Pets owners know the joy that they bring in the surrounding. However, it can get a little messy at times when they pee on the carpet surfaces.
Mostly, the kittens and puppies during house training, tend to urinate anywhere. For these reasons, you need to know the process of dealing with odor and stains on the carpet.
Products and Tools You Will Need
When pets are young, ill, old, overly excited, or stressed, they may have less control and urinate on areas such as carpets. Therefore, you require the necessary products and tools to help you in eliminating the odors.
Keep in mind that you should use materials that clean the surface effectively and do not cause harm to your body while performing the procedure.
- Notably, you will need:
Baking soda, clean towels, or paper towels
Distilled white vinegar, soft-bristled brush, water, bowl, and an empty spray bottle
Vacuum, enzymatic cleaner, and rubber gloves.
Step by Step Guide on How to Get Urine Smell out of Carpet
The methods of cleaning fresh urine stains and old urine stains and smells are different. You probably don’t know that your pets peed on your sofa, therefore the smell will linger for a long time if they are not cleaned in time.
Here are the specific guides on getting urine smell out of carpet:
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Fresh urine stain
A fresh urine stain is easy to clean when you notice it, but you still need to deal with it carefully to avoid a bad smell.
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Step 1: Find the pee
While you are sited or walking in the house, you will smell the pet urine immediately after the pet pees.
Hence, track down the source as quickly as possible since some materials absorb the pee very fast.
Check whether the odor is coming from the carpet. Remember that if you take long to locate fresh urine from your carpet, it will produce a worse smell in the room.
Also, you can find the urine by checking where the pet is sleeping or lying down.
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Step 2: Soak up
After locating the spot where there is fresh urine, start the process of cleaning.
Keep in mind that you are aiming at cleaning the liquid to the best of your ability. Hence the first thing that you do is blotting the new stain of urine on the carpet.
Make use of paper towels, a clean cloth, old white rags, or anything that can blot away the fluid. Ensure that the material you are using is not dirty and absorbs the urine as quickly as possible.
Also, you don’t want anything that will transfer dye on the carpet; hence avoid using a colored piece of cloth.
Notably, if you have an extracting wet vac, you can use it in this step to get rid of the pee.
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Step 3: Make a vinegar mixture
In this step, you want to douse the fresh stain of urine using an enzymatic cleaner or a natural remedy.
Making a cleaning solution using the available white or apple cider in the house is a top-grade idea if you do not want to use harsh cleaners.
Using a small bowl or a bucket, make a mixture of water and vinegar. Note that this solution is the most tried and tested for new urine stains on the carpet.
Hence, in your container, mix 50% of water and 50% of vinegar. Vinegar is acidic; thus it plays the role of neutralizing the urine and offsetting smell from the pee.
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Step 4: Treat the spot
After mixing water and vinegar, it’s time to apply it on the carpet where the fresh stain is located.
Take a clean white cloth or a soft-bristled brush and dip it on the container with the solution. Saturate the liquid on the urine-stained carpet starting with the outside part as you work towards the center.
Apply it slowly to prevent the spot from becoming larger. Scrub the area using the brush making sure it is going deep into the fibers of your carpet and try not to over-saturate the surface.
After lightly rubbing the mixture on the stain, leave it for about ten minutes to dry completely.
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Step 5: Apply baking soda
Check whether the stain is still visible after waiting for around 10 minutes while the vinegar solution is dissolving on the carpet.
If the spot is still there, sprinkle or use a spray bottle to apply baking soda over the left vinegar mixture. Note that the baking soda and vinegar will react by producing foam on the area.
Thus, the procedure will aid in lifting the urine and smell from the carpet. Also, give it a boost by lightly rubbing the baking soda with your hands while wearing protective gloves.
Additionally, cover the baking soda vinegar stain using a clean damp towel.
Allow it to dr, and the process might take a day or two depending on the amount of vinegar used while making the mixture.
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Step 6: Rinse the area
After waiting for several hours, a day or two, blot and rinse the area.
Use a dry white paper towel to blot away the mixture. Also, you can use a towel or a clean rag to remove as much moisture as possible.
Thus, put plain clean water on a container to rinse the stained part of the carpet effectively. Take a sponge, dip it into the bowl containing water.
Rub it against the portion with the mixed chemicals as you rinse away any residue. Repeat this process until the stained spot is sparkling.
Keep in mind that rinsing is essential as any remaining solution can attract soil and encourage your pet to reinforce urine scent marks on the carpet.
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Step 7: Absorb moisture from the residual
Rinsing the carpet leaves it with the moisture of the mixture applied while cleaning the carpet.
Most of the solution might seem to have gone but some parts of the urine-stained carpet will still have it. Therefore, place several layers of paper towels on the area to absorb the moisture.
Make sure you weigh them down by using a heavy bucket, bowl, or plate and place one of them on top of the paper towels.
Allow them to sit on the spot for 15 minutes. Also, discard the towels immediately after using them. Repeat this with clean paper towels if the moisture persists and throw them away when done.
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Step 8: Vacuum and air dry
When the cleaning process is complete, you should ensure that the carpet is dry before been used again. Allow it to air dry by leaving it in a place where there is no direct sunlight or any source of heat.
Note that if there is any solution on the area, use a clean rag or towel to blot the part and remove moisture. Also, vacuum the affected area on the carpet to draw out any substances remaining on the surface.
In case you have a wet-vac, apply it to vacuum as much liquid as possible. In this step, vacuum accordingly by lifting the fibers in the carpet.
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Step 9: Return the products and carpet
For the safety of those living in the house, confirm you place the products back to where you picked them. Double-check the carpet to ensure that the spot has disappeared.
Place it back in the usual place after you are satisfied with the results of the procedure. Also, when not contented, carefully repeat the process or ask for help from an expert.
Check whether it is dry before walking on it or laying your legs on it while sited.
Note that children or pets should not come into contact with chemicals used to clean pet urine stains.
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Old urine stains
Old pee spots on the carpet produce an odor that you cannot tolerate while you are in the house. Sometimes the old urine stain sets in the mat when the pet returns again and again on the same area without realizing it.
Notably, you will find out it’s not a recent stain after cleaning it yet the carpet is left with a lingering wee smell. In this case, it means the urine has soaked deep into the fibers for an extended period.
Therefore, you are required to perform a procedure that gets rid of the odor trapped on the surface. Follow methods and steps necessary to remove old urine stains out of the mat and get rid of the stale smell.
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Step 1: Locate the old urine stain
A urine spot that has stayed for long on the floor is hard to find it. Thus you might need to get on all fours while trying to locate the smell of the old pee.
Additionally, you can sniff through the carpet and fail to find the pee since it might have stayed and faded away.
Since you cannot get the smell out of the room if you don’t know where it is coming from, you will require a UV flashlight.
Illuminate the carpet from one corner to the other until you discover the urine spot on the mat.
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Step 2: Add dish soap
There are mild old stains that need more effort than the fresh urine spots. Thus, look for a container that you will use while washing the affected part on the carpet.
In your vessel, add a pinch of dish soap or detergent. Also, warm water on the stove and put it in the basin containing the dish wash.
Mix them until they are sudsy and pour a small amount on the stain.
Blot the spot using a paper towel or a clean rag until the mark starts to disappear.
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Step 3: Direct use of cleaning products
If the old urine stains persist after using the dishwashing detergent, pour the cleaning products on the spot. Gush out a bit of vinegar and water, scrub and let it dry.
Add baking soda to the pee stain to neutralize the smell. Also, mix a dish wash with hydrogen peroxide and pour on the carpet urine stain as you continue scrubbing.
If the smell remains after this process, consider buying odor neutralizers to apply once the area has dried.
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Step 5: Wet vacuum
When you have urine odor and an old stain on the carpet, you should deep clean the entire carpet. Notably, you only do this if the above methods are not working.
Therefore, if you don’t have a carpet cleaning machine, you can hire or buy one to banish the smelly stains. Also, this method is a bit pricier but it brings new life to your mat.
After this process, you can take the necessary preventative measures to protect it from old urine stains that require a lot of energy to remove.
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Step 6: Replace or remove carpet padding
Smells stay on the carpet for an extended period since the liquid leaks in the carpet padding where it gets trapped. Also, this section holds the urine forming a stain and irritating scents.
Therefore, to get rid of the old pee spot and the smells, remove or replace the carpet padding. Take up your carpet and locate the old urine stain.
Then clean or remove the affected padding and wash the subfloor. If the mat lining is damaged, replace it with a new one.
Scrub the underside of your carpet and wait for it to desiccate before returning it to the usual place.
In case the smell persists, hire an expert to help you with the cleaning.
FAQs
Will carpet cleaning get rid of urine smell?
Cleaning your mat removes fresh and old urine scents but only when you add cleaning products.
Therefore, use baking soda to naturally neutralize odors from the carpet by sprinkling it on the stain. Notably, it will absorb the smell when you gently rub it on fibers of any fabric, rug, or carpet.
Also, cleaning products containing hydrogen peroxide are effective for urine odors and spots.
Keep in mind that it destroys the smell and safely bleaches out discolorations on hard or soft surfaces.
Will baking soda clean dog poop from the carpet?
Baking soda is good when it comes to removing stains from a surface. Thus, you need to sprinkle it on the affected area and rub it with a clean cloth and let it stay for some hours.
Therefore, it can clean dog poop from your carpet by absorbing the mess. However, apply other cleaners such as vinegar to lift the stain and disinfect the spot.
Use baking soda after applying a cleaning solution as you let it dry to deodorize and fully sanitize your carpet.
Conclusion
Dealing with occasional urine accidents is part of being a pet owner. Therefore, you need to know how to get rid of urine smell and stains out of the carpet.
As soon as you come across a pet waste stain, disinfect and wash the area using homemade cleaning solutions.