I have recently had a new wool carpet fitted on my stairs, within the last few months. My carpet constantly smells of sheep (surprise, surprise), I find it very embarrassing as my guests often say they can smell ammonia, I think this is the case too. Are there any solutions for me as I have an open plan house and the smell spreads!

All new carpets - wool or otherwise - will have a characteristic 'new' odour, which is associated with the backing and usually disappears after a few weeks. A wool carpet will also have a faint additional wool smell. The latter can be stronger if the wool is damp (or wet).The ammonia smell is very unusual. This is often associated with a urine spill (cat, dog, baby?). Or a spill of an ammonia-based cleaning agent.

You can do the following: if you have a piece of the carpet left over, put an A4-sized piece in a plastic bag and seal. Leave for a few days, then open the bag and smell. If you can smell the same ammonia odour as in the carpeted area of the house then there may be a problem with the carpet. In this case you can take this up with the retailer who supplied the carpet to you.

If not, there has been a spillage of some sort, as suggested above. In this case, the best thing would be to have the carpet professionally cleaned and deodorised by a WoolSafe Certified carpet cleaning company. Click here to find a cleaner who can help.