If you have pets at home, you know that no matter how well-trained it is, landing up with some stains every now and then is inevitable. Be it urine or vomit, if you are looking for a thorough and convenient homemade carpet cleaner for pet stains, keep reading!
Easy Homemade Carpet Cleaner for Pet Stains
If you are dealing with pet stains such as urine or vomit on your carpet, it is crucial that you clean the stain promptly and thoroughly. Not only will your pet leave behind a stain but the stain will also have a strong smell.
The smell will often attract your pet to come back and repeat its behavior in the same spot as an act of marking its territory or simply because it will become a urine spot in your pet’s mind.
Cleaners available in the market can often be made of very harsh chemicals that can be harmful to your pet. Additionally, these cleaners are also much more tedious to apply and are much more expensive.
Worry not because there are a number of affordable and readily available household items that can be used to make natural cleaners right at home. These easy homemade carpet cleaners will help you remove pet stains as well as kill the odor.
Before using any of the homemade carpet cleaners mentioned below, it is essential to find out whether these substances will cause any damage to your carpet. Before applying any cleaner, apply it to a small part of the carpet that is not usually visible.
Before beginning the cleaning process with any of the cleaners, make sure to clean the area thoroughly first by removing any solid material of the stain, dust, pet hair, etc.
1. Vinegar and Baking Soda
This is one of the simplest and most effective cleaning solutions to clean pet stains from your carpet. Vinegar and baking soda are both affordable and readily available. This cleaning solution can be used for other stains as well.
To make this cleaner, all you need to do is mix plain, white distilled vinegar with equal parts warm water. Add a little bit of baking soda to this mixture and spray it onto the stained area.
The mixture should be allowed to sit on the stain for some time. Pet urine stains have a lot of ammonia which is present in the urine. The ammonia stains the carpet and also creates an unpleasant odor.
Since ammonia is a basic substance and vinegar is an acidic substance, adding vinegar helps to neutralize the ammonia and reduce the smell. The baking soda also absorbs the odor.
After some time, working from the outside of the stain, you need to blot out the stain slowly. Depending on how strong the stain is, you will need to repeat this process slowly until the stain fades away to nothing.
Another way to use his carpet cleaner combination is to generously put baking soda on top of the stain and let it sit there for some time.
After that, add the mixture of water with vinegar. Allow the vinegar to react with the baking soda before blotting it up.
2. Dry Baking Soda
If you are getting down to the cleaning as soon as the stain has been made, you can easily use dry baking soda to clean the stain.
All you need to do is sprinkle baking soda on the stain and allow it to sit for some time, around 15 minutes. Baking soda will absorb all the components of the pet stain and leave behind little to no odor.
Then remove the baking soda either through a vacuum cleaner or by using a scrub brush and then rinsing the area out with some water. You can also use some cleaning liquid while rinsing out the site.
3. Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda
Hydrogen peroxide is known to be one of the strongest cleaners for household purposes. Hydrogen peroxide reacts with the pet urine and absorbs the smell and the stain.
However, hydrogen peroxide can also cause discoloration. Hence, use this carpet cleaner for white or light-colored carpets or simply test the solution out on an area of the carpet that is not usually visible.
Like in the other method, first blot away the excess liquid of the stain, if any. Then sprinkle generous amounts of baking soda on top of the stained area so that the top layer of the stain is already absorbed.
Then pour a mixture of half a cup of hydrogen peroxide along with a few spoons of a cleaning liquid such as detergent. This mixture needs to be poured on top of the baking soda.
The resulting reaction will pull out all the molecules of the stain from the carpet and leave it smelling odor-free. After allowing the mixture to sit for some time, remove it by scrubbing it gently on the carpet while making sure not to spread the stain.
Finally, clean out the carpet cleaner solution with some water. Spray the water on top of the mixture and then slowly blot it out with paper.
4. Enzyme Cleaner
Pet stains contain ammonia that can lead to very stubborn stains that give out a very strong odor. Sometimes pet stains can only be cleaned with an enzyme cleaner that will react with the ammonia in the stain.
Take a large quantity of water, almost one liter. To this water, mix about seven spoons of any brown sugar and a lot of orange and lemon peels. After mixing it thoroughly, make sure to keep the mixture uncovered to allow the gases released during the experiment to escape.
This needs to be mixed thoroughly and then the mixture needs to be stored for about three months to create a strong enzyme cleaner that will clean just about any surface, remove any stains and also help to kill the odor of the stains.
FAQ’s
How Do You Get Dried Pet Stains Out of Carpet?
Dried pet stains can also be cleaned from your carpet with the same combination of vinegar and baking soda. Though the order of doing so can differ according to different methods, you need to do the following things.
Use water to blot out the stained area before going forward with the cleaning. Make sure to use cold or room temperature water and do not scrub the stain as that will spread it further.
Put baking soda generously on top of the stain. The baking soda will absorb the odor and part of the stain.
Allow the baking soda to sit on the stain for a long time and absorb as much of the stain as possible. Then use a vacuum to remove all the baking soda.
Take white, distilled vinegar and dilute it by mixing it with water. Spray this mixture on the stain and blot it out slowly with another cloth.
Keep repeating all the steps as many times as required for the stain to go away. If the stain does not go with this mixture, use a hydrogen peroxide solution as a carpet cleaner.
If your carpet is not white, make sure to test the suitability of hydrogen peroxide for your carpet as it may lead to discoloration.
Read also:
How to Get Old Dog Poop Stains Out of Carpet with Home Remedies
Does Vinegar Remove Pet Stains from Carpets?
Yes, vinegar can remove pet stains from carpets. Pet stains usually contain the basic substance ammonia, while vinegar is an acidic substance. As a result, vinegar neutralizes the pet stain in your carpet and is a great option to remove the stains.
Summing Up
There are many easy homemade carpet cleaners for pet stains. Vinegar and baking soda is a versatile combination that can be used to clean any pet stain. A freshly made stain can be cleaned with just baking soda. For stronger stains, you have the option of hydrogen peroxide and an enzyme cleaner.
