I hope I'm not intruding here, looks like a great discussion forum!  I'm not a professional carpet cleaner but I am in need of help!

We have a 5' circular rug we purchased from Pottery Barn Outlet.  As such it is not returnable.  It looked clean at the store and seemed fine.  When we got it home, we noticed a "smell" that the only way can be descibed is that it smells like RUBBER.  Yes, that's right, the rug smells like rubber.  Almost like "burnt rubber".  I really can't think of anything else.

The rug is very similar to this: http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com//cat/pip.cfm?src=schp1%7Ct4%7Cv0%7Cwalphabet%5Cssoup%2Fhme&pkey=xsrd0n1%7C16%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Calphabet%20soup&gids=k4082&cmsrc=kwd - http://ww2.potterybarnkids.com//cat/pip.cfm?src=schp1%7Ct4%7 Cv0%7Cwalphabet%5Cssoup%2Fhme&pkey=xsrd0n1%7C16%7C1%7C%7 C%7C%7C%7C%7Calphabet%20soup&gids=k4082&cmsrc=kwd

We have vaccumed it several times, deep cleaned it with carpet cleaner, let it sit in the sun for 3 days on 3 separate occaisions, hosed it down twice, and no matter what we do to this rug, we can not get rid of this rubber smell.  It seems to be coming from the backing on the throw rug.

The smell is so bad that we don't want to use it in our baby's room anymore.  With the door closed when you go in the room there is this rubber smell everywhere which is obviously not something we want our infant inhaleing on a regular basis.

Does anyone know what could be causing this, and if there is any way to get rid of it?  We are starting to think that this is some type of manufacturing defect and no matter how much we clean it we will never get rid of the smell.

Please help.  Thanks!

It is the smell of "fillers" that are sometimes added to the latex in third world countries that many of these rugs are made in. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do rid your rug of this smell, short of taking it to a reputable rug repair shop and have them remove the seconadary backing and relatex the whole rug. This is not a cheap procedure and most likely would cost more than the rug is worth.

Sorry for the gloom and doom....I know that is not what you want to hear. The rug may be perfectly fine in  a patio room or somewhere that is well ventilated.

Take care,

Lisa

Thank you so much for the info.

What are these "fillers" made of, and is this smell dangerous to inhale on a somewhat regular basis?    We are very concerned this rug could be causing some of our baby's respiratory problems.

This can be extremey toxic.

No fooling around here. If you leave your fax number I can provide you with a news release from ASCR that would further your case with the retailer.

The improper formulation of latex can be extremely toxic.

The carpet is likely gun tufted with a cottom scrim.

Likely made in India.

Absolutely no reason that it wouldn't be replaced by the manufacturer or retailer.

what is the rug made of??? wool, nylon, olefin, polypropolene.... If it's made of some kind of animal hair, that might be it's natural smell.

then again it could be the latex

how much did the rug cost???

Thanks everyone.  I have more specifics on the rug from the tag.

"Pottery Barn Kids Animals Rug Tapis: 100% wool pile / poil de laine

Thank you for purchasing your rug from Pottery Barn Kids.  This rug is handmade and like any handmade product, it requires care to keep looking beautiful.  With the right maintenance it will last for many years.

MADE IN INDIA" (good guess!)

...and it says right on the tag in the lower left corner "this product contains natural rubber latex" (no kidding!!!)

Pottery Barn Kids, San Francisco, CA 94109 http://www.potterybarnkids.com/ - www.potterybarnkids.com

I think the rug is normally $300, we found it on sale at the outlet store for $80 I think.  We don't have the receipt anymore.  I doubt Pottery Barn would take it back after owning it 6 months and without a receipt!

We are now fully freaked out what this rug has been doing to our baby.

What do you mean by "good guess".

Hand made and hand knotted are two different things.

LilNiteRidrhood wrote: What do you mean by "good guess". Hand made and hand knotted are two different things.

I just mean you said in your post "Likely made in India.", and you were right!

are you sure it's not the wool smell that you smell??????

alot of people have never smelt wet wool...

it's not a nice smell

Yes we're pretty sure, it hasn't been wet in a few months.  It smells exactly like latex to me.

for us... but Ms. JoeBumkin as never smelt wet wool...

I've heard it at least a million times by now...

my wool rug smells funny when wet

keben this is for a baby's room, it is not worth the time or $. If it was your kid would you try this? I like your idea, I have a bunch of ozone generators and I would try the same, but not for my kids room.

spruce wrote: keben this is for a baby's room, it is not worth the time or $. If it was your kid would you try this? I like your idea, I have a bunch of ozone generators and I would try the same, but not for my kids room.

I missed the part about the kids room,i would throw it out then.

dirtycarpet wrote: LilNiteRidrhood wrote: What do you mean by "good guess". Hand made and hand knotted are two different things. I just mean you said in your post "Likely made in India.", and you were right!

Yep the east indians really overkill with the new car smell don't they.

Thanks all for the help. 

We called the company headquarters, who referred us to the store manager, and they took the rug back and gave us "store credit" even though we bought it 6 months ago and didn't have the receipt anymore.  This was acceptable to us.