zozee

Buyers are usually more forgiving of stains than of pet odors. Many a house we looked at when I was preggers 12 years ago went on the "no" list because I couldn't hack the smell long enough to tour the house objectively. I wish the owners had replaced it with something cheap and neutral that at least smelled new. My guess is that more first buyers would give it a second look if there was a fresh look and fresh smell. Dyeing carpet sounds like a heck of a job for an amateur.

Prism99

I guess I should clarify that odor is not an issue. The cat accident was a digestive upchuck. Had I found it first, it would have been no problem. Unfortunately my dh (who is OCD and congenitally unable to follow my instructions -- it took me ten years to get him to stop ruining my clothes by doing the laundry for me) scrubbed the dickens out of it with some kind of cleaner that bleached the color out of the carpet. This spot is the very first thing you see when you come down the stairs to the largest room in our house. It's in an area that can't even be reasonably covered with an area rug or piece of furniture. This same carpeting extends up the stairs, down a long hallway, and into two other rooms -- approximately 2,000 square feet. The makeup stains are on a different floor of the house and actually less noticeable than the bleach stain. All told, I think it adds up to about 3,500 square feet of carpeting. Thank goodness we did not carpet the main floor! It is not reasonable for us to replace all of this carpeting just to show the house, but buyers expect a house like this to be in near-pristine condition.

LindaR

I would love to dye my carpet also....not me but somebody LOL, I have a 12 by 18 room and hallway but can't find anyone to do it. it shows the dirt just terrible and would love to dye it dark green....

tessagin

Just pull up the old carpet and get rid of it. You may have gotten out cat stains but you will never mask the odor. The cat "accident" will have gone through the padding. Not sure what is under the carpet but if it's wood flooring you'll have to clean the cat pee out of it. and that isn't easy. Believe me I know what I'm talking about. If you want more bang for your buck do it right. This way you can actually say you've updated the house with new carpet. If you have hardwood flooring and it looks pretty nice check into having it redone. Might cost you a couple thousand to replace the carpet but you also may be able to get double that extra on the sale price of your house. No matter what you do to "the spot" it will always show. Just do it right once. Oh and have a professional do it. If your cat has had an accident on the carpet he has had others elsewhere.

tessagin

If you've already spoken with an agent ask him/her what their opinion is. Go ahead and interview a few now. They all have resources and can refer. Even though DH has obsessively scrubbed the areas does not mean there isn't an odor in other areas of the house. Think of it this way, how long can you afford for your house to sit on market when you find a house you like. Have a flooring pro give you an estimate and references.

mighty

No I have never had carpet dyed.

jitkaau

Friends of mine dyed their pink carpet green for similar reasons to yours. It was very successful and gave a new look to the decor.

Debbie C

What is under your carpet now? Do you have hardwoods? If so, it might be beneficial to remove all the carpets and have those wood floors rejuvenated. The trend now is toward wood flooring, so you've be ahead of the game!

mjhaess

I would try to clean it with Oda-Ban. It is the best stuff I ever used to clean odor from anything...Cat odors are one of the worse smells to get rid of. Good luck...

Steady Stiching

When i sold my home (by owner) I added a 1000.00 reduction on the price of the house and called it a new carpet allowance. Most people would prefer to pick their own replacement carpet.