Hi Mamas. We love our dog but lately it seems when I walk in the house, it has that "pet smell." He has peed more than a few times and we've cleaned it as best we could. He is potty trained but for whatever reason, he still thinks he needs to mark territory or something. Any tips or items that I could use that would help with this smell?
We are not at a financial point where we can replace carpet but we really make just go with hard-wood or purgo (sp?) and have big rugs to hopefully elminate this problem in the future...
We had great luck with using the vinegar/water and peroxide/dish soap baking soda solution (described by Alexis) on cat pee in the carpet. It is a lot of work to vacuum up all that baking soda, and you might need to repeat the process a couple times, but it did the job for us. Good luck!
I would try to steam the carpet. I have a Shark steam mop with a plastic piece to steam over the carpets and that helps to keep them fresh smelling. There is also a spray you can use to get rid of the pee smells, Pet Smart carries it for dogs and cats.
You can also try sprinkling some baking soda all over the carpet and then vacuum it up and/or spray some vinegar mixed with water (not too much).
If it's urine, you can use a black light to look for any spots you missed. We use to use Nature's Miracle but found diluted alcohol is just as effective. Make sure you pour enough to soak the padding underneath the carpet (test it first). We have a steam cleaner (you can rent one too) that we use periodically. Our dog is old so we have been dealing with this a lot :( Good luck to you!
We have had good luck with white vinegar/water followed by baking soda/peroxide/dish soap. It's a bit of a process but I find it works really well and is cheap to boot. I would hesitate to use heat on your carpets as you can set the stain/smell in the carpets.
For a fresh pee stain:
1. Absorb as much pee as you can. We use paper towels and stand on them (cheap flip flops protect your feet and wash easily) to blot as much pee up as possible. Layer a few towels down, step on the towels to blot. Repeat with fresh towels until you no longer pick up wet.
For an old pee stain:
1. Find the spot(s) either using your nose or a black light. My husband takes one for the team and prowls around on his hands and knees for nose duty.
After drying or finding the spot(s):
2. Mix a half and half white vingear and water solution. I typically mix 1 cup with 1 cup but it depends on the stain size and/or the number of stains. Liberally douse the stain. I mean really soak in the vinegar solution. You want to get down through the carpet and into the padding, maybe even into the subflooring if possible. Also make sure you are soaking an area larger than the actual stain so you get all of it. This step neutralizes the odor so be generous with the vinegar solution.
3. After drenching the spot, work the vinegar solution into the carpet with a scrub brush.
4. Blot the vinegar solution as before. A wet/dry shop vac is handy too for this blotting and the vac won't stink since the vinegar neutralizes the pee.
5. Allow the spot to dry or nearly dry naturally. (With the wet/dry shop vac you can move directly to the next step as it is dry enough.)
6. When the area is nearly dry or dried completely, sprinkle baking soda over the spot. You don't have to put a pile on the spot but a generous layer is the goal.
7. Mix a half cup 3% hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of plain dishwashing detergent. We put the solution in a spray bottle for ease of use. (We use Dawn because it is on hand. Do not use a caustic detergent. Also do not use a hydrogen peroxide greater than 3% or it may bleach your carpets.)
8. Apply the peroxide solution over the baking soda. Work the peroxide solution into the baking soda and the carpet with your hand or a scrub brush.
9. Allow the spot to dry completely without blotting.
10. Once the spot is dry, vacuum up the baking soda residue.
This has also worked on a poo stain. Just clean up the solids and proceed. Good luck.
Aw, your poor poochie.
I would try several things:
-get your carpet cleaned (try it on your first if you like)
-take him out often (I know that's the obvious one but....)
-do you have skunks, racoons outside? sometimes the dogs smell them
& pee in the house to mark terrirtory
-since you can't replace your carpets now (which I had to do too) I would clean them then once they are dry buy big inexpensive area rugs. I've had to replace those rugs a few times but they save my carpet.
-Febreeze for light odor cover up
Have you taken a steam cleaner to the carpet? A few years ago I bought a Bissel ProHeat and periodically clean the carpets with shampoo for pet smells. And when you clean up, what did you use? Did you use Nature's Miracle or just soap and water? You want something like Nature's Miracle or Anti Icky Poo. Vinegar may also help.
My friend swears by using a black light and Resolve. I think it's not good to have carpet and pets. If you can ever rid out the carpet and put in hard floors, this is the best thing.
Is your dog "fixed?"
If you have male dog who marks, you should just get him fixed. That will help immensely.
When you do have the money, I suggest getting sealed hardwoods. That way, spills and pee and whatever else, won't soak in.
