Having a cat or dog in the home is brilliant. Your home will be filled with joy and love as your furry friend becomes part of the family. However, with that joy and love comes some questionable odours and stains that can be very tricky to remove from your carpets, particularly when they are young. Toilet mistakes are plentiful during the first few months of owning a pet. Knowing how to deal with these easily can save a lot of frustration.
So, here is our guide to removing these stains and odours from your carpets. Do not worry; whether you have old or fresh stains to remove from your rugs or carpets, we have the tricks you need below, and you likely have everything you need in your cupboards already.
How to remove pet stains from carpets
Removing fresh stains made by your pet from your carpets is relatively simple, but you need to choose the right cleaning product to use. Any cleaning product containing bleach should be avoided to ensure that you do not damage your carpets further. You should also avoid using laundry detergent, white wine and any abrasive cleaners. These can damage and stain your carpets.
You can buy stain removers for carpets, and there are plenty of excellent stain removers on the market that will work for most stains that a family home may produce. However, we prefer to use a more natural cleaning solution to remove pet stains. The solution will get the job done perfectly, just like the commercial cleaning products, but are perfectly safe to use around your pets too.
To make the solution, you will need the following:
2 cups of water
Half a cup of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of washing-up liquid
1 tablespoon of salt
Mix all of these together and store the solution in a spray bottle. Now you can apply the cleaning solution to the stained area of the carpet and use a cloth or sponge to work it into the area. The stain should begin to lift almost straight away, but you can leave the solution to soak in for a few minutes if required. Then just blot the area with a towel and leave it to dry.
This solution is powerful enough to cut through most fresh pet stains and will leave your carpet looking great again. If you have more stubborn or older pet stains, we have the solution for you below.
For older pet stains, try
Older pet stains may require a bit more elbow grease and a slightly more powerful cleaning solution to remove, but it can be done. The solution below is not only excellent for pet stains but works for so many other cleaning tasks around the home too. It is well worth mixing up some of this cleaning solution for the tougher jobs around the home anyway, but if you have a few dried-on pet stains on your carpet, it will come in really handy for those too.
For this solution, you’ll need the following:
1 cup of water
1 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
Add this to a spray bottle and give it a good shake. Do not forget to shake the spray bottle before each use. These ingredients like to separate if left for any length of time.
You can now spray the stained area of your carpet. Leave the solution to soak into the stain for a few minutes. You can use a tea towel or kitchen towel to blot the area. If you notice the stain lifting off the carpet onto the carpet, keep blotting the area until dry. If the stain is very persistent, applying more solution and leaving it to soak for a bit longer should do the trick.
How to remove pet odours from carpets
Now that you know how to remove pet stains from your carpets, we thought would let you know how to get rid of odours from them too. Removing pet odours from your carpets is really simple, and it is something that you can do while you are vacuuming. All you need is our old friend, bicarbonate of soda.
Just sprinkle a bit of bicarb over your carpets. You do not need much at all, but a very thin dusting over all your carpets ensures that all odours will be gone. If you have a few areas that your pet commonly makes a mess on, you can add more to these areas.
Leave the bicarb to work its magic for a few minutes, and then vacuum it up. Bicarb neutralises odours really well. And soaks up any unwanted stuff in your carpets too. When you vacuum the bicarb up, it takes the odours and other nasty stuff with it. Bicarbonate of soda is one of the main ingredients in most shake and vac products, which you could use instead. However, buying regular bicarb works out much cheaper!
Bicarb has many uses when it comes to home cleaning, it can even help remove pet hair form carpets!
So, now you can enjoy having your furry friend in your home, knowing that if they ever make a mess on the carpets, you’ll have the tools and tricks to clean it up, leaving no trace behind. You may want to seek out a carpet cleaning service if you want a full deep-clean of the carpet.
