How to Remove Urine Smell From Carpet – When your beloved pet has an accident in the house, the liquid enters the carpet, then soaks down and spreads. The size of the spot you can see is generally a lot smaller than the size of the affected area in the backing of the carpet, the underlay and the floor. To make things worse, urine is a surfactant (breaks down surface tension), so each time the pet returns to that spot, the affected area beneath the carpet fibres gets bigger and bigger as the urine penetrates further and further.
So as much as we love our pets, the urine stains they can leave behind can cause a great deal of damage to your carpet. Hopefully, our pointers can help you.
If you have cleaned a urine spill from your carpet in the past you’d have noticed that sometimes, after drying, the soiling reappears. You may think this means that the carpet is stained but what it actually shows is that the soiling has remained deep in the carpet pile and wicked back up to the surface. Wicking takes place when soiling becomes trapped in carpet padding or subflooring, it then slowly rises its way back up to the tips of carpet fibres as it dries out after cleaning.
To help ensure you avoid this from happening, below is our step by step guide on how to completely remove the smell of urine from carpets
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How to Get Pee Smell Out of Carpet?
When working on how to get the urine smell out of carpet, it is inevitable that you will have to properly clean and sterilize the affected area. The older the stain of urine on the area rug, the harder it will be to remove the smell and stain of the pee.
However, before considering the following procedure, you might give a try to your portable carpet cleaner to remove the pee smell out of the carpet. In case your carpet cleaner does not work, it is mandatory to streamline the following procedure.
Step 1: Dry the Carpet Thoroughly
Don’t get overwhelmed when you notice that your carpet has been stained with your pet’s urine. Before you start any other approach, be sure that the carpet is dry. If the carpet is wet, try to dab the moisture with the help of a towel and repeat the process unless there isn’t any absorbable moisture in the carpet.
Step 2: Apply a Vinegar Solution to it
Now, it’s time to apply a vinegar solution on the carpet, on the area which is stained. Take an equal portion of water and vinegar, and shake it well. Then pour this vinegar solution on the area affected by the urine. Having done this, gently scrub it until the area is completely dry.
This step will massively reduce the impact of stain, or the stain could be explicitly eliminated, but it depends on whether the stain is well-settled or fresh.
Step 3: Apply Baking Soda
Removing stains is comparatively easier than eliminating the stinking smell of pet urine from the carpet. So, applying baking soda stands as an essential part of the whole process. For this purpose, apply baking soda to the area affected by urine and let it stay over there for 24 hours. Within this time, the baking soda would certainly soak the small from the carpet.
Step 4: Add Hydrogen Peroxide and Dish detergent
Although applying baking soda can easily alleviate the pee smell from the carpet, to be sure that works, it is recommended to add hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent in an equal amount of water and apply it to the baking soda.
Having done this, you have to gently scrub the stain with a clean towel.
Step 5: Vacuum the Area with Cleaner
The application of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish detergent will surely eliminate the stain and smell of the pet’s urine, after practicing the recommended procedure, vacuum or clean out the area with your cleaner.
You Don’t Want to Use Chemicals? This is How You Can Get Pee Smell Out of the Carpet
Some of you might be concerned over the health of your crawling child and elders in-home, as chemicals might inflict a bad impact on their health due to their pinching smell. Do not worry if you are hesitant to use chemicals to remove the pee smell from the carpet, as it is possible to clean up pet urine from the area rugs using natural ingredients.
A homemade solution with safe-to-use ingredients can massively help you out of this problem. Initiate the process with the same steps: dab the extra moisture from the carpet. Then add an equal amount of vinegar to the water, and fill your carpet cleaner’s water storage tank with this solution. Now, you will apply a homemade solution to eliminate the stain of pet urine and its smell.
Turn your carpet cleaner ‘ON’ and move it back and forth unless the whole solution comes to the drainage tank. This is how the stain of the urine will be conveniently removed. In case the smell is still there in the carpet, apply baking soda to that specific area, and leave it again for 24 hours. After this time, clean out that area with cleaner.
Once you have done with this, the smell and stain of the pet urine will most probably vanish.
Precautions to Consider While Removing Pee Smell Out of Carpet
The average life of a good carpet is around 3 to 5 years. But a small mistake may compel you to retire your incumbent carpet. So, to avoid such a situation, be sure that you are not committing the following mistakes:
- Take prompt action when you notice that your carpet is stained by your pet
- Do not apply any kind of bleaching powder, and it can permanently fade the color of the carpet
- Avoid using chemicals that are not recommended
- Always use a good quality carpet cleaner to ensure the health of the carpet’s fibers
- Do not cover the stain with other accessories; otherwise, you might get your carpet permanently damaged
If you comply with these suggestions, it is more likely that you will get the maximum service out of your carpet.
Conclusion
Some cleaning agents on the market will help remove the spill and the odours, but many just mask the smell on a temporary basis using a strong fragrance or a basic dispersant. As the months, and even years pass, the salts within the urine may remain masked but are still active. Given the right conditions of enough moisture and heat, bacteria can rapidly form and cause the odours that linger in the air.