Table of Contents
Accidents happen to the best of us and the same goes for our pets. When your dog has an accident in the house, you need to know how to get dog urine smell out of carpet.
Cleanup can be a challenge, especially when carpet and upholstery are involved. That could be why there are so many products and services out there aimed at solving pet stain problems.
Most of us, if we’re patient enough, learn what works and what doesn’t work through the process of elimination. Now that pet owners can share their experiences and frustrations through forums and product ratings, there’s a jumble of information available online about what the best way to rid carpets of the pungent odor of dog urine might be.
In order to help make sense of it all, the best advice and solutions from around the web have been collected below. Prevention is, of course, the best solution.
However, if you find yourself eyeballing carpet discount sales with a clothespin on your nose, it’s probably a little too late for that. So, we’ll address how to deal with the smell first and offer up some preventative ideas later on.
READ ALSO: 5 Best Pet Odor Eliminators for Removing Dog’s Urine Smell
How to Get Dog Urine Smell Out of Carpet
Best Advice and Solutions
For wet doggy stains
To avoid urine from smelling up your carpet, you’ll want to soak it up as fast as possible. You’ll need several sheets of paper towel and some newspaper. Lay them down on the stain and stand on top of them. Take up the wet paper and put down a new layer, repeating until liquid stops soaking through.
Take some of these soaked materials and place them where you want your dog to urinate. Dogs often urinate where they can sense either they or another dog have already been. The soaked paper will use your dog’s sense of smell as a training cue.
The next step will be to apply a solution to the stain. You can use an enzymatic cleaner, available at most pet stores, or a vinegar mixture for this step. Nature’s Miracle is one popular brand of commercially available cleaner.
You could also use a solution of half white vinegar and half water if you want to go a more natural route. Put this into a spray bottle for easier application. Whichever solution you choose, spray it on the carpet and then apply the newspaper and paper towels just as you did before. You can throw the soiled towels away this time.
You're not finished learning how to get dog urine smell out of carpet just yet. Allow the area to dry completely, keeping your dog from returning to the spot as much as possible. This could take several hours, depending on the climate where you live.
Now, take some baking soda and sprinkle it generously onto the dry carpet. Let it sit on the site for 10 minutes or so and then vacuum it up. Be sure to vacuum generously to get all the baking soda out of the carpet.
Do not use any device that applies heat or steam to your carpet! This will set the stain in and make the urine smell nearly impossible to remove. If you have a carpet shampooer, be sure to use only cool water and/or settings.
RELATED: Grass Litter Boxes vs Housebreaking Training Pads
For dry stains
Try to locate as much of the stain as possible. If you can’t narrow down urine stains by smell, you can use a blacklight. Urine contains phosphorus and proteins that make it glow. Turn out your everyday lights and try to shut out as much daylight as possible for the best results.
Use tailor’s chalk, sidewalk chalk, or masking tape to outline where the stain is. You don’t have to make the outline exact, just make it clear enough to mark where you need to apply your treatment.
With your normal lights back on, use the same solution and treatment described for wet stains.
RELATED: How to Stop Dog From Pooping in House and in Crate
More cleaning tips
Depending on the amount of urine and the type of carpet you have, the padding underneath your carpet can become soiled as well. Make sure any solutions you’ve used can penetrate into the padded layer too.
If you’ve tried the steps above and still find that you have an odor issue, you may have to take up your carpet and clean or replace the padding itself. Speaking of the treatments mentioned above, before you try the vinegar or enzyme solutions, test them on an inconspicuous patch of carpet – in the event of a bad reaction, you don't want to ruin a patch of carpet right in the middle of your living room.
Many of the household cleaners you may have under your sink contain chemicals that will react negatively with pet urine, causing it to set into your carpet, so try to stick with vinegar or a pet-specific product.
While you’re busy treating the stains on your carpet, keep an eye out for any additional areas that may have gotten splashed, like walls, furniture legs, and door frames. You’ll want to clean those areas too, in order to prevent your dog from marking in the same spot.
RELATED: How To Make Homemade Cleaners That Are Safe for Dogs
Prevention
Now that the immediate concerns have been dealt with, you will want to focus on ways to make another cleanup unnecessary. If you’ve followed the above steps to learn how to get dog urine smell out of carpet and your carpet is smelling fine again, take the time to try and understand what caused the problem in the first place.
Dogs can have accidents for a variety of reasons, but they fall mostly into a few general categories; training, physical condition, and mental health. With most dogs, it takes some practice to learn where and where not to use the bathroom, but once they have it down, there are no worries.
Piddling on the carpet is a common problem for puppies and the use of puppy pads or a dog gate until your young dog has been trained can go a long way. Make sure that when you and your dog relocate to a new home, that you show him where his new bathroom is and give praise appropriately.
RELATED: Top 10 Best Dog Gates Indoor
If your dog has been welltrained and has started making mistakes, a health condition could be the culprit. Make sure your dog is eating and drinking normally, has plenty of clean water available, and isn’t exhibiting any signs of a cold.
Give your veterinarian a call and discuss any symptoms that may be occurring in conjunction with carpet soiling. They may recommend that you collect a sample for analysis.
A lot of dogs have trouble controlling their bladders as a result of a nervous condition or disorder. If your dog pees when he or she gets too excited, try to identify the cause of the excitement and minimize these situations.
Rescued dogs often have a history of abuse and it will take some time for them to adjust to living in a loving household. Patience and good veterinary care are the keys to success in these instances. Scolding may only worsen the problem.
READ NEXT: How To Toilet Train A Puppy
