3 Ways To Remove Pet Urine Stains and Smells From Carpet

Your home’s floors are a big investment. Carpets aren’t cheap! It’s certainly not something you want to have installed new every few years. At Greensteam Carpet Cleaners, we want you to be able to enjoy your investment as long as possible. To do this, we recommend maintaining your carpets once every six months to once a year, depending on how many people and pets you have walking on your carpets.

Beyond this professional carpet cleaning, you’re going to need to treat pet urine stains immediately. As soon as a puddle is made, remove it to the best of your ability before the smell and acid seeps into your carpet fibers. You see, when urine is first deposited onto a floor or fabric, it has a pH of about 5 or 6, which is on the acid side of the pH Scale. It is easier to remove right then when it is fresh. Once it dries, the urine stain turns “alkaline” or to a high pH between 10 to 12 on the scale. At this point, it becomes more difficult to remove.

Here’s a few ways to do that:

#1 Baking Soda And Vinegar

First, cover the stained area in vinegar, then sprinkle baking soda on stop. Next, cover the stain with a dish or towel and wait a day or two. Scoop up the dried baking soda, rinse with cool water, then blot dry with a towel.

#2 Ammonia

You can also rinse the stained area with a solution made of two tablespoons ammonia and one cup of water. Towel the area dry.

#3 Dishwashing Detergent

In a spray bottle, combine a quarter teaspoon dishwashing detergent, not dish soap or laundry detergent, with a cup of warm water. Spray this on the stain, and repeat as needed.

These pet accidents are not something to let go! Pet urine can cause permanent damage to your floors and fabrics. It can also create an unhealthy indoor environment. The warm acid state of the urine offers a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, which begin to flourish almost immediately. In this original acid state, the urine begins to oxidize and react with the carpet to create a color change, which will become permanent if the urine is not removed immediately. If left for days or weeks, it will change the dye structure and cause permanent staining. By the time our team comes to clean your carpet after a pet accident, the damage to the carpet may already be done. This is why you’ll need to do the prep work to remove the urine stain right away.

Let’s work together to keep your carpets as clean, healthy, and fresh as possible! Give us a call at (206) 819-2722 to book a professional carpet cleaning service.