Removing Urine Stains and Pet Odor from the Floor, Carpet or Laundry

Nothing makes me crazier than coming home and finding that my puppy or kitty has made yet another mess somewhere (like the floor, carpet or laundry).

I’m tired, the kids are hungry, my pets are hungry and now I have a yucky mess to clean up too!

But we can’t put the job off because pet urine (old or new) will cause an odor that will last for ages and can even be impossible to get out.

But the problem can even get even worse. Urine can cause PERMANENT damage to your carpeting, to the floorboards and to the matting underneath.

Is this where things stand with you? Well don’t worry.

I have pets, love pets and have been dealing with urine stains and odor for years (I’m sorry to say!)

I’m a pro at cleaning cat and dog pee up, and I’m happy to teach you just the right way to clean it up too.

So are you ready then? Let’s get busy and remove your pet urine and odor!

How to Remove Pet Urine Stains and Odor from Floors and Carpets

The #1 Cleaning Tip to remove pet stains is to work fast.

Although you may not realize it, it is important to remove urine from your flooring as soon as possible, preferably, before it even dries.

Urine contains minerals, chemicals and bacteria that cause the odor problems and are difficult to remove.

The breakdown of these chemicals from bacteria causes the stink of ammonia that we know all too well.

If you can clean up the urine before it soaks into the carpet, floorboards and it is not allowed to dry, you can clean it as well as if the urine was never there to start with.

Clean the Mess Right When You See It!

1. Remove any debris that you can. Don’t use any force as you need to pick it up rather than smash it down. Smashing it into the floor makes the problem doubly worse!
2. Secondly, apply a thick padding of white paper towels to the area and blot.
3. Do not rub, but blot to remove as much of the urine as possible from the flooring. This will help you successfully to stop the urine from spreading or further making matters worse.

Home Made Urine Cleaning Solutions

Now you can make your own handy dandy pet urine and odor cleaning solution.

Cleaning Precautions: Never use ammonia on urine stains. Urine breaks down into the components of ammonia and will draw your pet back to the area again and again.

Neutralizing Urine Odor

1. Mix warm water with white vinegar (50/50 ratio) in a spray bottle.
2. Spray onto the area lightly.
3. Blot dry.
4. The vinegar will safely neutralize the urine odor.

Deodorizing Lingering Urine Odor

Baking soda is an excellent and effective urine deodorizer. Now both the stain and odor should be gone!

1. Mix a solution of 1/4 cup baking soda mixed with 3/4 cup warm water spray.
2. Spray onto the area or blot on with towel. This will help to remove stubborn odors that come from old urine stains that have been allowed to sit too long.
3. After removing the stain, allow the area to thoroughly dry. Use fans if necessary.
4. Apply a light sprinkle of baking soda over the area and allow it to sit overnight.
5. Vacuum the area thoroughly in the morning.

Removing Pet Urine and Odor on Laundry

What should you do when your pet urinates on a piece of clothing or other fabrics that are washable? It’s happened before to me many times. The kids come running. “Mom, look what the dog did to my school clothes (or book bag, or pants, etc)”

If you find that your pet has done this, it’s important for you to work quickly to remove these stains.

To clean up pet urine and odor on laundry:

1. Carefully blot the area to remove as much of the liquid as possible.
2. Then, use a pre-stain removal treatment on the piece of clothing if it can be washed in your washing machine.
3. Follow the directions on the stain removal product as to how to use the treatment.
4. Apply enough to cover the front and back sides of the area that was stained.
5. Allow to sit for five to fifteen minutes, without allowing it to dry.
6. Launder as you normally would.
7. Finally, allow the piece of clothing to air dry and make sure that the urine and odor is completely gone because, putting a stained item in the dryer can actually cause the stain to permanently set.
8. If the stain has not been removed, repeat the process.

Removing Tough Pet Odor

Still Struggling?

If you have found that pet urine and odor still lingers after carefully cleaning it, you may have some damage to the padding that is under the carpeting.

In this case, you may need to replace the padding by pulling up the carpeting and removing it. Once the carpeting and padding has been completely removed, allow the floorboards to dry fully before replacing them with new carpeting and padding.

Use a fan to help dry the area. If the floorboards can withstand the chemicals a mild slight solution of bleach and water might help to remove any lingering odor and dry completely with a terry cloth. Again, insure the area dries completely before replacing the carpeting.

Aren’t You Happy the Job is Finished!

Good job on cleaning up the urine and odor. The key facts to remember are to clean it as soon as possible use vinegar and baking soda (separately) to neutralize odor and the stain will disappear just as it never happened.