*Do-it-yourself Steps: (Printing Option Below)
1. Do it NOW. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to remove.
2.
Use the right equipment. Use a wet vacuum or a small carpet spotting machine to extract the liquid portion of the accident
BEFORE rinsing or adding a spot remover.
3. Use the proper cleaning agent AFTER the liquid has been removed.
4. Rinse the spot with plain water and extract the water with your wet vac.
Disclaimer:Use
these techniques at your own risk. Be aware that pet accidents can damage fibers. Pre-test each solution in an inconspicuous
area before using. If the stain or odor persists, call a professional right away.
Do-it-yourself Pet Stain Removal
If you have pets, and buy one item for your home, get a wet vacuum! They are available at most hardware stores for
under $40.
I’ve been telling my clients this for years. If a pet has an accident on your carpet or upholstery,
and you find it while it is still wet, what do you do? Do you get a stack of paper towels to mash the urine into the padding?
NO!
Use a wet vac or a small spot removal machine. Simply suck up any liquid. This will allow the urine to be
sucked up out of the fiber. If nothing else is available, use paper towels. Wet vacs are available at most any department
store for $20-$70. Or, use a carpet spot removal machine. I recommend a small spot removal machine because the more convenient
the machine, the more likely you are to get it out of the closet when a minor accident occurs. The larger, upright carpet
cleaning machines are too bulky for small problems, break down all the time, and hardly do much good for larger areas.
After you’ve removed all the liquid you possibly can, treat the area with a proper spot remover or enzyme.
The big mistake most pet owners make is adding the wrong type of spot remover to a urine spot before they remove the
urine. Doing this will give you a puddle of urine with some spot remover in it. This is hardly considered cleaning. Make sure
you remove any liquid matter BEFORE adding a spot remover.
What cleaning agents to use AFTER the liquid has been removed
Enzymes are usually the best cleaning agent for urine, vomit, and feces. You must use an enzyme for any spot that
isn’t fresh. We use a professional strength natural enzyme solution, you can use Nature's Miracle
that is available in any Pet Supply Store, but any effective enzyme will work in the same way. An enzyme is the only cleaning
agent that actually eats up the bad bacteria in urine. It can be used on carpet, upholstery, and wood. There are many enzymes
on the market. Some work well, some do not.
You can also dilute 1 cup of vinegar with two
cups of water. The acid base of vinegar will help remove a fresh urine spot, but it won’t actually digest any
of the urine like an enzyme does. A neutral ph spotting agent works well for general cleaning of the spot as well. Like the
spotter our clients usually gets from us Free!
CAUTION:
DO NOT USE THESE SPOTTERS ON URINE OR VOMIT
Never use any high ph or high residue product. This would include ammonia and Resolve carpet spotter. I have seen
many instances where the wrong product caused a urine stain to be permanent. The use of oxygen bleach (like Oxiclean) is
also risky on many carpets.
Removing
the Urine Stain
After you’ve extracted the
liquid and treated the spot, you’ll still have a stain on the carpet. You’ll need to rinse the spot before it
becomes a permanent stain. Use plain hot water to rinse the spotting agent out.
If you have a spot removal machine
that allows you to rinse with water, put plain hot water with no detergent in the tank. Lightly rinse the area and follow
with several dry vacuum passes.
hot
If you have a wet vac, sprinkle plain water on the area and extract with the
wet vac.
If urine stays in the carpet or upholstery for an extended period of time, it WILL permanently stain.
Even worse, it will eventually eat away the backing of the fiber and destroy the carpet or upholstery. Not to mention the
obvious unhealthy situation and odor the urine will cause.
The best thing you can do for any type of pet accident
is remove it right away.
The longer the problem stays in the fiber, the worse the problem becomes. Professional
cleaning is still necessary for overall maintenance every 6-12 months if a pet lives in the home. If you cannot remove
the stain or odor, call us immediately at (704)425-8000 (Mecklenburg &
Surrounding areas). We will bring in a urine probe to determine exactly where the problems are and treat only the
effected areas with the proper enzyme deodorizers. We have a tool that can even pull the urine from the pad.
For over 150 additional spot removal tips, visit the spot removal section our site at www.absoluteresurface.net The techniques mentioned here work well for any urine, vomit, or feces spot on
carpet, rugs, or upholstery. Always pre-test any spotting agent before using the product.
