Landlords & Tenants: How to Remove Pet Stains and Odors
There are lots of great things about having a pet. They usually make nice playmates. Often, they’re really loyal, even if your coworkers or some other family members aren’t.
Something that’s almost guaranteed to happen, but is not such a glamorous part of owning a pet is when they relieve themselves on your new carpet, furniture, etc.
What’s worse, having to clean up the mess, or seeing and smelling the stains afterward?
First, take care of the future.
It doesn’t matter if you clean the stain perfectly, if your pet has a new habit. So how do we break the pet of this habit?
Yes, you can drag your pet and hold its nose to the areas where it created the stain. This is okay to do most of the time. This should help domesticate it (house train it), but that’s not where you should stop.
Your pet could have a medical condition that needs attention and could cause a chronic problem to your carpet and furniture.
Where, exactly, is this mess?
We need to find all of the affected areas. The stains will be easy to see, but there could be areas with “invisible stains” that still leave that foul odor.
Go to the store and buy a black light. Turn off the lights and look for all of the areas. Lightly use chalk to outline the affected areas.
I found them! Now what?
We need to remove the stains—visible and invisible—so that your pet does not sniff out it thinks is its territory.
Anything that can be thrown in the washing machine, send it there. In addition to using your usual detergent, add a box of baking soda. You may need to repeat this one or two more times. For good measure, throw a machine-washable blanket with a fabric that’s uncomfortable to the touch. This should help keep your pet from wanting to return there to lounge, which should make this unattractive to your pet. Another words, your pet won’t want to make this part of its territory.
If the stains are wet, still, soak up as much of the urine and feces as possible with paper towels or newspapers. Stand on this paper as its soaking to help it absorb as much as it can. If there is padding underneath, try to put absorbing paper on both sides (top and bottom) of it. The goal here is to remove as much as possible while it is wet, since it will be harder to remove once it dries.
Rinse this area with cool water a few times. Dry it when you’re done.
If the stains are dry, already, this will be tougher. You may need to rent a professional steamer or a wet vac, and you can go to the local hardware store for this. After you use this steam cleaner, add good quality odor neutralizer, which you can buy at pet supply stores. Don’t use strong smelling chemicals, like ammonia, because your pet might try even harder to compete by creating more of its own smell.
Unfortunately, if this does not work, you might need to replace the carpet and padding in the affected spot, but these steps are your best chance to battle any carpet or furniture stains your pet made. Just remember how cute your pet looks when you come home.
