Pet Urine and Odors


Is your pet urinating in the house? Maybe it’s due to house training, maybe your pet is not feeling well, maybe the litter box is dirty and the cat refusing to use it?


Whatever the reasons are, pet urine odors do not need to be difficult to clean. Below are a few cleaning tips:

Don’t Use Ammonia

The first thing you need to be aware of; pet urine contains ammonia (among other things). So if you have been told to try ammonia – don’t. You will be inviting your pet to come back again and again.

Remove Urine Stains from Carpet

Work fast and soak up what you can with an absorbent paper towel or a clean rag. Put your weight into it or stand on it so you get up as much as possible. Change absorbents as necessary.

Now use an equal mix of vinegar and warm water. Pour a little over the stained area; try not to over saturate. Once again, get out your absorbent materials and soak up the liquid. Don’t worry about the vinegar smell, it will dissipate shortly.

Next get some baking soda and sprinkle over the area you just cleaned to help with the odor issue. Gently work it into the carpet. Use a clean towel to cover the area until it dries, then vacuum.

Engineered Wood Floors

These have a pre-finished surface that makes cleaning a little easier than the real wood floors. You still want to work fast, liquids will bead on the surface for a short time, but you want to get to liquids before it gets down in between the planking.

Once the liquid has been absorbed deodorize with a mix, 1 capful vinegar to 20 ounce water, in a spray bottle. Lightly spray the area with the mixture and dry with a soft cloth.

Urine on Marble Floors

Among other components, urine contains uric acid and uric salts. Uric acid is potent and can etch the marble and dull it. The texture of the marble will go from smooth to rough where your pet peed and can possibly cause a yellowish stain. You may not even notice anything until the light hits the floor in a certain way and then you notice the stain and/or dullness.

If your pet pees on a marble floor, get to it immediately. Do not clean your marble floors with vinegar, it will etch it. Use a pH neutral cleaner specifically made for floors of this type. You can also put a drop or two of dish soap in a large mixing bowl with warm water. Use a sponge to clean the area and rinse with plain water to remove any remaining soapy residue.

Whichever type of flooring you have, the trick is to act quickly and do a thorough cleaning. Don’t let pet urine sit on any type of floor. 

Still, sometimes you don’t realize an accident has occurred until you begin to smell its remains. Either way, try these simple tips for handling pet urine odors.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 Steps to Cleaning Your Vacuum

Image
  Cleaning the Vacuum Cleaner We try to clean our home and keep up with the housework on a regular basis. Maybe it’s every few days, once a week, or less often? But how often do we think to clean the vacuum cleaner? No matter what kind of vacuum you use, I’m pretty sure it’s a veritable work horse with all the dirt, debris, hair and who knows what else we have it suck up. Sometimes it truly amazes me mine runs as long as it does, especially when my younger kids are vacuuming. So treating your vacuum and the accessories that came with it, to a good cleaning on a somewhat regular basis can’t hurt. It’s not a time consuming job and something that can be done when the weather’s keeping you indoors. Step 1: Be sure the vacuum is unplugged. I’m sure this bit of instruction isn’t necessary but you never know. Step 2: If parts need to be removed, make sure you know how to put it back together by taking pictures or labeling. Step 3: Use mild soap and water to clean the accessories and ...
Read more

Cleaning Around the House with White Vinegar

Image
I know you see posts all the time about the using white vinegar to clean around the house and I as well post about the many uses. These are some of the questions we get asked often by our clients. You may not realize it, but white vinegar is environmentally friendly, it’s a germ fighter and you probably have it on a kitchen shelf already as you may use it to cook with time and again for tenderizing meats, pickling your garden veggies and bringing out the flavor of some foods. I have to say, I think my bottle of white vinegar is used more for cleaning around the house than for using in my recipes. You can use it to sanitize the washing machine, make your own window cleaner and so much more. Vinegar can be used all around the house, from the kitchen to the bathrooms and even used to clean certain types of floors.  Vinegar is quite effective for killing household germs, bacteria, and killing most molds due to its acidic nature. However, because of its acidic nature it will damag...
Read more

Got A Grass Stain?

Image
Are you looking for ways to get grass stains out of clothing? Grass stains happen! What do you do? When your kids are playing in the yard or you’re on your knees doing yard work, it can be quite common to get grass stains on the knees of our pants. The problem with grass stains is they can be mixed with more than just grass. There may be some mud and other things in the mix but when you need to get the stain out, concentrate on the grass part of the stain first. Simple Cleaning Solution This is a non-toxic way to clean the grass stain. • Go to your local health food store or pharmacy and purchase a supplemental, digestive enzyme in powder or pill form. • Use 1 teaspoon of the powder and add a little water to make a paste. • Apply the paste to the grass stain, covering the entire area and let sit for one hour. • Wash as you normally would but don’t put it in the dryer yet. Let it air dry to make sure the stain is gone. Dry Cleaning Solvent Test in an inconspicuous spot first then fo...
Read more