If you are a dog owner it is very likely that you have experienced that awful dog urine smell on your carpet. For some reason, you couldn’t get back to take your dog out for their usual walk and they could not hold on any longer. Why dogs choose the carpet to do this is somewhat of a mystery but it happens.
So how do you get rid of the dog urine smell from your carpet? Well, we will show you how to do this in this article. There is not just the smell to contend with but what to do when you have a urine-saturated carpet and get rid of any stains.
Table of Contents
How To Get Rid Of Dog Urine Smell From Your Carpet
1. Clean Up First
You need to clean up the urine first before you attempt to eliminate the smell. If the urine is fairly fresh and you can see it then it is time to soak it up. When a dog urinates on a carpet then you need to cover the affected area with an absorbent cloth or paper towels. This helps to draw the urine up from the carpet.
You may need to use more than one absorbent cloth or several paper towels to ensure that you soak up all of the urine. The area needs to be as dry as possible so be persistent here until you complete the job.
2. Getting Rid of Dog Urine on Carpet
You can use ordinary household items to get rid of dog urine. A simple mixture you can use is a combination of soda and vinegar. To make an effective mixture you need to add vinegar to water using a ratio of 1 to 3. Let the mixture settle for around 20 minutes. After this add some soda which will help to eliminate the smell.
Add the mixture to the affected area and let it dry. You will see some residue soda which you can remove with a vacuum cleaner. It is tempting to use harsher cleaning agents to remove urine from your carpet. The trouble is that certain household chemicals and chlorine can cause a lot of damage to a carpet. They can make colours run and even burn holes.
Another home product that you can use to get rid of dog urine on the carpet is alcohol. You will need to prepare a water and alcohol mixture using a 1-to-1 ratio. Vodka is a good alcoholic product to use here. After adding the mixture you need to wait for around 10-15 minutes. Then use a dry cloth to wipe the affected area and dry the carpet.
You may have heard that hydrogen peroxide can help to eliminate dog urine smells. This is true and you can use it to not just get rid of the smell but the stains as well. Prepare a mixture of dish soap and hydrogen peroxide. Add a teaspoon of dish soap to a cup of hydrogen peroxide. Don’t use a dishwasher machine soap just normal dishwashing soap.
The best way to apply the mixture is by using a spray bottle. Aim the spray directly at the stain and then work the mixture into the carpet using a soft toothbrush. After this, you need to let the mixture dry completely.
You need to be aware that hydrogen peroxide is strong and anything more than a 3% solution can have a bleaching effect on your carpet. Test a small area of your carpet first to make sure that there will be no adverse effects.
3. What to do about Dry Dog Urine Stains in Carpet
The problem with dry urine stains on carpets is that they can be difficult to find. An easy way to find dry urine stains is to use an inexpensive UV light. Dog urine contains phosphorous and a UV light will illuminate this.
Once you have your UV light you need to turn any other lights off before you use it. Shine it on your carpet so that you can find those dried-in stains that have been there for a while. Mark the area with chalk so that you can see the affected area under normal light conditions.
Now you need to rinse the stain thoroughly using water. To do a really thorough job you can rent a steam cleaner. This will totally saturate your carpet with clean water and then you can suck up the dirty water afterwards. Don’t be tempted to use a steam cleaner for this job. You will set in the smell and stain permanently with the heat.
There are a number of neutralizers available for dog urine smell. Use the product on a small area first following the manufacturer’s instructions. You never know if one of these neutralizer products will stain your carpet. Let the neutralizer dry completely.
4. General points about removing Dog Urine from Carpets
The first thing to say here is that there are some carpets which you cannot clean in your home. If you have handmade carpets, viscose rayon carpets or silk carpets then these will require cleaning by a professional carpet cleaning company.
Never use a brush, cloth or sponge to rub the stains. If you do this you run the risk of making the stain even bigger and ruining the fabric of your carpet. When you clean a carpet always work from the edges first into the centre.
Be careful with the amount of water that you use to clean a carpet. Don’t overdo it and always make sure that your carpet is completely dry afterwards. If you don’t do this then you can have a mildew problem and this will create bacteria which does not smell pleasant.
To ensure that you will not affect the colours of your carpet or its structure always try out dog urine remedies on a small area first. If you go for cleaning products available on the market then follow the instructions precisely. Open windows for ventilation when you are using these products.
Still, have a Dog Urine Smell from your Carpet?
If the dog urine smell is really stubborn then you can purchase green enzymatic cleaning products that are strong. You just have to spray these on the affected areas of your carpet if the urine is fairly fresh.
Smells and stains that have been around for a long time may need help from a professional if all other methods have failed. The spot-cleaning methods we have described are effective in most situations, but a professional cleaning service will take care of any bacteria left behind.
We hope that this guide to getting rid of the dog urine smell from your carpet has helped. Prevention is better than cure, and you may need to train your dog more so that urine accidents do not happen again.