I have a couple of cats I rescued, and one of them had urinary tract disease. She peed all around the living room and bedroom. Now our carpet smells terrible. I need to know how to get rid of cat urine smell from carpet. Can you help me?
Josie G., Plano
As much as we love our pets, we certainly don’t appreciate the strong odor of their urine and feces! And it’s important to clean up their messes right away, so they don’t repeat the behavior in the same spot. Now I’ll give you an overview of how to get rid of cat urine smell from carpet.
If you can get to the spot while it’s still damp, you have a better chance of taking care of it before it stains. Blot up the urine, then spray clean water on the area. Use an old towel to dry it, or remove the moisture with a wet/dry vacuum. If you apply detergent, the residue from it might attract dirt later. You can see various DIY enzyme cleaner recipes and other ways to get cat urine out of your carpet here:
https://www.tipsbulletin.com/how-to-get-cat-urine-smell-out-of-carpet/
Unfortunately, a steam cleaner might make a urine stain worse. Commercial cleaning chemicals might even be toxic to your pets. But natural products like vinegar are both safe to use and anti-bacterial. Vinegar can neutralize urine odors and stains on both carpet and mattresses.
Take a look at this article for details on how to use natural cleaners like vinegar: https://www.tipsbulletin.com/get-rid-urine-smell-stains-mattress-carpet/
If you don’t have vinegar on hand, you’ll also see how to use baking soda and peroxide. When you need heavy-duty cleanup of pet urine, try an enzyme cleaner. It breaks down the odor-causing ingredients and releases the stain, too. An enzyme cleaner is a great way to get rid of cat pee smell on wood, too, whether it is your furniture or the floor. Use care on untreated wood.
It works also very well on other carpet stains such as blood, vomit or red wine. When you use it on a carpet, plan on letting it sit for about 20 minutes for the best results. Then blot it and let it air dry. Old stains might need more than one application.
After treating the urine stain and eliminating it from carpet or other surfaces, there is an easy way to deodorize carpet so that no smell lingers behind. When the area is dry, sprinkle baking soda liberally on it and let it sit for a few hours – overnight is ideal. Vacuum up the baking soda and the carpet should be as good as new. You can even add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the baking soda to leave a fresh scent behind. Lavender or citrus oils smell heavenly.
It may be best to take a little time to make up a natural enzyme cleaner for cat urine. The only downside to this effective cleaner is that it takes several weeks to “cure.” If you mix up a batch now, you’ll have it later and it is highly effective for eliminating both odors and stains that cats can leave behind.