Recipes to Remove Pet Odors

If you’ve got a pet you’re going to have smells. No question about it.

No matter how good Fido or Fifi are, there are times when they’re not going to make it to the door or the litter box.

If you have pets in the home, stain removers are a must. Not only should they be able to clean the stain but remove the smell as well. 

I know many people that own pets and they trust the products they buy and that’s OK but you can make your own cleaners that work just as well as expensive cleaners.

Homemade Recipes to Neutralize Pet Odors

The simple fact is not all stains removers you buy work. They are expensive and full of chemicals, they can quite often clean the stain but they can’t always neutralize pet odors.

And carpets are expensive too, so tossing the carpet every time your pet leaves you a little “gift” is not a good idea. So what’s a pet owner to do?

Well there’s the obvious stuff like don’t leave a dirty litter box until even the cat is afraid to go near it! and when you put clean kitty litter in the box, mix in either some coffee grounds or some baking soda to help eliminate odors.

Here are some good recipes that promise excellent results if you are patient:

Vinegar and Baking Soda Recipe

This works on cat and dog urine odors.

• White Vinegar
• Water
• Baking soda
• Hand dishwashing detergent
• Hydrogen peroxide

Mix up a solution that’s half water and half white vinegar. You can keep it in a spray bottle for repeat usage.

Blot up as much urine from the carpet as possible – use a little elbow grease to get all the liquid up that you can. Layers of paper towels work great for this.

After you blot up all of the pet urine, really soak the spot with the water/vinegar solution.

How to Neutralize the Odor

1. Let the water/vinegar cleaning solution soak in for a few minutes and then blot it up with more paper towels.
2. Get some exercise and take out your pet owner frustration by really dancing on those paper towels!
3. After the spot is dry, or near dry of urine, put a fair amount of baking soda on the spot. You can work it in the carpet with your fingers.
4. Mix up half a cup of peroxide and a teaspoon of the dishwashing detergent and pour some over the baking soda.
5. Use a toothbrush or scrub brush to carefully (don’t want to damage carpet fibers) rub it in the area a bit more.
6. Blot the liquid up and voila, pet odor should be eliminated.
7. Cover the clean area with a clean, dry towel until thoroughly dry.

Dishwashing Liquid Recipe

This method works best on a fresh stain. As we mentioned above, blot up as much of the urine as possible then make the following recipe.

• 1 quart water
• 3 – 4 drops dishwashing liquid
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar

Neutralizing the Odor

• Mix all ingredients together and pour a little over the urine stained area.
• Follow Step 5, 6 and 7 from above.
• If necessary, repeat.

Air Freshener for Pet Odors

Are your pets really pretty good about making it to the kitty box or finding the door to go outside? Most are.

But still, they can get a little stinky from time to time. Cat box odors can linger and dogs like to roll in stinky spots they find in the yard, at least mine does, and until he gets a bath the odor can linger in the air. So, how about homemade air freshener to eliminate pet odors?

• Fill 8 ounce spray bottle with water then add in 10 to 20 drops lemongrass essential oil. Start with 10 drops essential oil, see what you think and more to your liking. If you have an aromatherapy diffuser, add a few drops of the essential oil.
• In an 8 ounce spray bottle add 2 tablespoons baking soda, fill bottle with water and shake well. Then add in about 10 – 20 drops lemongrass essential oil. Bergamot is also a good essential oil choice to help eliminate pet odors.

I love my pets, they’re a great addition to our family, but they can sometimes leave behind odors. Now, the next time you need to clean up after them and freshen the air, you’re ready!