Puppies are cute and add a lot of joy to our lives. But they can be a lot of work, especially when they are still potty training. During that time, you should expect to deal with your fair share of pet urine stains and the resulting dog urine smell in all the wrong places, including on the carpet.
However, you don’t need to worry much about your puppy’s pee on your carpet. With a few cleaning products and some elbow grease, you can get rid of the dog urine stains and the resulting odor. And many of these cleaning solutions are readily available at your local grocery store or can be made from what you already have at home.
How to Clean Puppy Pee from the Carpet
Below are some of the strategies you can use to remove carpet stains that your puppy causes.
1. Wipe The Spills with Paper Towels
A typical American household has paper towels. They come in handy when your puppy pees on the carpet because you can use them to quickly blot the dog pee and prevent it from getting into the carpet fibers.
However, you first need to wear gloves if you have them. Then grab as many paper towels as you need to and blot the affected area by pushing them firmly into the carpet fibers. When the paper towels no longer absorb the yellow urine color, you would have removed as much of the mess as possible.
It also helps to pour some cold water onto the urine spot and blot the affected area using more paper towels or clean towels, especially if the urine is a bit dry. Using water helps to dilute the urine, making it smell less. Under no circumstances should you rub the carpet. If you do that, you will spread the urine and the unpleasant odor.
2. Sprinkle Cat Litter
Desperate times call for desperate measures. For example, if you have cat litter and your puppy pees on the carpet, you can use it to soak up the mess, especially if you don’t have paper towels lying around.
Most cat litter contains zeolite, a rock mineral that absorbs ammonia and reduces the urine smell from surfaces, including artificial turf. In addition, it absorbs the urine itself, making the affected area drier and easier to clean. So, if you have cat litter, you can sprinkle it on the puppy pee spot, wait until it clumps up, and sweep or vacuum it away.
3. Apply Baking Soda
Research shows that baking soda can convert pungent smells into neutral ones. So, since puppy pee smells, you need to get rid of its strong odor when cleaning the carpet. And baking soda is one way to do that.
Once you clean the mess using zeolite or paper towels, you can sprinkle about a quarter cup of baking soda over the stain and leave it overnight. Then vacuum up the powder until the carpet is clear.
4. Pour Vinegar Solution
Vinegar is an excellent natural cleaning solution and one of the best stain removers. So, you can use it for cleaning pet urine and also to remove the dog urine odor. It is especially effective on dried urine stains because it will cut through and lift them off your carpet.
Depending on how smelly the puppy urine is, you can create a vinegar solution using white vinegar and warm water in equal parts, one part white vinegar and two parts of warm water, or use pure white vinegar. Then pour it into a spray bottle, spray it onto the stained area, and scrub only the stained area thoroughly.
You can either blot the stained area dry or leave it for a few minutes and then wash it off with clean cold water before drying with a microfiber cloth.
Alternatively, you can create a mixture of vinegar solution and a tablespoon or two of baking soda, pour it into a spray bottle and spray the affected area. Then wait for about five minutes and blot the spot. Let the carpet air dry after that.
There is also the option of doing a vinegar soak by pouring the solution onto the carpet, scrubbing the urine spot, and sprinkling some baking soda onto the wet area. Then you can let the mixture dry naturally over a day or two before vacuuming the baking soda.
5. Spray Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide can also help you remove your furry friend’s urine stain and the resulting urine odors. In addition, it will sanitize the affected carpet area, without compromising your pet’s health.
First, you could pour some 3% hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and spray the urine spot liberally. Then wait for about 15 minutes before blotting it dry using a clean towel. If you want a more pleasant smell, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil into the bottle before you spray. And if the stain had time to set, you can wait for an hour before blotting it dry.
Alternatively, you can mix a 3% hydrogen peroxide with warm water in the ratio of 1:4, then add a bit of dish soap. After sprinkling baking soda onto the stained area, you should spray the hydrogen peroxide mixture generously, scrub it in, and leave it for an hour or two. After that, you can vacuum the carpet.
There is also the option of adding a bit of vinegar to the hydrogen peroxide. However, you should use the solution with care similar to how you would handle harsh chemicals when you do that.
6. Apply Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol, which consists of isopropyl alcohol, is a good cleaner and disinfectant. So, it would help you clean surfaces, get rid of the urine odors, and also sanitize them.
When using rubbing alcohol, be sure to mix it with equal or two parts of water for each part before spraying it onto the urine spot. Then blot it dry using a microfiber towel or any other absorbent material. Ideally, it should work well on stubborn stains.
Once you finish blotting the area dry, you can use warm water and detergent to rinse the spot you were working on. Of course, it never hurts to add a little bit of vinegar as well.
7. Wash With Dishwashing Detergent and Water
A simple dishwashing detergent mixed in warm water to form a soapy mixture may be enough to remove puppy pee stains, especially when they are fresh. You need to pour the mixture onto the stain and blot it with paper towels until they are no longer showing any urine color. Then rinse the spot with cold water and dry it with an absorbent towel.
To improve the mixture’s effectiveness, you can always add a tablespoon or two of vinegar.
8. Clean With Enzymatic Products
Enzymatic cleaners usually contain natural enzymes that break down the pet pee and poo. As a result, they are highly effective in removing pet poo and urine stains and odors.
Pet owners have plenty of professional carpet cleaners to choose from. A good example is the SCOE 10X Odor Eliminator Concentrate, a stain and odor remover requiring you to mix one part of the product with 10 parts of water before using. It will work on cat urine too.
Use a black light to find dried urine in carpets and apply the SCOE 10X mixture directly to these areas to penetrate deep into the carpet and padding to neutralize pet urine.
In addition, it will get rid of stains and odor caused by human and pet poo and vomit. Also, it is non-toxic and, therefore, very pet friendly.
The Dos and Don’ts of Cleaning Puppy Pee from the Carpet
Below are some things you should or shouldn’t do when cleaning puppy pee from your carpet.
- Wear protective clothing, such as gloves, when dealing with pet pee, especially if your puppy is unwell.
- Ensure your windows are open when handling chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide.
- Avoid ammonia products because their strong smell may encourage your puppy to mark your carpet and continue to pee there.
- When using strong-smelling cleaners like vinegar, get rid of their odor afterward with essential oils, or baking soda, or rinse the affected area with soapy water so that your puppy does not pee again on it.
- When you clean a urine spot using regular household cleaners and the stain is still present, opt for a more potent carpet stain remover, such as SCOE 10X Odor Eliminator Concentrate.
- Always use an odor remover during the cleaning process. Baking soda and essential oils may help neutralize or mask the smell.
- Don’t struggle to clean your carpet when you can rent a professional carpet cleaner to make your work easier.
- Avoid using steam cleaners, especially when dealing with artificial fibers. The heat will make the stains and odor permanent.
- It is good to use positive reinforcement to potty train your puppy and encourage it to pee elsewhere so that it forgets all about your carpet. But when it still pees on the carpet, you should keep cleaning it and removing the urine odor until the dog gets it.
- Always test a cleaning product on a small invisible part of the carpet before using it on the entire affected area. Otherwise, it may end up bleached or discolored after cleaning.
However, the strategy you use to clean will depend on what you have available. The goal is to avoid letting the urine stain set into your carpet fibers. So, that means you should address the mess as soon as you see it by absorbing it from the carpet or diluting it. Then you can clean it and remove the odor afterward.
Typically, paper towels and cat litter come in handy for absorbing the mess. Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, enzymatic cleaner products, dishwashing detergent, and water are all excellent cleaning products. But some of them do more than clean.
For example, baking soda helps to neutralize the odor, enzyme cleaner and vinegar eliminate stains, and hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol will also sanitize the carpet surfaces. So, choose your cleaner wisely.
