How To PROPERLY Clean Up A
“Pet Accident”
1. Act Fast (The “Golden Window”)
The longer a pet accident sits, the more it reacts with the carpet dyes and seeps into the padding. As soon as you spot it, grab your supplies.
2. The “Blot, Don’t Scrub” Rule
This is the most important step.
Place a microfiber towel OR several layers of white paper towels or a clean white cloth over the spot.
Apply firm pressure (you can even stand on the towels) to soak up as much liquid as possible.
Never scrub. Scrubbing untwists the carpet fibers (called “blooming”), which permanently changes the texture of your carpet.
4. Use a NON-SOAPY Cleaner
Pet urine contains uric acid crystals that standard soaps can’t break down.
The Pro Choice: Use NON-SOAPY, oxygenated , citrus cleaner.
- The DIY Backup: Use COLD water AFTER you’ve gotten up as much as you can. Your don’t want to make “Urine Soup.”
- The Pro Choice : Use a commercial grade disinfectant.
- The DIY Backup for ODOR : Use some type of disinfectant OR a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water.
5. Rinse and Dry
After the cleaner has sat for 5–10 minutes, blot again with fresh paper towels.
Rinse the area by misting a tiny bit of plain water and blotting one last time.
The Drying Hack: Place a fresh, dry towel over the spot and put something heavy on top of it for a few hours to pull out any remaining moisture from deep in the pile.
If you have your own “carpet cleaner” use it with SUCTION ONLY to get up the liquid.
If it's already dry - Apply cold water to it and let it sit, then see step 1 above.
What NOT To Do
Avoid ADDING “Spot Cleaners”: Spraying it while it’s still wet will dilute the spot and obviously ADD liquid to the area making it bigger.
- Avoid Steam Cleaners: Do not use a portable steam cleaner that uses high heat on urine. Heat can permanently “set” the protein in the stain, making it impossible to remove.
Avoid Bleach and Ammonia: Ammonia-based cleaners smell like urine to a dog or cat, which might actually encourage them to “re-mark” the same spot.
*** IF IT'S NOT A "LIQUID" ***
LIFT!! DO NOT RUB OR SCRUB.
Rubbing or scrubbing could grind it INTO the carpet. Get UP as much as you can, as gently as you can.
Once you’ve gotten up as much as you can go to Step 4 above.
*** IF IT'S BETWEEN A SOLID AND A LIQUID ***
We would recommend going to rent a “rug doctor,” or something like it, BUT DON’T BUY ANYTHING TO PUT IN IT.
Apply SOME water to it. The “wetter” it is, the less difficult it will be to extract it out. Use the machine to extract everything.
Once you’ve gotten everything up, treat the area with a disinfectant and allow to dry.
Or you can just call us
770.652.0630
CLEANING UP is a lot different than CLEANING.
(OUR MINIMUM FOR CLEAN UP IS $200.00)
