How to Keep Your House Free from Pet Stains and Odor

Pets are an absolute delight. They’re guaranteed to change your life for the better. However, owning an adorable furry companion also means you have to deal with persistent stains and odor.

how to remove pet stains and odor from carpet

Even if you’re okay with the faint smell of pee and random visible blotches on your carpet, your guests probably aren’t. And if you’re a clean freak like me, living in such chaos is absolutely not an option.

But does that mean you shouldn’t own a pet? Of course not!

If I can manage to keep my house spotless and odor free, despite having a very active Golden Retriever, so can you! So, keep reading to find out how you too can master the art of removing pet stains.

Contents

Don’t Wait to Clean Up

Do you sometimes ignore pet stains, or leave the cleaning for later? Perhaps you think you’ll wait till the carpet is a little more soiled. After all, you only just cleaned that carpet yesterday.

Well, my friend, this is where you’re wrong. When you own a pet, you’ve got to be on your toes. As soon as you see a stain or an accident, get to the action. Don’t be lazy and keep it for the next time.

Dogs tend to go potty in places where they have already soiled before. So, if you don’t clean up immediately, your dog will think of your carpet as its new potty place.

A simple wipe won’t do either. Even if you can’t see or smell the stain, your dog definitely can. So, a thorough cleaning is in order. Also, the quicker you address the stain, the easier it is to remove.

Go on a Stain Hunt

Owning a pet means keeping your eyes and ears open at all times. But it’s not always possible to catch them breaking the rules. And sometimes we think we’ve cleaned a stain, but it hasn’t really been removed. That’s when the trouble starts and the odors spread.

You can certainly rely on your power of smell to go hunting for the stains. But this can be a little difficult when your pet has relieved itself in multiple places. Pets also tend to go potty in the weirdest nooks and crannies of the house. So, you’ll definitely need some external help.

That’s where blacklight torches and black light headlamps come in. Simply turn off all the lights to make the rooms dark. Then, shine the blacklight onto every imaginable corner and look for stains. This blacklight will be able to identify accidents that aren’t visible to the human eye.

Cover Everything

If you’re a pet household, it’s wise to cover all your furniture. This may sound a bit extreme, but you’ll thank me later. Keep a few bedsheets at hand and toss them over your couch.

These sheets are easily washable and will bear the brunt of all your pet’s activities. But if this ruins your house’s aesthetics, then consider covering up with some nice-looking throws or blankets.

Make sure they’re machine washable though because you’ll have to clean them frequently. Still, it’s definitely better than having to remove stains from your sofa itself. This rule applies to all sorts of furniture – even your mattress and your dog’s bed.

Use Kitchen Ingredients for Quick Fixes

Common kitchen ingredients can come in very handy for cleaning. Baking soda, white vinegar, and cornstarch are three such examples that will do wonders for pet stains, and leave your house smelling fresh.

If there’s a pee accident, cover the spot up with baking soda or cornstarch. Then, scrub the area so the product really gets in there. Leave the spot in this state for a day. This will ensure that the pee is all soaked up. The next morning, simply vacuum away the leftover baking soda or cornstarch.

Baking soda can be used to make an odor neutralizer as well. Just mix 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 cups of white vinegar with some water. Spray it on the problem area and after 5 minutes, blot the spot dry. This should be enough to get rid of light stains and remove the odor.

Carpets Need the Most Care

Carpets are like protection for floors. And when you own pets, they certainly suffer the most. That’s why you should be smart about the type of carpet you purchase. Get one that’s easy to clean and less likely to trap odor.

Sometimes urine may seep deep into the carpet’s pores, in which case you’ve got to take stronger measures. But don’t worry because there are plenty of good quality carpet cleaners designed to handle pet stains.

Before you apply any cleaning products, you need to make sure the urine is gone. The first thing you should do is place a lot of newspapers or paper towels on the spot. Remove these after a minute or so and repeat the process until the urine is absorbed.

Remember, the more pee you get rid of, the less deep the stain and the easier it is to get rid of the smell.

Protect those Walls and Wooden Surfaces

Pee on walls and wooden surfaces can sound like a nightmare. Wood is not the easiest to clean. Also, the acid in your pet’s urine can actually discolor paint and varnish as well. Unfortunately, there’s really no guaranteed solution for these disasters except for prevention.

So, you should definitely opt for a coat of odor sealing paint primer on your walls and furniture. There’s also the option of using washable enamel paints and wallpapers. This will make it easy to clean up accidents.

As for wooden surfaces, try out the DIY solution of vinegar, water and baking powder above. If that doesn’t work, enzyme cleaners should do the trick. But sometimes the surface still loses its original look. In that case, you might have to prime and sand the surface to fix it.

Address the Potty Issue

The best thing you can do to prevent stains is potty train your pet properly. If you’ve already gone through this phase, and your pet is still having these accidents, you should consult a vet.

Sometimes pets such as dogs can’t control their bladders because of medical issues. In that case, you’ll have to take other measures and possibly change its lifestyle. But if your dog is healthy, the accidents are most likely because they haven’t been well trained.

This means it’s time to re-train your dog. If there’s a place where your dog keeps peeing on, then make it unappealing. Try to catch your dog in the act and redirect it to the right potty place.

Every time there is an accident, make sure you let your dog know a rule was broken. Clean up the spot immediately. If possible, place the urine-soaked newspaper and towels in its usual potty place.

Final Thoughts

Stains are something you’ve got to accept when you own pets. They’re difficult to clean, but certainly not impossible. And with immediate action, you’ll get the best results.

But if you have a well-trained pet, your cleaning efforts don’t need to be this hardcore. So, make sure you teach your pet the house rules properly.

Meanwhile, try using the tips shared here to tackle your pet’s stains and odors. They’re pretty simple and are guaranteed to make your life a whole lot easier.

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