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Without a doubt, the most common set of questions that readers ask us all have to do with finding the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet. That’s why I’ve put together this handy guide for removing cat urine stains and odors from the carpet and rugs at home.
I have lived and worked with cats my entire life. I’ve loved every single one of them, and for the most part (there has been a few exceptions) they have all been great, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t run into my fair share of issues with inappropriate urination over the years.
Having to clean up cat pee is never fun, but the worst instances always occur when it’s on carpet. Figuring out effective ways how to get cat pee out of carpet can be tough; it took me years to get a process that actually works down pat. That’s why I decided to write this article: to share my experiences and the techniques that I’ve found have worked for me when trying to get cat pee out of carpet.
The Most Effective Solution for Inappropriate Urination
Cat pee is a pain – it will stain your carpet, furniture, and walls, cause unpleasant odors to linger around your home, and oftentimes can cause respiratory and other breathing issues – sometimes even serious health problems. That’s why the absolute best way how to get cat pee out of carpet, and keep it out in the future, is to stop your cat’s spraying issues altogether.
But for fighting urine marks and stains right now, there are a number of simple steps that you can take to negate and get rid of unsightly spots and unflattering odors.
Finding the Stain
Before you can begin to treat the cat pee, you have to first locate the stain. Sometimes this is easy: some cats go to the bathroom in the open where you can quickly find the spot. Other cats choose to go behind furniture and in corners, making it far more difficult to track down the source of the odor.
Do you find yourself constantly smelling the scent of cat pee, but aren’t sure exactly where it’s coming from? The single best way to find difficult-to-see urine spots is with the aid of a UV flashlight. These ultraviolet light rays reflect off of the chemicals in cat urine, causing hidden spots to glow when the light is shined directly on them. This makes hard-to-find spots easy to notice, no matter where they are in your home.
Treating the Stain
First things first, if it’s a fresh stain (i.e. not a urine spot which has been sitting all day or overnight), use a small bundle of absorbent paper towels to soak up as much of the excess cat pee out of the carpet as possible.
For actually treating the spot itself, the single strongest tool that you can have in your arsenal is a good enzyme cleaner. These enzymatic cleaners contain a type of helpful bacteria which feeds off of the organic compounds in cat urine. This causes the bacteria to completely consume the offending stain. Then, once the urine is gone and there’s no more food for the bacteria to process, the microscopic bacterium dry up and disappear, essentially leaving your carpet good as new.
Enzyme Cleaner Directions: Simply spray the enzyme cleaner solution onto the affected area of your carpet. Lightly scrub the cleaner in with a gentle brush to ensure full coverage of the affected area, and then just sit back and let the good bacteria take care of the rest.
For an added level of protection once the enzymatic cleaner is all dried up, it doesn’t hurt to vacuum the spot and then lightly spritz the area with an odor-masking spray like Feliway to further reduce the likelihood that the cat – or another feline in your household – will reoffend in the same spot in the future.
DIY Alternatives for Cat Urine in Carpet
Personally, I’ve found that using an enzyme cleaner is the most effective way how to get cat pee out of carpet, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only option that you have. There are a number of other DIY alternatives that many cat owners swear by, although I have noticed that they don’t work nearly as well as a strong dose of urine-eating bacteria for permanently removing the stains and odors associate with cat urine.
Some other DIY ways how to get cat pee out of carpet include:
Preventing Reoccurrences
Mixing a solution of ½ vinegar and ½ warm water helps to cut the scent of cat urine out of carpet, making it less pungent in the air and also making it less likely that the cat will return to the same spot in the future. Some people aren’t necessarily fans of the smell of vinegar, however, so it’s worth noting that this treatment will likely cause the vinegar odor to linger around for some time.
Absorbing Fresh Cat Urine Stains
Baking soda is a another great treatment for fresh urine spots as it can quickly help soak up any excess moisture left behind after applying a handful of paper towels and some pressure for a couple of minutes. Baking soda can be messy, however, and this technique only works on fresh spots – it won’t help with stains which are already dry and have set into the fibers of the carpet.
If you decide to go this route, make sure to note that it’s important to use a wet vac or shop vac to suck up the baking soda once it’s absorbed the cat urine. Your typical household vacuum cleaner probably isn’t built to pick up liquids or even the moist baking soda that’s clumping together. If you try to vacuum up the spot with a regular vacuum, you’re likely going to find yourself taking it apart for extensive cleaning afterwards, or possibly even being forced to throw it away altogether.
Scrubbing Solution
Another home remedy for cat urine spots involves mixing ½ cup of peroxide with a teaspoon of dish soap to create a mixture that you can use to scrub away both wet and dry urine stains. This mix can be an effective way how to get cat pee out of carpet, but it may not necessarily help prevent future reoccurrences in the same spot. Also, make sure to use caution when applying peroxide to your carpet – always test a small inconspicuous spot first to ensure it doesn’t cause any permanent bleaching or discoloration.
How to Get Cat Pee Out of Carpet
Here is a handy and concise guide with step-by-step instructions of the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet:
- Locate the offending stain with a UV flashlight
- Soak up any excess cat urine with paper towels
- Apply an enzyme cleaner solution to the affected area of carpet
- Scrub the enzymatic cleaner in with a gentle brush
- Let the helpful bacteria consume all of the cat pee
- Lightly vacuum over the spot once the cleaner is completely dried
- Use an odor-masking spray like Feliway to prevent reoccurances