- Pets can leave a variety of stains on any item within their reach. Your lovable ball of fur leaves the most common type of pet stain when it fails to relieve itself outside or in the litter box. However, pets can also leave muddy prints on furniture, any items left on the floor, or on your clothing if they jump in your lap. Pets also bring trace amounts of dirt into the house on their feet. Overtime, carpets and furniture can take on a dingy appearance. Pets may also cause spills by chewing or clawing a hole in something or darting between your legs at an inopportune moment.
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A distinctive feature of potty pet stains is their pervading odor. Sometimes a stain can remain long after the mess has been cleaned and the area disinfected.
In conjunction with pet stain removal, you also need to retrain your pet to act appropriately to prevent further staining. Whether it treated the new carpet as a litter box or left paw prints all over your new white pants, simply cleaning the mess will not prevent another stain from occurring. - It is usually in your best interest to clean pet stains as quickly as possible. The longer a mess sits, the better the chance of permanent staining and the more likely odors will remain long after cleaning. If a urine stain is left on carpet too long, it will soak through to the pad underneath and the carpet may need to be replaced.
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Fresh pet stains are the easiest to clean.
Urine should be soaked up from the carpet using paper towels and newspaper. Create a pad by folding paper towels into a multi-layered square or rectangle. Place a folded piece of newspaper over the paper towel, place it on the puddle and step on it. Repeat this process until you no longer get any urine in the paper towel. Rinse the area thoroughly with water or an odorless disinfectant and either clean up the liquid with a wet-vac or soak it up with another pad until the area is dry or barely damp. Mist the area lightly with pet deodorizer, available at most pet locations.
If your pet defecated on the carpet, carefully pick up the mess with rubber gloves or a wad of paper towel, flush the area with disinfectant, and then remove the liquid. Pet deodorizer may or may not be necessary.
If your pet tracked mud on the carpet, don't try to scrub it out. Let the area dry and vacuum up the dirt. If a stain remains, mix a little vinegar or peroxide with water and blot the stain up.
If your pet has stained your clothing, remove it immediately and soak it in cool water. Pretreat the area and toss it in the washer on the cold water cycle.
If a pet stain has set, removal is difficult, but not impossible.
If possible, clean as much of the mess as you can with a damp cloth. Apply an enzymatic cleaner like Sporicidin, Odormute or Nature's Miracle according to the package directions. If you believe your pet has urinated on the carpet hours before, a black light can reveal old urine stains. When you find the area, spray it with enzymatic cleaner.
If your pet has soiled a small rug, soak it if possible, pretreat the stains, and wash it on a cold water cycle. If the stain will not come out, launder it again with Dreft, a laundry detergent formulated for reusable baby diapers. -
No matter how well-behaved your pet is, accidents will happen. You will have stains. Fortunately, if they are cleaned properly, most pet stains aren't permanent.
Scrubbing stains can cause them to spread and move deeper into the carpet or fabric. The back and forth motion can also weaken the fibers in the material. Instead of scrubbing, blot the stain by firmly pressing an absorbent cloth over the area again and again.
If you launder clothing that has been stained by your furry friend, don't wash it in hot water and make sure the stain is completely gone before you throw it in the dryer. The heat may cause the stain to set and will make removal almost impossible.
Steam cleaners can be helpful for cleaning the dirt your pets have tracked into the house over time. However, do not use them to remove old potty stains. The heat from the machine will cause both stain and odor to bond to your carpet fibers or upholstery.
Using strong smelling chemicals like ammonia or vinegar to clean potty stains can do more harm than good. Both successfully eliminate stains, but your pet can still smell its odor, even if you can't. Odorous cleaners may frustrate a pet who is trying to "mark their scent," and may cause it to return to the same area over and over again to relieve itself.
Comments
trainingguide said
on 11/3/2009 great post, ive been trying to tryin my new puppy, second dog weve had, first one was easy, this one 0 needs trained lol keeps eating stuff but ive been using this site alot aswell its been veyr helful
http://tinyurl.com/yztgjr6
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Training-Guide****