How to Get Pet Urine Stains Out Of Fabrics Including Carpet

As much as we love our furry friends, we don’t always love the smells that they can create, there are many reasons you may find yourself dealing with this issue, whether it be just bringing home a new puppy or kitten and litter training is still occurring, you have a pet that is having incontinence, maybe it was just an accident since accidents do happen. Or maybe they want to mark their territory. There is a wide range of reasons why beloved pet owners deal with this issue.

Whatever the reason may be, this smell often lingers and lasts for a very long time and is extremely off putting, it can cause discoloration and ruin your carpets, fabrics, upholstery, and mattress. Urine contains uric acid in it, so when urine is not properly or completely wiped off and cleaned it can cause the acid to form crystals, which makes removing the smell that much harder.

These crystals are expert bonders too, they will tightly latch on to the surface they have urinated on, and cats have a more concentrated urine that dogs.

Once the urine has soaked through the carpet, it is more likely that it will soak through the floor underneath and into any underlay or insulation that may be underneath.

With that being said let’s find some ways to hopefully tackle this foul smell.

What you will need,

1. Microfibre towels
2. Bristle brush
3. Baking soda
4. Vinegar
5. Water

If you find a puddle of urine on the floor it is best to soak up as much as you can with a cloth or paper towel. Try not to scrub it as this sets the stain in more, just dab it before using the cleaner. After soaking up as much as you can try a homemade clean first, highly suggested to use is vinegar and water mixed together, not to be used separately, try this 1-2 times, it would be best to clean it up after wards with a steam cleaner as this will penetrate the solution and stain for optimal clean up.

Once the area has been completely dried, sprinkle some baking soda on to the affected area, let sit for roughly 15 minutes then vacuum it up. For really tough orders and spots, let the baking soda sit overnight if possible then vacuum the next day.

Although this does take some time to remove the stain, it is best to remain patient for positive results as we all know animals will continue to mark their territory where they can smell urine, unfortunately uric acid is not soluble in water, so this means a normal or water based cleaning product will not be effective, it may seem like at first you have conquered the dreaded smell but once the uric acid and crystals are exposed to more water or your animal urinates in the same place again, the odor will come back with a vengance , making it nearly impossible to remove. so if the home made cleaner did not work after a few tries and you find your fabric still smelling of urine, try an enzymatic cleaner as they break up crystals in the carpet and get them loose so the smell can go away.

It’s best to always soak the area and not to spray it, if you just spray the area it will be less effective. Letting it soak then using a bristle brush or toothbrush will be best.

Still not able to get rid of that foul odor? It’s possible you are not targeting the exact spot, if you can’t see the stain anymore you can always try to use a uv light to see if it is still sitting under the surface.