One of the leading reasons why people turn into cruel pet owners that abandon their pets is the excessive mess. You bring a puppy and the moment you let it on the floor, it pees on the carpet. You somehow manage to clean it and hope for it not to happen again. But it keeps happening until one day you get too sick of all these pet problems and decide to give away the pet. How cruel and irresponsible!
Do you know why the pets tend to relieve themselves at the same place (they wouldn’t know if it’s a carpet or their potty tray)? It’s because they associate their understanding with odors. If they relieved at one place, as long as that area wreaks the urine smell, they’d continue doing that.
To be able to train your pet better and save your precious carpets from becoming a pet urine spot, you need to follow proper cleaning techniques. Although the concept mentioned in the previous paragraph applies to any space in your house, carpets are the toughest to maintain. Here’s a resource for you with some preventative carpet cleaning tips for pet urine and how to clean if it has already happened.
Preventative carpet cleaning tips for pet urine
1. Remove any existing pet odors
Begin with a clean slate to get your pet out of this gross habit of peeing on the carpet (or even inside the home). You can find more on how to remove pet odors later in this post. Also, read our blog post on how to deal with pet accidents for additional reading.
2. Discourage your pet from peeing indoors
Just scold your pet when it relieves on the carpet. By using words like ‘no’ or an angry tone, you can deliver the message pretty well and try to treat/reward it for relieving outside. It’s basic pet training, and you should check out Caesar Milan’s videos on how you can train your pet better.
If your pet still continues to relieve itself indoors, it might be because of some disease. Take it to the vet and ask for a solution.
After the basic preventative carpet cleaning tips for pet urine, I have divided the post into two sections – removing new stains and removing old stains. The first section will inform you of everything you need to do if your pet pees on the carpet. The second part is related to the first point – beginning with the clean slate.
Removing new stains due to pet urine
As soon as you notice that your pet has urinated on the carpet, grab a roll of paper towels and spread them over the affected area. Let the towels soak up the urine. If possible, place the paper towels on the backside of the carpet as well. Remove and replace until the liquid is completely soaked up by the towels.
Now, you need to work on cleaning the stain. If it’s a rug that’s suitable for machine wash, use standard liquid detergent and baking soda to clean the item. Be quick. Else, use the blotting technique to apply the mixture over the affected area. Do check out our spot removal guide for more information on how to remove stains.
Once you’re done with the first wash, check if there’s any existing odor. If it’s there, use vinegar to clean the item again. The smell should be gone. You can also try regular odor removal products available at pet supplies store. They work pretty well for odor removal.
Removing old carpet stains
Let me warn you! It’s going to be tough. Old stains mean they have settled deep down the carpet fibers, and it’s going to be extremely tough to get the odor completely out of your carpet. But you will have to do it to ensure that your pet doesn’t keep doing it.
The best way to do that is either rent an extractor or hire a professional carpet cleaning company for odor removal. An extractor works by forcing the water on the carpet fibers and then forcing the water out of these fibers. The overall action thoroughly rinses the fibers and gets the urine particles stuck inside them out. Then a pet odor neutralizer will remove the smell for once and forever. You can also use stain remover if the stain is visible.
Most of the times, urine stains stay invisible. The only way you can detect those is through smell or through your pet’s habit of peeing at the same place.
Make sure you don’t use any steam cleaner (it’ll further set the stain in the fibers) or chemicals. Most of the cleaning chemicals have ammonia, and that’s one of the strongest scents you’re trying to get rid of.
If the process of using an extractor or even a wet vacuum is cumbersome, hire a professional instead, though a real thorough research on Google and Youtube is often enough unless you have left the stains for months (They’re going to be nearly impossible to remove through DIY).
I hope you found these carpet cleaning tips for pet urine helpful. Remember the key is to work both ways – getting the odor out of the carpet and stopping your pet from doing it again. You cannot do one thing without the other. These have to be done simultaneously. In case, you still have some queries, feel free to ask below.
