A lot of cat lovers i know ask me how to get cat urine out of carpet. The first time I stepped in a puddle of cat urine I was absolutely furious. I knew the litter box was clean, and I was positive my cat was properly trained, but for some reason they’d still urinated on the carpet. After getting over the initial disgust (and cleaning my shoe) I wasn’t sure what to do.
Once pet urine saturates the carpet it is hard to get rid of the smell, or prevent a stain from setting. I knew I had to do something, and after a few false starts I was able to get the cat urine out of the carpet. If you are a cat owner who is dreading that first accident, learning how to get cat-urine out of carpet before an accident occurs will help you avoid a major stain and a lot of stress.
Blot the Area
After finding an area that has been urinated on by your cat, blot up any excess liquid immediately. If the liquid has a chance to seep through the carpet, it could reach the boards before creating another area for the smell and bacteria to grow. Drying the area as well as possible will reduce the chances of the urine reaching the floor boards or thoroughly saturating the carpet.
Neutralize the Odor
Once you have finished blotting, neutralize the odor with vinegar and water. Create a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water in a large glass or bowl. Pour the mixture over the area thoroughly saturating the area that has the most urine. The mixture will neutralize the odor, making it difficult for the cat to find the area and urinate on it again. If you do not work on neutralizing the odor, your cat might begin repeatedly « marking » the same location compounding the problem. The next step is important in how to get cat urine out of carpet.
Kill the Bacteria
Just because the worst of the odor is gone doesn’t mean the bacteria isn’t still there. The bacteria in cat urine will continue to thrive if not taken care of, and the bacteria can often smell worse the initial ammonia of cat urine. Use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to kill the bacteria before it has a chance to grow or spread. If you do not have baking soda, just use hydrogen peroxide to kill the bacteria.
Final Cleaning
When you are sure the majority of the odor and bacteria has been eliminated by the vinegar, water, and hydrogen peroxide; move on to a final thorough cleaning. Use a pet cleaning chemical on the affected area. Though many of these over the counter cat urine cleaners do not perform as well as advertised, once you have cleaned the area the chemicals in the spray will often repel your cat making them avoid the area in the future. Repelling a cat is one of the most important parts in cleaning cat urine out of carpet since it reduces the chances of a repeat performance in the same area.