Rinse the spot with plain water and extract the water with your wet vac.
Disclaimer: Use these techniques at your own risk. Be aware that pet accidents can damage fibers. Pre-test each solution in an inconspicuous area before using. If the stain or odor persists, call a professional right away.
Do-it-yourself Pet Stain Removal
If you have pets, and buy one item for your home, get a wet vacuum! They are available at most hardware stores for under $40.
I’ve been telling my clients this for years. If a pet has an accident on your carpet or upholstery, and you find it while it is still wet, what do you do? Do you get a stack of paper towels to mash the urine into the padding? NO!
Use a wet vac or a small spot removal machine. Simply suck up any liquid. This will allow the urine to be sucked up out of the fiber. If nothing else is available, use paper towels. Wet vacs are available at most any department store for $20-$70. Or, use a carpet spot removal machine. I recommend a small spot removal machine because the more convenient the machine, the more likely you are to get it out of the closet when a minor accident occurs. The larger, upright carpet cleaning machines are too bulky for small problems, break down all the time, and hardly do much good for larger areas.
After you’ve removed all the liquid you possibly can, treat the area with a proper spot remover or enzyme.
The big mistake most pet owners make is adding the wrong type of spot remover to a urine spot before they remove the urine. Doing this will give you a puddle of urine with some spot remover in it. This is hardly considered cleaning. Make sure you remove any liquid matter BEFORE adding a spot remover.
What cleaning agents to use AFTER the liquid has been removed
Enzymes are usually the best cleaning agent for urine, vomit, and feces. You must use an enzyme for any spot that isn’t fresh. We us an enzyme by an all-natural chemical manufacturer called Bi-O-Kleen that is available at our website or at our office, but any effective enzyme will work in the same way. An enzyme is the only cleaning agent that actually eats up the bad bacteria in urine. It can be used on carpet, upholstery, and wood. There are many enzymes on the market. Some work well, some do not.
You can also dilute 1 cup of vinegar with two cups of water. The acid base of vinegar will help removal of a fresh urine spot, but it won’t actually digest any of the urine like an enzyme does. A neutral ph spotting agent works well for general cleaning of the spot as well.
CAUTION: DO NOT USE THESE SPOTTERS ON URINE OR VOMIT
Never use any high ph or high residue product. This would include ammonia and Resolve carpet spotter. I have seen many instances where the wrong product caused a urine stain to be permanent. The use of oxygen bleach is also risky on many carpets.
Removing the Urine Stain
After you’ve extracted the liquid and treated the spot, you’ll still have a stain on the carpet. You’ll need to rinse the spot before it becomes a permanent stain. Use plain water to rinse the spotting agent out.
If you have a spot removal machine that allows you to rinse with water, put plain water with no detergent in the tank. Lightly rinse the area and follow with several dry vacuum passes.
If you have a wet vac, sprinkle plain water on the area and extract with the wet vac.
If urine stays in the carpet or upholstery for an extended period of time, it WILL permanently stain. Even worse, it will eventually eat away the backing of the fiber and destroy the carpet or upholstery. Not to mention the obvious unhealthy situation and odor the urine will cause.
The best thing you can do for any type of pet accident is remove it right away.
The longer the problem stays in the fiber, the worse the problem becomes. Professional cleaning is still necessary for overall maintenance every 6-12 months if a pet lives in the home. If you cannot remove the stain or odor, call us immediately at (724) 942-4243. We will bring in a urine probe to determine exactly where the problems are and treat only the effected areas with the proper deodorizers. We have a tool that can even pull the urine from the pad.
For more spot removal tips, visit the spot removal section our site at www.CarpetCleaningPittsburghPA.com. The techniques mentioned here work well for any urine, vomit, or feces spot on carpet, rugs, or upholstery. Always pre-test any spotting agent before using the product.
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