older place in the North End, or a big open layout out in Eagle, takes longer, and we'll give you a realistic time when we see it.

The subfloor tells the story

Once everything's up, you'll see it. Dark rings and blotches on the plywood or particleboard show exactly where the trouble spots were.

It's a little gross. It's also handy, because now you know what needs treating instead of guessing by smell.

Sometimes there's hardwood under there instead of plywood, which happens a lot in older Boise homes. Urine on oak tends to soak in deep and turn black, and sanding doesn't always get it out. Have a refinisher look before you count on saving those boards.

What happens to the subfloor after we leave

We're a removal crew, so here's the honest part. Pulling the carpet is half the job. The other half is treating the subfloor before anything new goes down.

That usually means an enzyme cleaner on the stained spots, plenty of drying time, then an odor-blocking sealer primer over the affected areas. Plenty of homeowners handle this themselves. Others hand it to their flooring installer.

If a section of particleboard has gone soft or swollen from years of soaking, it probably needs to be cut out and replaced. That's carpenter or installer work, and you'd much rather find it now than after the new floor is in.

Tip: Don't book your new flooring install for the day after removal. Give yourself a few days to clean, seal and let the subfloor dry all the way. Sealing over damp wood just traps the problem under your brand-new floor.

Where the old carpet goes

We donate or recycle a lot of what we haul, and we'd like everything to end up that way. Pet-soaked carpet and pad aren't going to anyone else's house, though.

That stuff goes to the landfill. Jobs in Boise, Meridian and Kuna head to the Ada County landfill, and work in Nampa or Caldwell usually goes to the Canyon County one. The tack strip and staples ride along with it.

Replacing clean carpet in another part of the house at the same time? Tell us. Clean, dry carpet has better places to go than stained carpet does.

What carpet and pad removal in Boise costs

We price by the space and the work involved. A small bedroom with a stapled pad isn't the same job as a whole basement in Star with soaked tack strip along every wall, and pretending otherwise wouldn't do you any favors.

So we come out, look at the room and give you a firm price before anything gets touched. The estimate is free, and the number doesn't creep up halfway through.

When the schedule allows, we can often do the work the same day. Cash, card and Venmo all work.

If you're on the fence, pull back a corner of carpet in the worst room first. If the pad underneath is stained or smells strong, you've got your answer.

The bottom line

Pet odor that survives a professional cleaning lives in the pad and the subfloor, not the carpet you can see. Pull the carpet and pad, treat what's underneath, and let it dry before the new floor goes in.

If you'd like someone to come take a look, give us a call at (208) 314-4315. We'll tell you what we see and what it'll cost, and the rest is up to you.