Many pet owners do exactly what they shouldn’t do when they clean up pet messes. But if you learn how to clean up the right way, with the right products, you can prevent a permanent stain. You’ll get the best results if you have the products and a carpet extractor in hand when you discover the accident.
1. Buy a handheld extractor to suck liquids from the carpet. Hit the carpet as soon as possible and vacuum like there’s no tomorrow.
Warning: Using paper towels or rags to blot up urine and vomit soaks up the surface liquid but still leaves a lot in the carpet. And stomping on those paper towels only makes it worse. That forces the liquid deeper into the padding and then into the subflooring. Instead, invest in a handheld carpet extractor. Don’t use a shop vacuum—the smell will linger in the filter and it’s much harder to clean than a small extractor.
2. To finish cleaning up a urine stain, fresh or dried, use a urine-specific bio-enzymatic cleaner. It neutralizes the urea and uric acid and eliminates proteins and starches. Ordinary carpet cleaners can’t do that. In fact, using a carpet cleaner before a bio-enzymatic cleaner can set the stain permanently. Liquid messes spread as they’re absorbed into the carpet, so always treat a larger area than the original stain.
3. For solids, sink the edge of the putty knife into the carpet at the edge of the mess. Then push it forward to scrape the solid waste up and into the dustpan. Scooping up the solids with paper towels or rags can actually force them into the carpet.
4. For all solid messes, saturate the stain with an oxygenated bio-enzymatic cleaner. Let it sit for 45 minutes to separate additional solids from the carpet fibers. Then clean up those solids. Bio-enzymatic cleaners take a long time to work. Just let the treated area air-dry. Then use the handheld extractor vacuum to raise the nap.