How to Get Pet Stains & Odors Out of Carpet

Pet stains and odors on your carpet are par for the course with pets.

Owning pets comes with cleaning up the occasional pet stain. When your pet has an accident on your carpet, no matter what type of accident it is, you want to remove the pet stain and accompanying odor completely. A pet stain that's removed but leaves behind a lingering odor will signal to pets that they can use the area to go to the bathroom there again. By taking extra measures to remove pet stains and odors from your carpet you ensure that your pets aren't attracted back to the same area.

Things You'll Need

• Scraper
• Trash bag
• Paper towels
• White vinegar
• Wet vacuum
• Baking soda
• Vacuum

Instructions

1. Scrape up any pet stain substance, such as fecal matter or vomit, using a scraper. Dispose of it in a trash bag and continue to remove until you've cleaned up as much of the substance as possible.

2. Lay paper towels over the site of the pet stain and odor on your carpet. Press the paper towels into the carpet to wick up any moisture from the pet stain. Change to fresh paper towels and continue to remove as much of the pet stain-related liquid as possible.

3. Pour straight white vinegar onto the carpet at the site of the pet stain and odor. Blot the vinegar with paper towels to remove both the vinegar and the stain.

4. Rinse the pet stain and odor area of the carpet with cool water. Extract the water from the carpet using a wet vacuum. Alternate rinsing the carpet and removing the water with the wet vacuum until the water removed from the carpet looks clean.

5. Cover the carpet where the pet stain and odor was with a thick layer of baking soda. As the baking soda wicks up remaining moisture, vacuum it up and replace with a fresh application of baking soda. Leave the last application of baking soda on the carpet overnight so it can neutralize any remaining odor from the pet stain.

6. 

   A vacuum comes in handy for removing carpet stains.

   Vacuum your carpet to remove the baking soda and any last remnants of pet stain and odor.

Tips & Warnings

• Sprinkle baking soda on your carpet once a week to refresh the carpet and combat everyday pet odors.

• Avoid the use of ammonia products to remove pet stains, as the ammonia can magnify the ammonia smell in pet stain matter.

References

• Humane Society: Removing Pet Stains and Odors
• Earth Easy: Non-Toxic Home Cleaning Solutions