Comments on: How to Remove Cat Urine From Carpet

on 11/22/2005 As an online retailer of an odor remover, I researched throughly what works and want doesn't. Bacterial or enzyme products are the only thing that will permanently eliminate urine compounds. The bacterial or enzyme products work best at a neutral (7.0) pH, adding baking soda to the carpet will increase the alkalinity to 9.5 pH. In essence, reducing the effectiveness of the product. Ammonia would raise the alkalinity to 13 pH. Vinegar's acidity is 3.5 pH.

on 10/21/2007 First, soak the area in a white vinegar and water solution; 50/50. Then use a wet dry vac or carpet cleaner from Home Depot (suction only) to remove the excess water and vinegar solution. Let the area dry almost completely. Generously cover the area with baking soda and work it into the carpet. Let that stay until the carpet is completely dry and then vacuum the area. This process worked for me!
In the past I have used the enzymes, but those were for new urine. For old stains the enzymes didn't do the job, and after 3 gallons (at $22 each) and one step from replacing my entire carpet and showing my cat the road, I tried this approach. Good luck!

on 11/22/2005 Q. How do I find Urine's location in my carpetting?

A. Finding urine's locationin carpetting is esential.

Cats will generally urinate along the baseboard of a wall forming a parimeter in a room they feel is their territory.

Dogs urine behavior is more gender related.

Male dogs mark exterior corners while female dogs urinate in high traffic lanes of the carpet.


Q. How come everything I've tried never seems to work?

A. Few, if any over the counter pet urine removal products work because they lack the proper chemistry and ph to effectively NEUTRALIZE the alkaline compounds found in old urine.

When cleaning carpets, dirt grease and grime are all acidic and so all cleaning agents are usually alkaline. Urine on the other hand, is alkaline in nature so alkaline cleaning agents makes the problem worse!

To remove urine, you have to first neutralize the high alkaline ph with a carpet safe acid based detergent. White vinegar is a medium strength acid which can be added to most other pet products.

Since urine usually goes deep into a carpet padding, thorough saturation of the area may be necessary to obtain satisfactory results.

Before you decide to saturate or flood a given area of the carpet there are several things to consider. Will I cause secondary water damage creating a catastrophe? Posibly, however you can controll and reduce the liklihood of this happening if you follow these important precautions.
First, what is the subfloor constructed of? Concrete / plywood / particle board ? In many cases the urine saturation itself either has or will cause more damage or swelling to a wood floor than removing the urine will. Getting it out may be the lesser of the two evils anyhow.

Second, How powerful is the wet vac extraction system? Can it vacume water through a 1-2 inch thick stack of bath towels? That's thicker than any carpet/padding I've seen!

Third, if you apply a limitted amount of cleaning solution (1/2 gal) at a time, odds are you'll be safe.

Sucessively apply (pouring directly onto the carpet , extracting moisture with the hose cuff of your shop vac and reapplying , in succession until the full area has been treated.
Walking or stepping up and down on a saturated cleaning area agitates the padding for more thorough results.
Adding a strong airfreshener deodorizer to a final rinse can aid in deodorizing the odors.
Once completed, rapid drying (24-36 hrs max) is critical in preventing structural subfloor dammage as well as the regrowth of odor causing bacteria colonies.

Using BOTH a dehumidifier and a fan to dry the carpets will produce the best results.

Many professional carpet cleaning services can also be called upon to do all of this work professionally.In my experience, about 1 in 10 residential cleaning jobs have significant urine contamination problems. If you decide to go that route, here's a few tips since I probably don't service your state!

Make sure that the technician coming to your house is reputable. Unscroupilous carpet cleaners may charge $300.00-$600.00 extra for phony procedures that don't work. One of the most common examples of this is called the live bacteria injection process where a cattle syringe is used to inject worthless high priced cleaning products into the carpet padding. Once that fails they usually proceed to go further by removing and replacing the pad itself for another $300.00-$600.00 extra. Also, companies who use portable cleaning equipment caried into the house should not be comsidered for the job.All portable electric carpet cleaning equipment have less power than an ordinary household shop vac. Alternative equipment called "Truck Mounted" where the equipment is permenantly mounted inside a van and either powered by it's own 25hp engine or the v8 engine of the van has over 1,000 times the power of electric equipment. Although independent companies sometimes offer more eqperienced technicians, most national franchise companies in the pro cleaning business only use such "Truck Mounted" or "Van Powered" equipment. Listen carefully to what their procedure is for removing the urine and why they feel that way. Don't be afraid to talk to atleast 4 companies before chosing one. Companies that claim they need to see the job before they can comment or estimate aproximate costs may sometimes be using the tactic to get their foot in the door where, once inside may use very agressive face to face sales tactics you may find difficult to deal with. Theoretically, if one in ten customers have some form of pet problems, any seasoned pro should be able to give the information you're requesting, right?

on 11/22/2005 I have 2 mother cats and 8 kittens and all the males from everywhere, one peed in my car and the outside smells like 'I don't know what'. I found this stiff called OUT pet stain and odor remover at WalMart that cost less than $5.00 and it works. I sprayed it in my car as soon as I got out of the store and the smell is gone.

on 11/22/2005 Hero Odors has healthy, effective removal of odor products that will take care of odor problems on any surface or fabric. They are natural and completely safe.

on 11/22/2005 Have you tried Urine-Off? Just soak the area, cover it with plastic, let it sit, and repeat if needed. It actually eats away the urine crystals that cause the odor. It's a bit expensive, but it really works.

on 8/29/2007 The best agents for cat pee odor and stain removal that I've found were also the cheapest.

Water(if you don't have this at least, you are doomed), baking soda (I use the biggest box I can find for the least amount of money), vinegar(they sell store brand white vinegar at the grocery store in gallon jugs), and 20 Mule Team Borax (found in Walmarts, Dollar Generals, and occassionally in grocery stores).

All three are no more than $3 in bulk amounts and the water you have already. The borax doesn't have to be the same, but I have yet to run across another brand name that comes in two and four pound boxes.

Wet the stained area. Put a mix of Borax and baking soda directly on the spot. You want two parts Borax to one part baking soda. Then wet them with half and half vingar and water. Cover it with a towel. Leave it for an hour or two. Use the towel to soak up any left over water, then vacuum. It works wonders on the smell, the stain and the cats don't go there again.

The baking soda and the vinegar won't hurt anything, but when you use the Borax, keep the pet away. Borax is harmless in small quantities but it absorbes moisture, which means if it gets in the pet's eyes or nose, it will cause damage. This is why Borax is also a great cure for fleas and roaches too.

I have three indoor/outdoor cats, all males. They brought fleas. Fleas lived in my rug. During one summer, it got to the point where you could not walk through my living room without five of them biting you on the legs. I just threw the kitties ouside, dusted my entire carpet with Borax and left it for a day. I then vaccumed. Get the cats bathed, treated, etc. Repeat this once a week for a month. You have to repeat this because fleas lay eggs and those eggs will not be affected by the borax until they hatch, which is about every two weeks. It prevents the new ones from living long enough to leave more eggs to hatch.

In a house that had a huge roach problem in the kitchen, I emptied half a four pound box of Borax inside an empty cabinet that I think they used as their home base. I saw about 100 of them running about in there. I left it alone for a week, and when I came back to it later, there wasn't even one live roach in the entire house. I felt like a great conquerer.

on 8/29/2007 Get some color safe bleach, mix 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, spray on soiled areas, let sit for at least an hour, then either wet vacuum the liquid up or dab it with paper towels. It's the bacteria that smells, and you need to kill that. Bleach is the only way, and color safe won't hurt the carpets like regular bleach. This doesn't get the stain out very well, but the odor is gone for good.

on 11/22/2005 I have two cats. One who likes to go outside the box (so to speak). I do keep Petzyme or Nature's Miracle on hand to treat brand new soiling, but they do not work well on old stains.

Keep it simple and cheap. The best treatments for cleaning and neutralizing cat urine and its odor are a vinegar and water solution, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. There's nothing better.

For carpeting: apply a vinegar and water solution to the entire soiled area. Buy a black light to see the spots if you're not sure. Soak it, blot it, and then let it dry completely. Afterward, apply baking soda liberally. Rub it into the carpet. Let it sit for a day or two. Vacuum it up and throw away the bag. If some smell is still present, repeat the process. By the second time around, you should have it taken care of.

On smooth surfaces: First a vinegar and water solution, then hydrogen peroxide. Again, it neutralizes the odor.

I disagree with the tip on using bleach. Yes, it helps neutralize the odor but it also creates mustard gas (bleach+ammonia in cat pee does not mix)! Please, do not do this. Or if you do, as the poster recommended, run like heck or you will be overcome.

on 11/22/2005 My cat urinates on the carpet. She knows to use the litter box, but doesn't like to. I use Nature's Miracle when she goes on the carpet, but it was hard to keep up with her. I recommend 2 things:
1) If you're gone all day, consider getting a large dog kennel. My cat uses her box when she's in the kennel. Make sure the kennel is big enough for the cat to move around, eat, and sleep as needed.
2) I put doggy training pads (for puppies) over the areas that my cat would go to the bathroom. She urinates on the pads instead of on the carpet. If she misses, I promptly clean up the spot with Nature's Miracle, but 95% of the time she does her business on the training pads.

on 2/12/2007 To treat cat urine that has soaked through the carpet into the padding, you have to reach the padding. A regular steam cleaning will not do the trick, it only cleans the surface.

This is what works for me, every time, even on the worst spots:

1) Break up the urine: Mix a solution of warm (not hot) water and Shout laundry treatment in a bucket. Shout contains enzymes which break down the urine and makes it easier to physically remove. Pour the mix liberally over the area, until it is thoroughly soaked through to the padding. Place a garbage bag over the spot, and walk on it for a minute or two - to work the solution well into the padding. Smooth the bag down and leave it overnight. Remove the bag and use a steam cleaner to remove as much liquid as possible. Tip: applying extra weight to the top of the steam cleaner with your foot helps it to get better suction and remove more liquid.

2) Lather, rinse and repeat: Drench the area with a solution of hot water and carpet cleaner. Place a bag over the area, work the solution into the area with feet. Remove the bag, and remove as much liquid as possible with a steam cleaner. Repeat until the water removed by the steam cleaner is no longer yellow, and then do it one more time!

3) Deodorize and disinfect: Repeat step #3 with a solution of cool water and Odor Ban. This product is available at Sam's Wholesale Club and on the Internet, and beats every other product I've used hands-down. If you can't get it, use another product or combination of products that have both deodorizing (to combat traces of odor) and disinfecting (to prevent the padding from rotting as it dries) properties.

4) Dry: Place a fan to blow over the area. It will take a couple of days for the carpet and padding to dry fully. Once dry, urine odor will be gone.

on 11/22/2005 This stuff is a miracle with cat urine. Make a strong mix, according to the instructions. After blotting the urine, saturate with the OxyClean solution. Blot the area immediately. Repeat the process, but let it sit longer (2-3 minutes). Blot the area again. Do a sniff test. If a strong ammonia smell is still present, then repeat the process.

on 11/22/2005 Shampoo the carpet, pour hot water over the soiled area (drenching it), use a shop vacuum to suck up the excess water. Pour club soda over the area, then apply Spray 'n Wash over the area and mop or scrub the area well. Allow to spot to soak for 30 minutes longer, suck up the solution, and allow to air dry (use a fan if you have one).

If it is a large area or an abundance of urine it may have soaked into your sub flooring. If there is a way to fold back the carpet to expose the floor, apply the Spray 'n Wash to the sub-flooring and allow it to soak for 30 minutes, then just wipe it up (do not rinse). The Spray 'n Wash has enzymes that destroy the ammonia crystals and neutralizes the odor.

on 2/12/2007 There is nothing worse than an elderly cat urinating on the carpet. One thing that comes close is the products that cover-up the smell but don't take it away. Enzymatic sprays just are not satisfactory. Of all the recommended commercial products listed on the Internet, (I've tried them) diluting Urine-Off and pouring it on the stain was the best (but still not satisfactory). When the powerful perfume smell dissipated after 2 days, you couldn't smell urine unless you got down on your knees or the room had been closed. That's the best you can buy, in my view.

The following has been the best for me:

1) Blot up the wet pee.

2) Take a milk jug, mix up 32 ounces fresh hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup baking soda and a teaspoon (or less) of liquid soap. Mix and immediately pour it on the spot (the chemical reaction quits after 20 minutes).

3) With your shoes on, squish the liquid into the pad and brush it around the carpet fibers. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. If any liquid is to get into the carpet, it should be this first. It goes where the urine goes and attacks the spreading odor. That's why I would not pull out the Bissell as the first line of defense.

4) Rub off the spot with lots of paper towels and absorb excess liquid.

5) Bissell the area using hot water. Let the spot dry. If the odor is not reduced, try it again.

6) Use No Stay! by Pet Organics for a minty freshness that keeps cats away.

on 11/22/2005 I poured white vinegar and baking soda on the urine stain. I then went back to the computer and forgot about it all until the next day. The smell was gone! Later, I washed the area with an enzyme detergent, just for added assurance.

Last night, suddenly my bedroom had a strong cat urine smell! Awful. Found that my tom's coat was wet w/urine; don't know how that could have happened. So he was sprayed w/OdoCide. Then the carpet was sprayed, just to be sure. Febreze has 'Laundry Odor Eliminator' a concentrate. Using the guide of how much to add to a full load of laundry, it was diluted then used in a spray bottle. It was sprayed all over any place that had a hint of urine smell. Between the two, my home now smells nice.

The OdoCide also erases the odor of skunk on a pet's fur. Dollar General also has their version of Febreze which works, too.