Removing and Cleaning Pet Stains

Cute Yorkshire Terrier Pupply Laying on Bed.

Removing and Cleaning Pets Stains

If you’re like most people, you absolutely love your pets. You pamper them, you love them and you can’t imagine your life without them.

What you might be able to imagine however, is not dealing with the pet stains.

It really is inevitable that your pet has an accident. Unless there is some underlying reason, they really don’t mean to leave behind a mess for you to clean, that’s why these things are called “accidents”.

If it happens to you, you can safely and effectively remove your pet stains.

Clean The Stain As Soon As Possible

First and foremost, you must be willing to get the stain up as quickly as you possibly can. Stains that sit and sit and sit can cause damage. So, the faster you work to remove it, the better chances you’ll have of getting the stain up.

Of course, if you catch your pet doing the pee-pee walk or in the act, get them outside quickly. If you didn’t make it, at least it’s fresh and you’ll have an even better chance to remove all traces.

Soak Up The Urine

If it’s a urine stain, soak up as much of the urine as possible using layers of paper towels. Use as many as needed until the liquid is removed or the best you can get.

Removing The Urine Stain

To clean urine stains from carpet, you can use a commercial pet stain remover, an enzymatic cleaner, or you can use a homemade cleaning solution.

  • Do Not use ammonia based products as they will attract your pet to the spot again.
  • Do Not use hot water because the heat will permanently set the odor by bonding the protein into the carpet fibers.

If you use a commercial pet stain or enzymatic cleaner; follow the directions carefully. Many manufacturers will tell you to douse the area, scrub it and let dry with a towel. If you prefer to use a homemade solution to clean the area, you should clean it with a mixture of 50/50 vinegar and water and use a paper towel to blot and remove as much of the liquid as possible.

Removing Pet Stains from Washable Items

If your beloved pet goes potty on a washable item, you can get the stain out by hand washing the item in a clean sink with 1/3 cup of vinegar to four cups of water and then washing again in the washing machine. If you would rather use your washing machine only, you should wash the soaked item with a cup of vinegar and no detergent and then rewash as normal. Another option is to add a fair amount of baking soda to your regular detergent and wash as normal.

Removing Old Pet Stains

Unfortunately, many pet stains can be invisible to us so if you smell a hint of something but can’t figure out where it’s coming from, one thing to do is get down on your hands and knees and sniff it out as well as look for any discolorations.

The other thing to try is a regular handheld black light. When used in the dark, this will cause biological material (such as urine) to glow. It’s great at spotting old stains that no longer emit a smell and those you didn’t even know about.

To clean the stain, you can use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water to saturate the stain, then blot with absorbent material. Cover with a clean towel until almost dry then do the sniff test. If there is still an odor, apply a liberal amount of baking soda to the area. Work in the carpet fibers carefully with your fingers and cover. Let sit up to 24 hours then vacuum. This should remove the stain and odor.

Finishing Up

In conclusion, there may have been a reason for your pet going potty in the wrong place. You may want to consider a trip to the vet and make sure there is no underlying issues.