Steaming is touted as an excellent method of removing stains and odors from clothing, upholstery, rugs, and other fabrics.
But will steaming get rid of any smell? Let’s talk about those smells that increase anxiety and sometimes induce nausea. You know the ones.
The Worst of the Worst
Your nostrils flare as the odor seeps into our nose without your permission. You try to keep a straight face, but inside you are screaming, “EWWWW.” You want to use your hands to cover your nose and mouth, but that would be rude. Instead, you stick it out, and as soon as you get the chance, you breathe in the fresh air as if you haven’t had it in days.
This scenario has happened to us all. Whether we have met someone who has multiple pets inside their home, entered a house of a chain smoker, or even worse, someone was sprayed by a skunk. Finally, what about mold and mildew smells that make you jerk your head away as if doing so will make it go away.
These are notably four of the worst odors to try and remove from fabrics. Can steaming help? Let’s discuss each separately.
Pet Odors
Over 48 million families in America report owning a dog. Nearly 32 million households report owning a cat. Birds, reptiles, bunnies, and ferrets are a few other animals treasured by families across the nation. Many homes have multiple pets.
With each pet comes the smell of urine, poo, and wet fur. If your pets live inside your home, their odors will seep into your furniture, walls, and fabrics, including your clothing and linens.
Will steaming work to remove pet smells? It depends on what you are cleaning. If you try to steam clean urine stains and odors, you may accidentally lock in the urine, which contains proteins. Since proteins will bind to anything with the application of heat, steaming is not a good idea when trying to get rid of urine stains and odors.
However, if you visit a friend’s home and their dog’s smell left with you, steaming can easily remove the odors and any slobbers the dog implanted on your clothing.
Cigarette Smoke
If someone smokes cigarettes or cigars inside their home, you will know it as soon as you walk in. When they exhale smoke, it has to go somewhere. It does not evaporate. Instead, it travels and sticks to furniture, fabrics, walls, and even floors.
You may have notices a yellowing around picture frames in the home of a smoker. The thousands of chemicals, oils, and hardened tar, mixed with tobacco, cause this discoloring, just as it does on your teeth. These stains are tough to remove.
Depending on the strength of your steamer, you can reduce the smoke smells. But it would help if you also steamed clean all the other places smoke will linger.
You would need to stop smoking altogether and steam clean your entire home, including its contents, to ensure your clothes will no longer smell like smoke. That’s enough steaming to make you want to smoke again.
Skunk Spray
You’ve tried everything in the pantry to get rid of a skunk spray: Tomato juice, peanut butter, lemons, and vinegar. Nothing works. Sometimes burning the clothing or sending it out with the trash is needed.
Give steaming a try before getting rid of your clothing. If the spray smell is minor, steaming may remove it. Or, if you love the piece of clothing, take it to your local Phoenix-based dry cleaner where it can be cleaned with equipment that can get the job done.
Mold or Mildew
Everyone who has ever done laundry has forgotten about the wet clothes in the washing machine, waiting to be transferred to the dryer. You open the washing machine lid and are hit with the smell of mildew. It’s nasty. Now you must decide how to handle the situation. Your options are to dry them anyway and hope the scented dryer sheet solves the problem.
You can rewash your laundry, but you need to use harsh chemicals like bleach to remove the smell altogether. You can also take the moldy load to a dry cleaner who can use eco-friendly methods to remove the odors.
At Prestige Cleaners, we have gone up against the worst odors, and we win every time. Don’t waste your valuable time trying to eliminate stubborn odors that are this tough to remove. Let the Phoenix professionals dry clean your items. We’ll focus on the smells, you can focus on enjoying life.