Remove Urine Odors and Stains Permanently

Uh oh! Tipper just did his business on the carpet beside the much-used fireplace. Or perhaps you've had a string of bedwetting while your kids get used to sleeping alone. Whatever the incident, cleaning up urine is no fun. That's why removing the stain and the odor as quickly as possible is important. Luckily, whether your stain is fresh or has simmered for a while, there's a solution for you.

Steps

Removing Fresh or Benign Urine Stains

  1. Use old towels and paper napkins to soak up as much of the urine as possible. Continue blotting until the area is only a little damp.
  2. Lay a fresh set of old rags and/or paper towels over the affected area. Cover with newspaper. Stomp around on the newspaper for at least a minute to bring up as much of the moisture as possible. When you are finished the area sound be almost dry.
  3. Place the wet towels in the area that you want your pet to do its business—be it outside or in a litter box.
  4. Rinse the area with clean, cool water. Do this frequently, and remove as much of the water as possible each time using either towels or a wet vac.
  5. Alternately, apply a pet stain remover to the affected area. While it may seem like the urine should be cleaned up at this point, there are still traces in the carpet that may entice your pet to use the same spot again. Using an enzymatic eliminator will break down the odor compounds, minimizing your pet's attraction to that spot.
  6. Try a basic vinegar solution. Fill a small spray bottle with white vinegar. Spray the affected area and then work in with a scrub brush. Let stand. Once the solution has penetrated the affected area, go over with a steam cleaner or wet vac.
    • Never start with vinegar. Vinegar, although effective as a cleaner, will "set" the stain like it sets the color of dyes on Easter eggs.[1] Try vinegar after exhausting other options, and especially if you're only trying to neutralize smell, not stains.
  7. Use baking soda or cornstarch to neutralize the urine smell. Pour as much baking soda or cornstarch over the affected area as it takes to cover it up completely. Work the baking soda or cornstarch into the area with a scrub brush. Allow to soak up as much of the urine as possible for 24 hours. Revisit the scene of the crime after a full day and vac up any of the remaining baking soda or cornstarch.
    • If the damage is particularly bad, create a baking soda or cornstarch paste by mixing it with a bit of water and then scrubbing into the affected area. Let the paste dry overnight and then vacuum up as much as possible the next day.
  8. Try a bit of stain remover coupled with borax laundry booster for oriental rugs. Use a gentle stain remover, like CitraSolve, to soak a clean rag. Apply the rag to the carpet, using the back of a spoon to work the stain remover into the rug.[2] Once the stain remover is applied, dust a little borax over the stain, cover with paper towels, and weigh paper towels down with heavy books. After a day, vacuum up any remaining borax.
  9. Rinse the area again if necessary. Rinse the area with water and, if necessary, make another pass. Some stains will require multiple passes, although most should crumble under the weight of these powerful but gentle home solutions.

Removing Dried or Persistent Stains

  1. Use a black light to identify any stains. Outline the ones that cannot be seen with the naked eye with chalk to ensure that you don't miss anything.
  2. Use lukewarm water to wet vac the affected area. Do not use hot water or any sort of steam treatment. The heat will cause the proteins in the urine to bind to your carpet, rendering them almost impossible to remove. If you do not own a wet vac, you can rent one at a place like Home Depot.
  3. Use a mixture of peroxide, baking soda, and dish detergent to quash the smell. Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda are both famed detergents. Mix together with a few drops of dish detergent and you're ready to go. Pour into a spray bottle, spray on, and work into the urine stain with a brush or sponge. Let set for 10 or 20 minutes and inspect the site. To create the hydrogen peroxide solution, mix into a spray bottle:
    • 8 fl oz peroxide
    • 3 Tbsp baking soda
    • 2-3 drops any dish detergent[3]
  4. Use a pet stain remover. This should be used in the same way as it would be for wet stains.
  5. Try an ammonia solution before using the hydrogen peroxide/baking soda cleaner. If stains are your real problem, try priming the area (be it carpet or clothing) with a little bit of cool ammonia water first. For each cup of cold water, mix in 2 tablespoons of ammonia.[4] Using a spray bottle, spritz the area until it is fully covered. Hit the area with a brush scrubber. Wait at least 45 minutes before attacking with the hydrogen peroxide cleaning solution above.
  6. Shampoo your carpet using a wet vac. There are a number of shampoos meant specifically for removing pet stains. Be sure that you hit the area thoroughly, and that when done, you've gotten all the shampoo out of the carpet.
  7. Rinse the area again if necessary. You should be finished with cleaning. Your stain should be gone and your odor eliminated.



Tips

  • Sunlight kills the scent, so if you can move the item outside, leave it outside for a few days. BEWARE: Sunlight also fades color.
  • You should not have to scrub with good enzyme cleaners. It is important to remember that you need to saturate the affected area in order to reach all the uric acid crystals left behind from the urine. Don't skimp on using the product.You will be wasting your time and money! If the stains and odor are old, you may even need to apply a second treatment.
  • When choosing an enzyme-based odor and stain remover, make sure that it also contains "friendly bacteria." The bacteria will help enhance the odor and stain removal.
  • Vinegar and water mixed can neutralize the scent also.
  • If you have wet the bed and are old enough to be embarrassed to tell your parents, mop it up and wash you sheets, acting like you are doing a friendly favor..
  • Don't leave it there. One, it's disgusting. Two, others will probably notice it. Three, you can become sick. Urine in liquids our bodies don't need, harmful or useless. Should they be harmful, keeping the stain there isn't a pretty smart idea.
  • If you are cleaning up cat urine, stay clear of ammonia or vinegar cleaners. These scents are similar to cat urine, and may encourage them to urinate there again.

Warnings

  • Warning! Stay clear of the $5.00- $9.00 fixes. They don't work! That doesn't mean that you have to spend a lot of money for the best enzyme cleaners. There are several good enzyme products online for under $20.00.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.justrite.com/home_remedies_urine_odor.html
  2. ↑ http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/removing-urine-from-carpet/
  3. ↑ http://www.thriftyfun.com/Cleaning-Urine-Stains-from-a-Mattresses-Guide.html
  4. ↑ http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-remove-urine-stains-from-clothing/#RemovingUrineStainswithAmmonia
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