How Do I Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell in Carpet?

All indoor dogs will occassionally have an "accident" on carpet and floors.

The smell of a carpet soaked in dog urine can overwhelm any room. It is important to understand the proper way to remove the smell or you may actually make the problem worse. According to the Humane Society, you should not rush to apply chemical carpet cleaners thinking that will remove the smell, because they will not. Chemicals of any kind, even popular homemade vinegar solutions are not effective at removing the smell of dog urine because they do not break down the enzymes in the urine.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Newspaper
• Brick
• Cool water
• Wet-vac
• Carpet cleaning machine
• Pet odor enzyme neutralizer

Instructions

Wet Stain

1. Absorb the urine stain by placing a thick layer of paper towels and newspaper on the location and weighing it down with a heavy object such as a brick for a minute.

2. Remove the brick and replace the wet paper towels and newspaper with dry ones. Repeat this process until you have absorbed as much of the urine as possible.

3. Pour plain, cool water on the location until thoroughly soaked. Blot the water up with paper towels or vacuum out with a wet-vac. When the carpet is dry, apply an enzyme pet odor eliminator to neutralize the urine smell.

Dried Stain

1. Clean the carpet with a home or commercial-grade carpet cleaner using only clean, cool water. This will soak up and extract the urine deep within. If the carpet has been cleaned with chemicals, you will need to repeat this process to make certain it is thoroughly rinsed.

2. Dry the carpet completely by placing a fan in the area and opening windows to allow for good air circulation.

3. Apply the enzyme pet odor eliminator to the dried carpet and allow to be absorbed and to dry. Repeat the process until the odor is gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of using a brick to weigh down the newspaper and paper towels, you can stand on it instead.

• High-quality pet odor neutralizer can be purchased from most pet stores.

• Pet odor neutralizers will not work effectively until all traces of previous chemical cleansers are rinsed away thoroughly.

References

• The Humane Society of the United States: Removing Pet Stains and Odors

Resources

• The Humane Society of the United States: Housetraining Puppies