We love our pets and they become part of the family. However, cleaning up after them can become a challenge. Here are some cleaning tips for our pet's bathroom accidents and smells that we unfortunately need to know how to clean up.
Important Note: Please remember to test cleaning products on a small section of the floors in a hidden spot to make sure that the chemicals do not lift the color or damage your floors.
Urine on Carpet
It's best to clean up a pet's "uh-oh" as soon as you see it happen - the longer the urine sits the harder the stain is to get out.
To clean the urine out of a carpet or a rug, soak up the urine as much as possible. Once it's all soaked up, rinse the area with water and blot with a rag or a wet vac. Do not use a steam cleaner for these stains because the heat will set the stain and odor into the carpet.
Once the area is dry, vacuum and then sprinkle some baking soda on the area (baking soda helps to get rid of any smell). Let it sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum the area again. For tougher stains and smells, leave the baking soda on overnight and vacuum it up in the morning.
Urine on Wood Floors
As mentioned before, cleaning up the mess right away is the best way to minimize the damage and smell. This is especially true for wood floors because urine contains acid which can cause discoloration on the wood and then requires you to touch up the damage.
To clean the mess, soak up the urine with a rag or paper towel. Then apply a damp rag on the area and wipe it clean. While the area is still damp sprinkle baking soda and let sit for as short as an hour to as long as overnight. Gently vacuum the area. If the floors are still damaged, use a pet friendly enzyme-based stain remover to finish the job.
TIP: Cleaning pet urine with vinegar is a popular choice because it isn't harmful to your pets, however The Humane Society, recommends not using vinegar because its strong smell can actually cause your pets to mark that area.
Poop on Carpet
This “uh-oh” is a more difficult cleaning process and may make you second guess why you have a pet. Just remember, we love our fluffy friends!
Before you start cleaning make sure all of the poop is gone from the carpet. Get a paper towel or rag and pick up as much as you can. To make sure you got all the particles off the carpet fibers, use a damp paper towel.
To make sure your carpet does not brown and stain, mix a non-bleaching liquid dish soap and vinegar with water. Apply this to the carpet and blot of the stain. You may need to continue this process until the stain is gone. Do not scrub at the stain - that can push the stain farther into the carpet and create more of a mess.
Once the stain has lifted, get a clean rag, pour some water on the carpet and blot the area to get any extra cleaning solution out of the carpet. Let the area dry and then sprinkle baking soda on it. Let sit for about 15 minutes and then vacuum it up.
Poop on Wood Floors
The amount of cleaning for hard wood floors depends on how bad the area is. Sometimes you can just pick up the poop and then wipe the area with a pet friendly enzyme-based cleaner.
But if the wood is more damaged and it looks like there is particles in the wood, you may need to scrub at the area with a gentle scrub brush and an enzyme-based cleaner.
TIP: When it comes to washing away urine and poop odors in your washing machine, use enzymatic cleaners. The enzyme cleaners break down pet odors better than other cleaners, but please make sure they are pet friendly first.
The General "Pet" Smell
Sometimes our homes can start smelling like our animals. At this point it will take more than just a carpet cleaning, so here are some cleaning tips and ways to avoid the smell entirely:
- Give your pets a bath more often
- Groom them
- Add baking soda to your laundry detergent when cleaning pet beds and blankets
- Sprinkle baking soda on carpets and let sit, then vacuum up the particles.
Just remember to keep your pets in mind when choosing chemicals to clean your carpets!
If the pet smell still won’t go away, it may be time to call an Expert to get your carpets professionally cleaned. We do more than you think!
