Experience with professional carpet/duct cleaning?

[FreeTime]

And you are correct. How can that much dirt and stuff accumulate in an essentially enclosed environment. That is what filters are for. If you’re really concerned install an air filter.

Oh, we have one. When we bought it there was not one in. I’m trying to balance merv vs efficiency levels now.

 

[barkley]

That is what filters are for. If you’re really concerned install an air filter.

and be religious on replacing it on a regular basis b/c if you dont we moved into a rental for 10 months between selling and moving, we've always changed our filters monthly so I set a control to do that at the rental but before a month had passed from our move in date we had a horrific period of heat and the a/c started not cooling as it should. landlord sent out HVAC folks and come to find out her previous tenant had NEVER changed the filter (in what they estimated was over a couple of years b/c it was the same filter the HVAC company had put in on a prior service call-they would initial and date them to monitor for subsequent calls). think of what happens to a straw when you try to drink a thick milkshake-how it collapses into itself-that's what the ductwork did. throughout the house all the ductwork had to be replaced and the HVAC was fried.

some people refer to the first day of each month as 'rabbit-rabbit day'...in our house it's 'change the filter day'

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Urine and smokers are different than just dated or end of life carpet. If the smell is enough buyers will notice. The hard part about this is that it can be potentially quite a problem for a buyer once they buy it if they try and work the smell out without understanding what is causing it. At least people who have had this issue know what is causing the smell. And for the urine smell if it's gotten too far down you have to do mitigation on the level below like the subfloor to prevent the smell from just coming back up.

I included in my comment to the OP about selling it at a lower price because of needing the carpet replaced but your comments are really just about a run of the mill the carpet is old or the carpet is dated where you the seller may not have to go through trying to replace it to get it sold and is not about what the OP is experiencing with a different issue.

This. ^
My parents were in their early to mid 20s when they bought the home my dad still lives in. It was a tiny 2BR/1BA, kitchen + LR brick rancher on 3/4 acre. It was an old cat lady living in it and the cats took over and peed everywhere. I was only 1 at the time but my brother and sister remember walking in and having to hold their nose the whole time and shocked that my parents told them they were going to live there. They paid something like $15k while brand new homes were going for $30-34k. Doesn't sound like much but it's all relative. Half price is still half price.

My dad worked in construction and basically had to tear up all the floors to get the cat urine smell out. He added an oversized 2c garage and a couple years later put an addition on with a large family room and master BR/Bath with lots of closet space.
They bought it because he knew he could do the work himself.

Anyway, urine-soaked wood subflooring will always stink and you have to get rid of it or it will eventually stink again. I don't know much about sealing with shellac but definitely don't assume that replacing the carpet and padding will get rid of the odor.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

and be religious on replacing it on a regular basis b/c if you dont we moved into a rental for 10 months between selling and moving, we've always changed our filters monthly so I set a control to do that at the rental but before a month had passed from our move in date we had a horrific period of heat and the a/c started not cooling as it should. landlord sent out HVAC folks and come to find out her previous tenant had NEVER changed the filter (in what they estimated was over a couple of years b/c it was the same filter the HVAC company had put in on a prior service call-they would initial and date them to monitor for subsequent calls). think of what happens to a straw when you try to drink a thick milkshake-how it collapses into itself-that's what the ductwork did. throughout the house all the ductwork had to be replaced and the HVAC was fried.

some people refer to the first day of each month as 'rabbit-rabbit day'...in our house it's 'change the filter day'

Apartment complexes often have that stuff on a set schedule. But if it's a private landlord the first thing I would do if moving in is change the filter or at the very least look at it. You don't know how long it sat between tenants or the care the prior tenant did. When we moved into our rental house we lived in for 18 months we changed the filter immediately.

On the actual filter the more efficient ones will be harder on average on someone's HVAC system so it can also be a case of running a high efficiency filter pushing the system to its max. The more efficient filters you use the more likely it is your blower, motor, etc will need to be replaced quicker.

Filters are though something not everyone thinks about, especially a renter who may not have had to deal with systems at large when it's not something that has normally been their responsibility.

 

[anrew]

I’d personally lean toward whichever company offers enzyme treatment, because that’s what actually breaks down urine odor instead of just masking it

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’d personally lean toward whichever company offers enzyme treatment, because that’s what actually breaks down urine odor instead of just masking it

That doesn't work if it's gotten below to the carpet pad. Enzyme treatment is exactly the spray Stanley Steamer used after they cleaned it but it doesn't work for what's under the carpet and they warned us about that as well. That's the real issue. IF it's soaked below the carpet into the pad it needs to be ripped out and replaced (along with the carpet pad). IF it's gotten to the subfloor then that has to be treated to prevent the odor from coming back.

An enzyme spray is good for when you've caught it extremely quick after its happened and it's only a small amount as in it hasn't had the time or the volume to soak below to the carpet pad or the subfloor.