If you appear to be a lucky pet owner, the joy of having a cat, a dog or other pet that’s running around your house is unfortunately paired with a lot of stains cleanup. The good part of it is usually done during the time when the pet is still potty training. But some pets may have accidents here and there due to various reasons.
For instance, some cats will ‘miss the mark’ when they don’t like the smell or the feel of littler their toilets are filled with or when they think that it’s too dirty for them to step in. Some male dogs are known for marking furniture and carpets. Dogs will also have accidents when they’re not taken outside for too long. They can’t hold it forever, can they?
So, no matter what reason behind this or that accident is, the final result is always the same. That’s a urine spot that’s quite difficult to remove and that attracts your pet to ‘renew’ the mark. Let’s figure out how to get rid of those stains in order to restore the carpet, eliminate the unpleasant odor and prevent future accidents.
How to clean pet stains from carpet
- It’s easier to get rid of the stain and that nasty urine smell when the accident is still ‘fresh’ and wet.
- The first thing you need to do is to blot the spot on the carpet with paper towels. You might need a lot, especially if you pet is quite big. Continue blotting the carpet with paper towels until you can’t notice any wet spots on them.
- Don’t rub the spot, as you’ll spread the urine further onto the carpet (and deeper into it fibers) and you’ll appear with even larger pet stain to get rid of.
- Don’t throw those wet paper towels away. Use them as potty training supplies. Bring them over to the spot your pet is supposed to go potty at. Your pet will be drawn to the strong smell of his own urine and will go to the toilet where he’s supposed to next time. And, he’ll also stay away from the spot on the carpet or upholstery he’s just pissed on.
- Now it’s time to prevent the appearance of the actual urine stains and get rid of the odor. You don’t need to buy any strong chemicals and cleaners to do that. In fact, the stronger the carpet will small after you cleanup, the more likely your pet will go on it again. The matter is that those cleaning solutions can’t block the urine odor completely.
- You won’t notice that, but your pet’s smelling senses are much more developed. And, feeling the smell of his own urine and noticing that another smell is interfering with it, your pet will naturally feel the need to remark the spot. Do you need that? I don’t think so.
- So, the more natural your cleaning solution is – the better. For instance, you may prepare a mix of water (1 part) and vinegar (1 part). Pour this solution into a bucket or a spray bottle and soak the carpet with it.
- This solution helps to break through spot and dissolve it even if it’s being really difficult to brush off. Such formula ensures that the pet’s urine gets lifted from the carpet’s fibers up to its surface, when it can be successfully removed. Besides, vinegar is good at neutralizing the ammonia in the urine, so it basically eliminates the odor.
- After applying this cleaning solution, let it sit for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, grab a bunch of paper towels or a cotton cloth. Start scrubbing the stain thoroughly to make sure you remove all remaining urine from the carpet’s fibers and base. If the stain is particularly smelly, attack it with pure vinegar without mixing it with water.
- Whilst the carpeting is still wet, sprinkle some baking soda onto the spot so that it seeps through the fibers deep into the carpet. Treat the top surface of the stain with baking soda and vinegar paste. Those two ingredients will start reacting inside the carpet right away.
- You’ll notice the mix fizzing and cackling as it starts to work at lifting the stain and the smell from the carpet. Working baking soda deeper into the carpet’s fibers with a soft-bristled brush will double the efficiency of this urine stain removal method.
- Leave the baking soda on the carpet until it’s completely dry. Be patient not to remove it earlier than you’re supposed to. It might take a couple of days for baking soda to dry, but it might happen overnight as well.
It depends on the size of the urine stains, the density of your carpet, the temperature in your house and the amount of cleaning mix you’ll apply.
- If baking soda leaves whitish stains on your carpet’s surface, just go over it with a little bit of arm water and dish soap solution.
- Removing pet stains from carpet with the help of a steam cleaner might sound like a great idea. But I’d suggest that you should stay away from that machine if you really want to get rid of urine spot on your carpet.
Steam cleaner will just dry the carpet, leaving it with yellow urine stains along with the odor that’ll trigger your pet’s marking instinct you’re trying to overcome. - Stay away from peroxide-containing cleaning mixtures as well. A lot of people note that they’ve bleached their carpets, which is not fun at all.
How to remove old pet stains from carpet
The older the urine stains are the more stubborn they get. And unfortunately, the odor doesn’t do away with the time. So, you have to find a little bit more powerful pet stain remover than vinegar or baking soda in order to get rid of old urine spots.
- Clean the area with water and apply high-quality stain neutralizer directly onto the spot. Remember to follow the manufacturer’s directions in order to apply it properly. Don’t skip testing the solution on a small hidden carpet area to make sure that it won’t stain, bleach your carpet or ruin it in any other way.
- Be mindful of the fact that such stain removers won’t do their job as they claim to until you make sure that the area you’re applying them to is completely clean.
I mean that it should be free from the remains of other cleaners (both commercial and homemade) you’ve used beforehand in attempts to conquer the urine stain. They’ll just waste their forces on removing the chemicals instead of protein stains the urine ones belong to. - The most tenacious old pet stains you’ve lost your hope to get rid of may be removed with the help of an extractor or vet vacuum. Those are the machines professional carpet cleaners use to eliminate the heaviest carpet stains.
If you can’t find the place in your local area to rent one of them from, go to HireRush.com and post a carpet cleaning task for local professional providers. Your carpets have to be deep-cleaned regularly anyway, right?
Post a task now - If you decide to use those carpet cleaning machines on you own, make sure that you don’t apply any chemicals or cleaning solutions onto your carpet. Usually, you’re not allowed to use them in combination with this tech.
- If none of those methods manage to remove the pet stains off your carpet, it means that the pet urine has seeped through its fibers deep into the carpet’s padding. That’s when you have to stop trying to get rid of the stains/odor and call carpet specialists to replace the carpet on that area.
