by Tami Port MS

Created on: August 03, 2008

When pets begin urinating in the house, carpeting is one of the top choices for this inappropriate behavior, and, unfortunately, one of the most difficult to clean. Even worse, when urine odor persists in your carpet it encourages your pet to continue using the same area for elimination. Here are some helpful tips to stop this housebreaking problem in its tracks.

Find All Pet Urine Stains

The sooner you find the spots where your pet is urinating the better. Fresh urine is much easier to remove from carpeting than is urine that has had a chance to soak into the carpet padding and dry. So, for starters, use you eyes, nose and touch to identify the soiled areas. If you have been finding feces in the house, it is a pretty safe bet that the pet is also urinating in that area as well.

Using Black Light to Find Urine Stains

To find older, dried soiled areas, a black-light can be invaluable. You will have pet odor problems and your pet will continue to soil the rug until you completely remove absolutely all of the stains. If you find areas using the black-light that are not visible with the naked eye, use chalk to outline the affected carpeting. If you find pet urine on washable items, soak them with enzymatic cleaner (see below) and then throw them in the washing machine for one or more cycles.

Removing Fresh Urine Stains that are Still Wet

1. Soak up as much of the urine as possible, preferably with absorbent old towels that you are using as rags or with paper towels. The more fresh urine you can remove before it dries, the easier it will be to remove the odor.

2. Once the area is no longer soggy, put down more old towels or paper towels and cover with a thick layer of newspaper. Then stand on this padding for about a minute. Move your feet all over the stained area, like you are stomping grapes. This pressure will help absorb more of the difficult to reach urine in the carpet padding. Repeat this process until the area is barely damp.

3. Put the fresh, urine-soaked towels in the area where they belongyour cat's litter box or your dog's outdoor "bathroom area." This will help remind your pet of the appropriate place for urinating.

4. Repeatedly rinse the accident zone with clean, cool water. After rinsing, remove as much of the water as possible by blotting or by using a wet vacuum. If you don't have a wet vac or carpet cleaner, you can rent one for a reasonable fee.

5. Apply an enzymatic pet urine eliminator (pet urine stain remover) to the soiled area and faithfully follow

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>