Pet Stain Solutions Option #1: I’m too busy to remove these myself – but before I contact you, what solutions will you offer me?
Dog Urine
We have a few solutions:
A. Our surface yarn treatment. This is a very good option if we’ve verified that there isn’t urine in the backing of the carpet.
B. Our sub-surface flooding and disinfecting program. This is the best choice if we’ve verified that there is urine in the under pad and if the outlines of the spot/deposit are identifiable with our inspection tools. When done correctly, this is an extremely satisfactory option.
C. Our complete treatment: lifting the carpet, rolling it back and cleaning the carpet backing in the affected areas (as well as cleaning the carpet face, of course). The affected piece of under pad would be removed and replaced, and the subfloor or cement would be inspected as well. This is the recommended option when we’ve verified that there is urine in the under pad and it is extensive throughout.
Cat Urine
Most of the time it’s the distinctive odour that people want to remove. Options are limited for treating this odour. Cat urine, designed by nature to be readily absorbed and water-resistant so that it’s useful for marking territory, has an oily base which is why it’s so difficult to remove the smell from a carpet or area rug. There are no guarantees on getting rid of it, unfortunately, but we can make it a whole lot better!
The process for treating cat urine deposits is different for synthetic textiles (like nylon or olefin) than it is for natural textiles (like wool or cotton).
Vomit, Faeces/Diarrhoea
We’ll do an inspection and our trademarked hot water extraction process. Runnier diarrhoea deposits will sometimes soak down to the backing of the carpet or area rug, and even below into the under pad. If this happens to an area rug it will have to be laundered at our cleaning plant (or discarded at the dump). A carpet will need our complete treatment (see “Dog Urine”).
Blood
Blood often requires several treatments to remove. It contains a protein called haemoglobin (that’s what makes blood red) that has to be digested/broken down before it can be extraction cleaned. In addition, the older the blood the more likely it is that it will leave a permanent stain so it’s best if you call us right away to start blood treatments.
Option #2: I’d like to try to remove this myself:
Vomit
Keep in mind that because vomit always contains gut acid or bile it very often results in permanent staining. But there are things you can do to minimize the chances of this:
When it’s Fresh
1. Quickly absorb and collect with paper towels
2. Apply baking soda (not club soda) generously. See blog “The Magic of Baking Soda” to learn why
3. If a small amount of vomit, wait until baking soda is dry then vacuum off with a shop vacuum not your built-in vacuum
4. If a significant amount of vomit, call us to extract. We’ll do our best to get this done within a few hours. The baking soda will cut the odour and neutralize the acid until we can get there.
If it’s Old
There’s nothing you can do on your own about this, you’ll need to book us to treat and extract.
Faeces/Diarrhoea
It’s very important that you follow basic rules of hygiene when dealing with faeces/diarrhoea deposits. Always use rubber or disposable gloves and wash with soap afterward to make sure you haven’t transferred any of the material to your hands or another area of skin. We also recommend you use an N-95 face mask and wear eye protection.
When it’s Fresh
1. Quickly absorb with paper towels (use rubber gloves)
2. Apply baking soda (not club soda) generously. See blog “The Magic of Baking Soda” to learn why
3. If a tiny amount of faeces/diarrhoea wait until baking soda is dry then vacuum off with a shop vacuum not your built-in vacuum
4. If a significant amount of faeces/diarrhoea, call us to extract and disinfect. We’ll do or best to get this done within a few hours. The baking soda will cut the odour, neutralize acid and draw the liquid portion up into itself
Runnier diarrhoea deposits will sometimes soak down to the backing of the carpet or area rug, and even below into the under pad. If this happens to an area rug it will have to be laundered at our cleaning plant (or discarded at the dump). A carpet will have to be lifted and rolled over itself so its backing is exposed, cleaned and disinfected, and the affected piece of under pad will need to be removed, discarded and replaced.
If it’s Old
1. Call us to inspect as soon as we can. Trying to treat an old deposit of this material yourself will most likely result in you inadvertently making the problem worse.
Urine
It’s very important that you follow basic rules of hygiene when dealing with urine deposits. Always use rubber or disposable gloves and wash with soap afterward to make sure you haven’t transferred any of the material to your hands or another area of skin. We also recommend you use an N-95 face mask and wear eye protection.
Dog Urine
This section deals specifically with dog urine in carpeting, but the general principles apply to dog urine in area rugs as well.
When it’s Fresh
1. Quickly absorb with paper towels by blotting (use rubber gloves)
2. Apply baking soda (not club soda) generously. See blog “The Magic of Baking Soda” to learn why
3. If a small amount of urine was deposited, wait until baking soda is dry then vacuum off with a shop vacuum not your built-in vacuum
If a significant amount of urine was released, call us to treat. This is because the urine might have soaked through to the carpet backing or even the pad underneath the carpet. At that point, trying to clean it yourself may make it worse.
There are a few options for treating this level of contamination:
4. Our surface yarn treatment. This is a very good option if we’ve verified that there isn’t urine in the backing of the carpet.
5. Our sub-surface flooding and disinfecting program. This is the best choice if we’ve verified that there is urine in the under pad and if the outlines of the spot/deposit are identifiable with our inspection tools. When done correctly, this is an extremely satisfactory option.
6. Our complete treatment: lifting the carpet, rolling it back and cleaning the carpet backing in the affected areas (as well as cleaning the carpet face, of course). The affected piece of under pad would be removed and replaced, and the subfloor or cement would be inspected as well. This is the recommended option when we’ve verified that there is urine in the under pad and it is extensive throughout.
If it’s Old
You can treat an established dog urine deposit with vinegar and patience. Here’s the process:
1. Put some vinegar in a spray bottle
2. Lightly mist the deposit with the vinegar
3. Let the vinegar dwell for 30 seconds
4. Using a white cotton towel, gently and lightly dab the vinegar
5. Let that dry.
6. Repeat as needed. Make sure you don’t soak the deposit with the vinegar, go lightly.
Cat Urine
Here’s something we bet you don’t know: ancestors of domestic cats were desert-dwelling so therefore cat urine has an oily base, similar to skunk spray and perfume. This is why it’s so difficult to remove the smell from a carpet or area rug. Cat urine is designed by nature to be readily absorbed and to be water-resistant so that it’s useful for marking territory.
The process for treating cat urine deposits is different for synthetic textiles (like nylon or olefin) than it is for natural textiles (like wool or cotton). Most of the time your carpet is made from a synthetic textile, so you’re generally safe to follow these directions. If you’re dealing with cat urine in an area rug, it’s very important to verify the textile before you try to treat it yourself or you might damage the rug permanently.
When it’s Fresh and if There’s One Deposit on a Synthetic Textile
1. Quickly absorb with paper towels by pressing (use rubber gloves)
2. Treat repeatedly with a digester purchased from your vet, following those instructions carefully. Note that digesters can’t be used on natural textiles like wool or cotton because they’ll digest those fibres and damage them.
3. Once the odour is gone either call us to finish the treatment with an extraction cleaning or wait until your next regular carpet cleaning
4. If you do all this and the odour’s still there, there might be urine trapped in the carpet backing and possibly the pad under the carpet. In this case your only recourse is to lift the carpet, roll it back to expose the deposit, have us repeatedly treat the deposit from the top and the back, and replace the piece of pad under it. If the deposit is up against the baseboard we’d recommend that you replace that piece of baseboard and clean the surrounding wall – sometimes a cat will deposit their urine on the wall where it leaks down onto the baseboard and the carpet.
When it’s Fresh and There’s One Deposit on a Natural Textile
1. Quickly absorb with paper towels by pressing (use rubber gloves)
2. Apply baking soda (the powder) generously.
3. Cover the spot with paper towel, roll the area rug for transport and take it to our cleaning plant as soon as you can for our assessment. If the structure of the rug is sound and suitable, we can treat using a special laundering process
If it’s Old/You’ve Found More Than One Deposit on a Synthetic Textile
There’s little you can do on your own in this situation. If the deposits are concentrated in one area your best recourse is to lift the carpet, roll it back to expose the deposits, have us repeatedly treat them from the top and the back, and replace the piece of pad under them. If a deposit is up against the baseboard we’d recommend that you replace that piece of baseboard and clean the surrounding wall – sometimes a cat will deposit their urine on the wall where it leaks down onto the baseboard and the carpet.
Blood
Blood is a difficult deposit to remove from a textile. It contains a protein called haemoglobin (it’s what makes blood red) that has to be digested/broken down before it can be extraction cleaned. Often it will require several treatments to digest and extract all the haemoglobin present. In addition, the older the blood the more likely it is that it will leave a permanent stain so it’s best if you call us right away to start blood treatments.