Eliminating dog odor in vacuums?

[dustin]

Does anybody have a good way to eliminate dog odors in vacuums? We have 2 dogs and if I don't use a vacuum for a while (about a week), It develops a nasty dog odor. I know this can be eliminated by changing the bags/ emptying after every use, but that would get expensive! I use carpet powders occasionally, but I don't like using them every time. Is there anything that will eliminate/avoid odors?

 

[electromatik]

I'm afraid there isn't much you can do. That's why I don't have pets in the living quarters. You can was your filters more frequently (if they are washable). If your vacuum is soft bagged, you will have to wash the outer bag. You may have to also clean the brushroll. Try cleaning all you can with baking soda. You can also dust the inside of the outer bag with baking soda for when the air exhausts. These tips might mitigate but will not eliminate the odors for good. I hope someone else has a few tips that help more.

 

[kirby519]

Yes there is a very easy way to deodorize the vacuum. Go to the hardware store and buy a bottle of "Odors Away" it comes in a 1/2 oz dropper bottle. Drop 2 to 3 drops of the odors away on each of two cotton balls and suck into the vacuum at the start of cleaning. I use it all the time and have no stale bag odors from my machines.(same trick Kirby has used for years with their Odorific)

You can look it up on line as well to see who has it in your area. Most Ace hardware stores have it.

 

[dustin]

Would the Kirby Odorific work as well?

 

[kirby519]

Yes it would. That is exactly what it is made for. The Odors Away is a much more cost effective way. Odorific how ever does come in several fragrances.

 

[electromatik]

Well, I suppose that is a solution too. If you want to cover the odor, there are things for that. There is only one way to eliminate the odor source, but that isn't an option for many people who really want to keep pets in the home. Hope it works.

 

[dustin]

I don't really care if I eliminate the source of the odor or cover it up, I just don't want to smell stale dog everytime I vacuum. I have a Yellow Lab/Husky mix and a Chihuahua, and Labs are known for having smelly fur because their coat has a lot of lanolin in it. Getting rid of our dogs is not an option, they are most definitely part of the family.

 

[kirby519]

Using either of the above mentioned products won't be "covering up the odor" it will penitrait the bag and eliminate the odor all together.

 

[vacuumfreak95]

This works best for me.

I like to place a dryer sheet around the exhaust HEPA filter. When you vacuum it fills the room with a nice smell since the machine is blowing warm air from the exhaust. When the smell runs out just put in a new dryer sheet!

 

[dustin]

I have done that before, but It doesn't eliminate the odor, it just ends up smelling like perfume on a dog.

 

[kirbylux77]

What kind of vacuum bags are you using? Are you using HEPA Cloth bags? If so, there are HEPA Cloth bags that Hoover & Oreck make for their vacuums that are infused with charcoal for odor control....so if you are using one of those brands, you could try the charcoal HEPA bags. Another thing you could try, too, is if you are using the HEPA Cloth bags, why not try spraying the bag lightly with Febreze a couple of hours before using the vacuum, then leave the bag cover off, let the bag dry, & then run the vacuum. That should eliminate the smell & leave a pleasant scent in the air.

Good luck with getting rid of the dog smell....Rob

 

[mark40511]

Question:

Is that big GREEN bottle of Rainbow D&A basically the same stuff as Odorific from Kirby? The reason I ask - in my Epic 6500, after about 2 weeks, the bag starts to have that stale smell especially since I don't use it that often......By the four week mark I hadn't used it much so there wasn't much in the bag and I hated to change it. I've tried essential OIL on cotton balls but it's like stale smell mixed with the oil smell.......This time I put some Rainbow D&A on a cotton ball and vacuumed, then put the machine away........One week later (bag now going on five weeks), I turned the machine on and there was ZERO smell coming out. I was pretty shocked. Whatever is in that stuff must keep working even after it dries out in the bag. I'm glad I found a use for it because I can't use it in my Rainbow because it foams too much unlike the other scents.

 

[rainbowjoel]

mark

How many drops of Rainbow D&A did u added to cotton ball?

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I bought some of the green rainbow stuff and I can't smell it either. I put a cap in my rainbow and I can't smell it, but that's ok I didn't like the smell of it coming out of the bottle anyway, reminds me of a nursing home, the same with the thermax blue stuff.

 

[mark40511]

Joel

I just put a few drops on the cotton ball and sucked it up in the vacuum. If you happen to get a little too much I'm sure it dries quickly anyway. I don't think it hurts anything in the vacuum......it really does work. I think it's whatever bacterial killing properties that's in it keeps it from smelling.

 

[anthony]

smelly vacs

my gran used to put an onion cut in half in her electrolux z55 to combat this problem the onion went in the bag its a long time ago but i think it worked if my memory is right my mum used to put half an onion in the fridge to absorb odours .try it what have you got to lose

 

[vacman117]

I don't know if they still make them, but Oreck made scent tablets made exclusively for the XL21. I had tons of vanilla scented ones a while ago. I just stuck them in vacuum bags that smelled, or put them in with the exhaust filter and it completely got rid of the odor until the bag needed changed. If you can find the vanilla scented ones, you won't be disappointed. 

 

[mark40511]

I think this is the stuff you really want

to keep bacteria from growing in a vacuum bag. If this is anything like the Kirby Odorific and the Rainbow D&A, it should work wonders. It doesn't cover up the smell or mix with it. I just used my epic 6500 last night and the bag has got to be approaching six to seven weeks and there is NO smell coming from it at all. Wish I had realized this a LONG time ago. I wonder if this is the same active ingredient in this that's in the Rainbow, Kirby, and Oreck scent tablets?

http://www.amazon.com/Wrap-On-Compa...UTF8&qid=1370564432&sr=8-1&keywords=odor+away