Your furry family members are adorable and cuddly until they have an accident on your floors. Pet feces on hardwood floors can be easier to clean up than pet stains on carpet or upholstery, but wood flooring has its own issues, including the risk of damage to the wood. Responding quickly with the right type of cleaning products is essential to preventing hardwood floor damage.
Problems With Pet Poop
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When your pet has an accident on your hardwood flooring, feces are the easiest to clean up. It usually doesn't cause an issue with the flooring if you clean it up quickly, although any type of pet accident can damage the wood flooring. If your pet urinates on the floor along with the feces or at a different time, the urine can soak into the wood and cause a black mark on the hardwood floor. If this happens, you might need to sand and refinish the area to remove the damage.
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Animal feces can also make you sick due to the bacteria and parasites that can be present. Avoid touching the mess with bare hands and wash your hands thoroughly after you clean up the stinky mess. Cleaning the floor thoroughly is also important to avoid leaving behind any traces of poop where you could potentially come in contact with it again.
Things You'll Need
Plastic bag
Paper towels
Cloth
How to Clean Animal Feces
It's easiest to handle feces that are firm and easy to grasp. If your pet has tummy issues, diarrhea can be more difficult to clean up and can soak into the wood flooring, potentially causing damage.
Step 1: Remove the Feces
Put on disposable gloves. Grab a plastic grocery bag or a similar disposable bag. Turn it inside out around your hand, grab the feces with the bag, and turn the bag back the other way to keep it inside the bag. Tie the top of the bag to seal in the feces.
Step 2: Wipe Up the Area With Paper Towels
Use paper towels to wipe up diarrhea or remaining traces of wet feces. Avoid spreading the feces beyond where it already is located to limit the cleaning area and potential flooring damage. Have a plastic bag or trash can handy to throw away the paper towels as you clean up the mess.
Step 3: Scrape Off Dry Feces
Remove dried-on feces from an old accident using a plastic scraper. Hold the scraper at an angle and work gently to remove the feces without damaging the flooring or scratching the finish.
Step 4: Clean the Floor
Wipe the area with hydrogen peroxide, which helps to sanitize the floor without damaging it. Apply the hydrogen peroxide to a soft cloth and wipe the floor. You can also spray hydrogen peroxide directly onto the wood floor and wait two or three minutes before wiping it with a cloth.
Step 5: Dry the Wood
Run a soft towel or cloth over the floor after you finish cleaning it so moisture doesn't stay on the wood.
Step 6: Inspect the Area
Watch the spot for several days to make sure a black mark doesn't form at the location where you found the feces. If it does, you can sand or bleach the area to remove the black stain.