A Variety of Options for Removing Pet Hair from Furniture.

How to Get Rid of Pet Hair off Your Furniture

I love my dog, but she pretty much runs the place, including stretching herself out on the sofa – whether we’re home or not. Even though she has short hair and doesn’t shed much, she still gets hair all over our couch.

Removing pet hair from furniture can be a nuisance, especially when you’re trying to get the furniture clean before company comes over. Who wants to see their guests get up from the couch and see their backside covered in FeeFee or Fido’s hair? Now that’s embarrassing, for them and myself.

There are a variety of products on the market to get rid of pet hair from your furniture, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to getting rid of pet hair. We’ll go over some of them below. First the most obvious:

Vacuuming the Furniture

Every time I vacuum floors, I also vacuum the furniture. After vacuuming it’s easy enough to put the upholstery tool on and give your furniture a good cleaning. Vacuum the cushions, under the cushions, back, sides and arms. Then use the crevice tool to get in the crevices and nooks. While you have the crevice tool on you can vacuum under the couch as well. I would suggest (if possible) to move it every so often and vacuum.

Using a Sponge

I have also used a dry or damp household sponge to lift pet hair from pillows and cushions on my couch. This method actually works quite well, just rinse the hair from the sponge when necessary, there is no need to have an over wet sponge, give it a good wringing out and damp is all you need. Make sure to store it somewhere where it won’t get used when cleaning the counters.

Boars Hair Clothes Brush

I have a boar’s hair brush I use to remove pet hair from my clothing. It’s not ridged pointy plastic; it’s soft and doesn’t damage fabric. It also does a fairly decent job on your furniture as well.

Pet Hair Magnet

This looks just like a squeegee (except the pet hair magnet has a double row on the edge), and works in the same way. When I used the hair magnet to remove pet hair from my ottoman, which my dog also loves to lay on, the hair bunched into piles. I was able to easily grab it and put it in the garbage, no muss, no fuss.

This can also work to remove pet hair from a comforter and clothing items. To use it on fabrics that are a bit slack, you may need someone to help hold it taut or if you’re using it to remove pet hair from jeans, try it while wearing the jeans.

Magic Lint Brush

I used this on my microfiber couch cushions; it works just like it would if you were removing lint from your pants. It pulled the hair off the cushions no problem. When you’re done, reverse swipe it to remove the pet hair. You can also use your hand to brush the hair off and into the garbage it goes.

This is not a sticky lint brush, which I liked because I can use it a long time. This brush is made of plastic and could break if you’re not careful when using the swivel.

Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter

To start the gonzo sponge had a very strong rubbery smell when I first opened it. That being said the smell did dissipate after a few days. My dog has short hair and (for me) it didn’t seem to get as much hair as easily as the other products I tried.

I gave the gonzo pet hair lifter to a friend to try, she has several long hair pets, and she really liked it.  Her experience was the opposite of mine; when she used it, it picked up all the hair. Maybe it’s more for heavy duty jobs or for pets that shed more than my pup?

I felt there were a few downsides to the Gonzo Pet Hair Lifter.

1. I thought it took more time than some of the other things I’ve tried, so this would not be the tool for a quick fix.
2. I felt it moved the hair around more than picking up the hair.
3. If it should get dirty while you’re removing pet hair and feel the need to rinse it out – you will need to wait until it’s dry before using again.

To sum it up, it didn’t work the best for me, my friend however; it worked great for her so this might be something you want to give a try?

Using Damp Rubber Gloves

There are quite a few sites on the internet claiming that a damp rubber glove works great at picking up pet hair and I have to admit it did do a fairly good job – in the beginning. The problem is the rubber dries pretty quickly and the pet hair I did get up starting falling off the glove back onto the furniture.

If you want the truth, my bare hands worked better than the rubber glove method. I don’t know this for certain but it might be because there is a slight texture to skin where the surface of a rubber gloves is a bit more smooth?

Using a Lint Roller to Remove Pet Hair

If after trying one of the above and you still have a little pet hair remaining on the furniture, you can always get out the lint roller to pick up some last remaining bits of pet hair. If you don’t have a lint roller and have a roll of duck tape lying around – wrap a couple pieces around your hand (inside out) and go over the furniture.

I hope you find one of our suggestions useful to you.

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Pet Urine Odor Removal

Your pet is part of the family and you love them.

Regardless of how diligent you are about taking them out to go potty or keeping the litter box clean, accidents are bound to happen.

Maybe your pet is being house trained; is ill; simply refuses to go outside or doesn’t always utilize the litter box.

What ever the reason, dealing with pet urine odors can be difficult but not necessarily impossible. Below are a few cleaning tips to help you with this dilemma.

Never Use Ammonia to Clean Up Urine Stains

When trying to free your floors of the urine smell, avoid using ammonia. You will only be giving your pet an invitation to come back and urinate again and again in that same spot.

Cleaning Urine from Carpeting

When you notice the urine, work fast and soak up what you can as soon as you can.

Use something absorbent like paper towels or an old rag, replacing them when necessary.

Add a Cleaning Solution of Vinegar & Water

1. When you’ve finished soaking up as much of the urine as possible, mix a 50/50 solution of warm water and white vinegar then pour some on the urine stain.
2. Using clean paper towels or a clean rag, once again soak up as much of the liquid as possible, put your weight into it so you get as much as you can to help the area dry.
3. To help get the liquid up, you can even stand on the spot and don’t forget to use new absorbents when necessary.
4. Cover with a clean towel to keep others in the house from stepping on the spot you just cleaned.

This method can also be used to wet a pet urine stain that has dried.

Extra Urine Deodorizing

1. After the area has dried completely, you can further neutralize the urine odor by liberally sprinkling baking soda over area.
2. Gently work it into the carpet fibers with your fingers an old, clean toothbrush or something similar. Be careful, you don’t want to damage the carpet fibers by being too rough.
3. Let this sit for a few hours or as long as overnight. Again, cover with something to keep from getting stepped on.
4. Vacuum when ready.

Removing Urine from Wood Floors

With the exception of old, porous, real wood floors, most hardwood floors today come with a pre-finished surface. These are easier to clean-up since the liquid will bead for a short time on the surface instead of soaking into the flooring material. Regardless, you still want to get to it as soon as possible before it gets in between the planks.

Once you’ve absorbed the pet urine, it’s time to deodorize.

1. Mix 1 capful vinegar to 2 1/2 cups of water in a spray container.
2. Lightly spray the area with the mixture and buff it dry with a soft cloth. Be sure to dry completely.

Pet Urine on Marble Floors

Among other components, urine contains uric acid and uric salts. Uric acid is potent and can etch the marble and dull it. The texture of the marble will go from smooth to rough where your pet peed and can possibly cause a yellowish stain.

You may not even notice anything until the light hits the floor in a certain way and then you notice the stain and/or dullness. UGH!This is the worst!

I’m referring to the marble stain, because if there is etching it’s very likely permanent. But there is some good news – removing pet urine from marble floors is a breeze.

If your pet urinates on a marble floor, get to it immediately. DO NOT clean your marble floors with vinegar, it will etch it.

1. Use plain water, or a pH neutral cleaner specifically made for floors of this type.
2. You can also put a drop or two of dish soap in a large mixing bowl with warm water.

Use a sponge to clean the area and rinse with plain water to remove any soapy residue.

Keep the Litter Box Clean

Keeping your cats litter box clean helps tremendously in the odor removal department.

If your cats litter box smells really bad, it most likely needs to be cleaned more frequently. An icky smelling cat box will give your fluffy friend plenty of reasons to go elsewhere.

Today there is a large variety of cat litter on the shelves formulated just for your specific situation. Clean the cat box daily to cut back on pet urine smells.

If you have more than one cat in your home, litter box cleaning may need to be done in the morning and in the evening.

If Your Cat Urinates Around the House

If your cat has urinated around the house and they are still doing so and you have removed all traces of the previous accidents and you’ve been cleaning the cat box regularly, the problem could be caused by an illness and your feline friend is not feeling well. A trip to the vet for a medical check up may help the problem.

Now Just Love Your Pet

Whichever type of flooring you have, the trick is to act quickly and do a thorough cleaning. Accidents happen, it’s a part of life. Don’t stop loving you pet.

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How to Effectively Get Rid of Cat Urine Smells.

How to Remove the Smell of Cat Urine

Did you know that owning a cat can improve your life? It’s true. Petting your cat can help lower blood pressure and cat’s can make you laugh.

They seem to know when you’ve had a bad day; they’ll come and sit next to you or sit in your lap at just the right time and kids love cats. It’s so much fun to watch the way they interact with cats. How gentle and patient they can be.

In many ways, cats are very low-maintenance pets but there will be times when your independent little fuzz-ball has an accident and pees in the house. It’s bound to happen.

Whether your cat has a true accident or is a little miffed and punishing you for your transgressions, the result will be the same, a mess to clean, the odor to remove, time and patience.

Remember what we said above. Cat’s can make you feel better. So when you’re done cleaning up a stain and removing the smell of cat urine, sit on the couch or the floor and pet your cat.

Clean Cat Urine Stains As Soon As Possible

If your cat urinates in the house and if given the chance, your cat will seek out the same place to pee if it’s not taken care of.

Time is important. Clean up the urine as soon as possible. The less time it has to soak the better.

If it has been allowed to sit, it can be difficult but not impossible to remove.

So if you’re here wondering if there is anything you can do, the answer is yes – if you know what to do.

Removing Cat Urine

For this I put on a pair of cleaning gloves to keep my hands clean.

You may have read that you should never rub at a carpet stain since it will only result in embedding the stain further into the carpet’s fibers.

The same is true for urine – and its odor.

1. Using paper towels or a clean cloth, blot the area – HARD.
2. If your hands are not that strong then stand on the cloth or paper towels if it helps and jump up and down on it. (Don’t think about how silly this must look!) Or just step on it. The goal is to soak up the urine and the more urine you can get up the easier it will be to neutralize any odor left in the fibers.
3. Once all the cat pee is gone, mix a solution of 50/50 plain white vinegar and water and liberally douse the carpet fibers. Be careful not to over saturate the area and force the cat pee into the carpet padding.
4. Grab another clean towel and repeat the jumping up and down process one more time.

Do not use cleansers containing ammonia to clean a urine stain. It has a similar odor to urine, and will draw the pet back to the same spot.

Removing the Smell of Cat Urine

There are homemade and commercial products that do a very good job to deodorize and neutralize the odor of cat urine.

Homemade Cat Urine Odor Remedies

Some people prefer not to use potentially toxic chemicals in their home. If you feel the same, then by all means whip up a batch of this homemade solution:

• Mix about 1/2 cup 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of baking soda, and a few drops of dish liquid to make a paste.
• Wearing your gloves, apply the paste to the urine spot, carefully getting it down into the carpet.
• Let it sit until it dries. Then vacuum up the residue.

If any odor remains (unlikely but it could be possible), sprinkle about 1 cup of baking soda on the carpet and leave it for about 24 hours. When times up, vacuum it up completely.

Commercial Cat Urine Odor Remedies

There may be times when baking soda can’t tackle the strong smell of cat urine. Commercial odor removers work really well to eliminate the odor your cat’s mess can leave behind.

If this is the case find an enzyme based cat urine remover to handle this particular job.

It has just the right mix of ingredients to get the smell out of your carpet. But, be sure to follow the directions. Some of these products are very strong and can damage carpets if not used correctly.

Getting Cat Urine Odor Out of Hard Surfaces

Getting cat urine odor out of your rugs or fabric may seem difficult enough, and it’s no different when it comes to eliminating the smell from hardwood floors and walls.

Natural Odor Removal

The natural way to address this issue to your hardwood or vinyl floors is to mix together 1 gallon of warn water and 1 cup of plain white vinegar.

This is how we clean floors at Mrs Clean the cleaning company. (Do not use vinegar and water on stone floors)

Commercial Cleaners

Again you can also try to remove the smell with a commercial odor remover designed for eliminating cat smells on hard floor surfaces. Just make sure it’s safe for your type of flooring.

What if the Hard Surface is Damaged Beyond Cleaning?

If your cat has marked a specific area time and time again and the smell just won’t go away, it may be necessary to replace floorboards, a cabinet, section of wall or other hard surface material.

This might be the time to call in the professionals. And do be careful, make sure you get all the damaged surfaces when replacing any of these things.

If any odor has seeped into the underlayment or deep inside the wall, changing a few floorboards or wall boards won’t matter; your cat will continue to wreak havoc on the area.

There’s a product called “Kilz” specially made for targeting and blocking odors such as urine smells that can encourage your animal to continue urinating if not eliminated.

After Cleaning, Keep the Cat Out of the Room

To keep your pet from turning a corner of your floor into an ad hoc litter box, be sure to cover the area after cleaning to keep your cat from continuing to pee.

Better yet, if at all possible, keep your cat completely out of the room for a few days.

Why Won’t My Cat Use the Litter Box?

Check with a veterinarian for any health problems your cat could have.

If your cat continues to pee in your house you may have bigger issues, medical ones.

Contact your vet and make an appointment for your cat. I’m sure you’ll want to make sure there are no underlying medical issues causing this behavior.

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Removing the Smell of Cat Urine.

How to Remove Cat Urine

Cat urine has a very distinctive smell. Even people without cats are familiar with it. It’s one of those smells that can overpower you as soon as you walk in the door. Removing cat urine and it’s associated odor isn’t always easy.

In fact, if the urine has been allowed to dry in furniture stuffing or in the carpet pad, the smell can be awful and it can sometimes be impossible to remove.

Getting to the source of the odor as quickly as possible is key to cat urine removal.

Removing Cat Urine from Carpets, Furniture and Mattresses

1. Dry the Area Well

If the cat urine is in a piece of furniture, the carpet or a mattress, you’ll first want to blot up as much of the liquid as you can. Use clean, white rags or paper towels and press them into the urine area to absorb as much as possible. Replacing absorbent material as needed. Continue to blot the area until there’s no liquid coming up on the cloth or paper towel.

Oh and wear gloves to avoid getting urine on your hands.

If your cat has urinated on a chair or couch that has a removable cover, after soaking up as much liquid as you can, remove the cover and blot any liquid from the underlying padding.

If the cover can be washed, follow manufactures instructions. If you do wash the cover, I would let it air dry as it may shrink some and therefore disfigure the cushion when you put it back on. Yes, this did happen to me once.

2. Saturate the Area with White Vinegar

Vinegar is a mild disinfectant and antiviral as well as a natural deodorizer, I use it for so many things around the house and keep plenty on hand.

Vinegar will help kill the bacteria in the urine and help remove odors. Vinegar does have an odor itself but it will dissipate over a short period of time. After you’ve cleaned the area and have let it dry, if you still notice a lingering odor, repeat the process.

Saturate (but don’t flood) the area with plain white vinegar. Water can be mixed with the vinegar but water poured into furniture stuffing or a mattress may spark mold growth if it isn’t completely soaked up and allowed to dry completely.

• Slowly pour distilled white vinegar over the area.
• Start with 1/4 cup and cover the urine stain completely.
• Begin the blotting process again with a clean towel and blot until dry.
• Remember to blot, don’t rub to avoid damaging the fabric or carpet fibers.
• Let the area dry completely overnight.

3. Add Baking Soda to Neutralize Odors

While baking soda will be more effective on a carpet than it will on a mattress or furniture, it will help in all cases. Baking soda is also a great solution to neutralize the odor.

So if after using the white vinegar and there is still a small odor remaining, sprinkle a liberal amount over the area, work it in a little with your fingertips then allow to sit for 24 hours then vacuum.

4. If Extra Stain Removal is Needed

The urine stain and odor should be gone by now, but if you still have a stain, you can try removing it with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.

• Mix 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide with a 1/2 teaspoon of gentle dishwashing liquid.
• Pour a small amount over the stain and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Using a soft brush, for example, a toothbrush or a clean soft bristle brush, gently scrub.
• Repeat if needed.
• Rinse with plain water to removing any remaining dishwashing liquid.
• Blot with a clean towel and let air dry.

Do a spot check in an inconspicuous place first to make sure no discoloration happens from the hydrogen peroxide.

Using a Commercial Enzymatic Cleaner

Cat urine has more protein in it than dog or human urine. An enzymatic cleaner that breaks up protein may also work to remove cat urine. Products such as Nature’s Miracle or Urine Off.

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Natural Cleaning Products to Remove the Smell and Odor from Cat Urine.

How to Remove Cat Urine and Cat Urine Odor

Cats make wonderful pets. They are affectionate (at least sometimes), they don’t need to be walked outside when the weather is cold and rainy, the way dogs do, and they are pretty low maintenance as far as animals go.

If your cat stays home alone all day, she is probably more than content to have the house all to herself. Try that too often with a dog and you will come home to a complete mess.

The only downside to having a cat, or several cats – is that sometimes your cat will “mark” its territory with urine, leaving a very pungent and unpleasant odor.

Removing cat urine and cat urine odor that comes along with it doesn’t have to be a difficult task, but one that you must do right away and as completely as possible to ensure that the cat doesn’t make that spot her new litter box.

Homemade Cat Urine Odor Remover Using White Vinegar

If you haven’t done so already, sop up as much liquid as you can using an absorbent material; paper towels, old cleaning rag, etc.

This next step is so easy you might just want to take the palm of your hand and bop your forehead. This natural ingredient is one of my favorite go to cleaning agents, it can be used for many things around the house, it’s inexpensive, and it will remove the smell of cat urine.

What is this awesome, natural ingredient? It’s White Vinegar.

Cleaning Cat Urine Using White Vinegar

I’ll bet this is the easiest homemade anything you’ve ever made. Vinegar is a natural deodorizer, a mild disinfectant and it can help eliminate bacteria the urine leaves behind.

1. Once you’ve lifted as much of the liquid as you can, saturate the area with white vinegar. No need to go overboard, you don’t want to spread the urine further into and around the area you’re cleaning.
2. Let this sit while you go get some paper towels or a cleaning rag to blot up the liquid. When you’ve finished blotting up as much as will come up, cover with a towel until dry or dry enough to tell whether or not you’ll need to repeat these steps again.

When you’ve finished with the steps listed above, here’s a helpful tip:

• Use a spot lifter like the Bissell SpotBot, Bissell Spot Lifter or a shop vac to help suck out the liquids. I would still cover with a towel until dry but since you are saturating the area, these offer just a little more man power to lift the liquid out.

Getting Cat Urine Out of Upholstered Furniture

Vinegar will work on upholstered chairs and sofas as well. Just follow the steps listed below.

1. If you’ve gotten to the spot while it’s still wet, blot the spot to absorb any urine still in the fabric. This may take several passes with a cloth or paper towels.
2. If the urine has already dried onto the fibers, you can skip blotting and move onto the next step for cleaning the spot.
3. Pour enough vinegar and water (a 50/50 mix) on the spot to dampen the area. Do not over wet, you want to keep the stain contained to the area you’re working on – not spreading it around unnecessarily.
4. Blot up the liquid.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 if necessary.
6. You can use a shop vac or the SpotBot as mentioned above to help remove more of the liquids.

There is also a product called a Scat Mat; it’s a pet training mat to keep your pets away from certain areas. You could try one of these to keep them off and away from the furniture.

Do Vinegar and Baking Soda Really Work Together?

Each of these on their own has many useful cleaning purposes and they are both natural cleaning agents but together – they pretty much cancel each other out.

I know there are so many cleaning recipes out on the Internet that say to mix these two ingredients together for cleaning odors and stains for pet urine but it really doesn’t do anything useful. When you mix these two together, in the end, you’ll just end up with salty tasting water.

That being said, together they don’t make a good cleaning agent, but used together, they can dislodge hair and residue buildup in a drain. That’s where the fizzy fun and the bubbly reaction come into play.

Removing Cat Urine and Cat Urine Odor from Hard Surface Floors and Walls

You might think that the worst spot your cat uses as a litter box is the couch or carpet, but his spraying other surfaces can be just as bad. If your cat is spraying urine against a wall or on hardwood floors, clean the surfaces completely with a 75/25 spray of vinegar and water.

Vinegar and water will work well on many surface floors including ceramic, tile and linoleum.

Do not use vinegar on marble or stone floors and it will etch the floor and ruin the finish.

Hopefully, a general cleaning is all that is needed. If the urine has seeped into the wall or under the floor, you may have to call in the professionals. It may be necessary to remove and replace sections of flooring or walls.

Removing walls and floors is extreme, but there are many pet owners who have had to do just that in order to remove odors.

I know some people who have moved into a home where cats were allowed to roam (and urinate) freely, the damage to hard surfaces was so bad, floorboards and walls had to be replaced.

If this is the option you must do, Kilz is a paint that will block stains and odors. If you have a serious problem and have to repaint or replace flooring, Kilz will block the urine odor completely, so you can start fresh.

If you are able to remove the source of the odor, you will be fighting a losing battle when it comes to cleaning up after your cat and trying to keep it from urinating.

Removing Lingering Cat Urine Odors and Stains

If, after you have used the white vinegar for removing odors and you still smell a lingering odor, it’s time to bring out the baking soda.

I keep boxes in my pantry, just like white vinegar, baking soda has many uses. It is very inexpensive and a great odor eating deodorizer. I am very rarely without it.

1. Generally apply the baking soda to the smelly area.
2. If the area you are working with is the carpet, work the baking soda into the carpet fibers carefully with an old toothbrush or something similar, something that won’t damage the carpet fibers. And do be careful that you don’t pull or snag the carpet fibers.
3. If it’s upholstered furniture in need of a little TLC, sprinkle just a little baking soda over the stain and gently use the toothbrush to work the baking soda in.
4. Let this sit for an hour, two hours, overnight – it all depends on the smell.
5. Vacuum when you’re ready to remove the baking soda.
6. After vacuuming up the baking soda and if there is any residue remaining, dampen a little, let dry and vacuum again.
7. Cover until dry.

If there is any staining along with the odor, use this cleaning solution to remove the urine and odor. Although using the hydrogen peroxide should be just fine, you might want to test this in an inconspicuous spot first.

• 1 cup 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
• 1 Tablespoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid detergent

Cover and let this sit for an hour. Check the progress. Rinse, let dry and then vacuum.

How You can Find Hidden Sources of Urine and It’s Odor

A regular black light used in the dark will cause biological material (such as urine) to fluoresce or glow. It’s great for finding spots you didn’t even know about.

If you don’t remove all the urine odor, the scent of the urine will cause a cat to come back to use the spot again and again. Cats have an extremely sensitive sense of smell and even if you can’t smell their urine, they can.

Preventing Pet Accidents, Odors and Stains

First and foremost, love your kitty. There awesome little cuddle bugs.

• A house trained cat shouldn’t be urinating anywhere other than the litter box, and doing so could indicate a medical problem or be a sign of stress in your cat.
• It might even be that your cat doesn’t like the litter you are using. If you use a scented litter, you might like – it thinking it’s hiding the smell – but most cats don’t like the perfumey scents.
• Keep the litter box maintained properly. Clean it and replace litter daily. A healthy cat will want to “do its business” there.

If you are having problems with urine in your home, be sure to consult your veterinarian to make sure that your cat doesn’t have medical issues.

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Using Vinegar to Remove Pet Stains

It used to be that if you needed to clean something in your house you just made a trip to the grocery store and perused the cleaning aisle.

You would just throw into your cart whatever cleaning product caught your eye or maybe something you had a coupon for or you saw an advertisement and it sounded promising so you’re going to give it a try.

More recently though, there has been a trend towards homemade cleaning products that are made from all natural products. Products you may have in your home already.

These homemade products can take the place of store bought floor cleaners, kitchen and bathroom cleaners, stain and odor removers and so much more.

One of my all time favorites is white vinegar. You can use it almost anywhere in the home. It’s inexpensive, it’s usually something already in the pantry and it’s good for the environment.

Using a Homemade Vinegar Cleaning Solution

White vinegar is a great cleaner for removing pet stains as well. Vomit, feces and urine stains come out easily with a quick application of my vinegar cleaning solution.

An added benefit is that vinegar is a deodorizer so it doesn’t just remove pet stains, it removes any lingering odors.

Vinegar Facts

First of all, vinegar works. We use gallons of it at Mrs Clean. Vinegar is a natural deodorizer, mild disinfectant and germicide. It leaves no residue, so you don’t have to rinse the stain again after cleaning with it.

Vinegar is safe for just about every surface: carpet, wood floors, linoleum, vinyl and tile or ceramic floors.

On a side note, vinegar is not safe for use on stone floors such as marble or travertine, so please keep that in mind. Vinegar is mildly acidic and can cause surface damage to these delicate types of stone. It can also remove the shine and make the stone look dull and spotty.

Vomit can ruin marble too, even more quickly than vinegar due to its extremely strong acidic nature.

Homemade Vinegar Cleaner

• 1 cup of vinegar
• 1 quart of warm water

If You Are Concerned About a “Vinegary Smell”

If you are concerned about a vinegar smell – Let me just say don’t be. Granted, you may not like the smell but it won’t linger for too long. The “vinegary smell” will disperse as it dries so don’t worry about the house smelling like salad dressing for too long. You can always open a door or window when cleaning with it.

Getting Pet Stains Out of Carpet

Try to remove the stain as soon as possible. If allowed to set in or dry, it’s much harder to remove the stain.

Cleaning up pet vomit, feces or urine with a vinegar and water solution may take several applications but it will work and as we mention above, vinegar is a natural deodorizer and will remove any of those pet odors.

1. If your furry friend has vomited or pooped on the rug, remove the solids first. Either pick it up with a paper towel and dispose of it or scoop it up and dispose of it. If your pet has urinated skip to the next step and blot up the liquid.
2. Remove as much of the liquid as you can. Use paper towels or a clean cloth, some kind of absorbent material. Simply blot until you have gotten as much moisture out as you can.
3. If you are concerned with colorfastness you can test the cleaning solution in an inconspicuous place first.
4. Now either spray the water and vinegar solution onto the stain or pour it on until the whole area that was stained is wet. No need to flood the area, let the cleaning solution sit for a minute or so.
5. Using more absorbent materials, blot some more until you get all the liquid up. You can also use a clean rag, lay it over the area and step on it to soak up the liquid.
6. If there’s still a stain, you can let the carpet dry a bit and then repeat the process, this time blotting from the outside of the stain working in towards the middle of the stain.
7. Let the area dry naturally and the vinegar smell will dissipate when it is dry.

This method will work on upholstered furniture as well. Because you don’t want the liquids soaking deep into the padding, use something like a shop vac to suck out the liquids.

Cleaning Pet Stains from Delicate Area Rugs

If you have a delicate or expensive area rug and your pet pees, poops, or vomits on it, check with the manufacturer if you are concerned about using vinegar to remove any of these.

Vomit especially contains strong acids that can severely damage delicate fabrics.

At the very least, it should be safe to remove and gently rinse biological materials with cool water.  Dab with a clean cloth to dry then check with the manufacturer as soon as possible.

Removing Lingering Odors from Your Pet’s Accident

1. Sprinkle a fair amount of baking soda over the area. If it’s carpet, work it into the pile with a gloved finger or an old toothbrush.
2. Let this sit for an hour to overnight.
3. Vacuum.
4. If there is still baking soda on the carpet, wet the area a little. Put a towel over it until dry then vacuum again.

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How to Remove Pet Stains With Vinegar

We all love our pets and they are an integral part of my family unit.

There’s nothing quite like that look my little pooch gives when I’ve had a bad day and, somehow, he knows it.

Of course, not everyone appreciates those slobbery kisses or the endless barking for the ball to be tossed (especially when it’s the 12th time in a row!)

Unfortunately, some pets can be stubborn about being house broken and feel that they must mark their territory in some way. That’s when pets become worse than children. I just sigh to myself when I walk in the door and the dog is wagging while standing in front of a yellow puddle.

So much for sitting down to a glass of wine… Now my first task right when I get in the door is to clean up that pee!

I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to deal with pet urine stains. However, I’ve been able to find some safe and effective methods to remove the stains, as well as the odor that comes along with them, by just using plain white vinegar.

Here’s what I do when I’m dealing with a nasty puddle of urine!

Why Use Vinegar to Remove Pet Stains?

Vinegar is nontoxic, leaves no residue and is a natural deodorizer. It cleans and removes urine without leaving a trace and will not attract your animal back to the spot like other cleaners will.

NEVER use ammonia or ammonia based products on pet stains. Urine degrades/decomposes into ammonia and animals can easily smell it.

Ammonia sends out a scent beacon that signals that an animal has urinated in the spot, so if you clean the pet stain with ammonia based product your pet will be attracted to the spot again and again.

How to Take Out Pet Stains and Odor with Vinegar

Plain white vinegar is a natural deodorizer, mild antibacterial and a mold and mildew inhibitor which makes it perfect for getting rid of pet odors.

The only drawback is a very short-term vinegar odor. But don’t worry because the sour smell quickly dissipates.

If you don’t care for the vinegar smell when cleaning you can also sprinkle some baking soda on the area and let it set for a few hours or overnight then vacuum and this should do the trick.

New Pets Stains

1. Mix a solution of half a cup of white vinegar with a quart of lukewarm water.
2. If the area that you want to clean is still wet with urine, blot the area with a dry paper towel or cloth first to soak up any excess liquid.
3. Continue blotting until every bit of urine is gone and the paper towel comes back dry. You’re not done yet, though.
4. After getting up the excess urine, apply the vinegar solution and blot the area to take out the urine stain and odor.
5. If the stain is still detectable after the carpet is completely dry, repeat this process again. Taking care to blot and not scrub and fray the carpet fibers.

Old Pet Stains

There are times when we don’t always catch our pets in the act nor smell the odor until later. It’s almost like they’ve hidden it from you. Still, with kids and a home to care for, you’ll want to get rid of any pet stains lingering in the home.

Don’t get on your hands and knees smelling the carpet to find the odor (honestly, I’m sure many of us have done this, I have.)- use a black light. Yes, there really is a bit of CSI in this process!

1. Mix together one-cup vinegar and one-cup lukewarm water.
2. Pour the mixture on the area. Don’t be shy; really soak it then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. After you’ve allowed it to soak, use a clean towel to blot it up. Because you soaked the area, go ahead and step on the towel to help blot up the liquid.
4. Let the area dry completely.
5. Now, get out the box of baking soda and dump a generous amount on the spot.
6. Vacuum the baking soda up after it has set on the stain for 24 hours.

Heavy Duty Odor Removal

If you want extra odor removal, sprinkle baking soda on the dry carpet.

Baking soda is a natural deodorizer and is a great way to take out any odor that remains.

I use an old toothbrush to carefully get the baking soda down into the carpet. Let this sit on the stain overnight, and vacuum the carpet thoroughly in the morning.

Pet stains can hide but you can find them and get rid of them for good.

Of course, your priority is to get those pets housebroken, too. But, until you can get the kids to let the dog out or to clean the litter box frequently enough, use these few natural remedies for getting rid of these types of pet stains. Plain white vinegar is all you’ll need.

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Recipes to Remove Pet Odors

If you’ve got a pet you’re going to have smells. No question about it.

No matter how good Fido or Fifi are, there are times when they’re not going to make it to the door or the litter box.

If you have pets in the home, stain removers are a must. Not only should they be able to clean the stain but remove the smell as well. 

I know many people that own pets and they trust the products they buy and that’s OK but you can make your own cleaners that work just as well as expensive cleaners.

Homemade Recipes to Neutralize Pet Odors

The simple fact is not all stains removers you buy work. They are expensive and full of chemicals, they can quite often clean the stain but they can’t always neutralize pet odors.

And carpets are expensive too, so tossing the carpet every time your pet leaves you a little “gift” is not a good idea. So what’s a pet owner to do?

Well there’s the obvious stuff like don’t leave a dirty litter box until even the cat is afraid to go near it! and when you put clean kitty litter in the box, mix in either some coffee grounds or some baking soda to help eliminate odors.

Here are some good recipes that promise excellent results if you are patient:

Vinegar and Baking Soda Recipe

This works on cat and dog urine odors.

• White Vinegar
• Water
• Baking soda
• Hand dishwashing detergent
• Hydrogen peroxide

Mix up a solution that’s half water and half white vinegar. You can keep it in a spray bottle for repeat usage.

Blot up as much urine from the carpet as possible – use a little elbow grease to get all the liquid up that you can. Layers of paper towels work great for this.

After you blot up all of the pet urine, really soak the spot with the water/vinegar solution.

How to Neutralize the Odor

1. Let the water/vinegar cleaning solution soak in for a few minutes and then blot it up with more paper towels.
2. Get some exercise and take out your pet owner frustration by really dancing on those paper towels!
3. After the spot is dry, or near dry of urine, put a fair amount of baking soda on the spot. You can work it in the carpet with your fingers.
4. Mix up half a cup of peroxide and a teaspoon of the dishwashing detergent and pour some over the baking soda.
5. Use a toothbrush or scrub brush to carefully (don’t want to damage carpet fibers) rub it in the area a bit more.
6. Blot the liquid up and voila, pet odor should be eliminated.
7. Cover the clean area with a clean, dry towel until thoroughly dry.

Dishwashing Liquid Recipe

This method works best on a fresh stain. As we mentioned above, blot up as much of the urine as possible then make the following recipe.

• 1 quart water
• 3 – 4 drops dishwashing liquid
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar

Neutralizing the Odor

• Mix all ingredients together and pour a little over the urine stained area.
• Follow Step 5, 6 and 7 from above.
• If necessary, repeat.

Air Freshener for Pet Odors

Are your pets really pretty good about making it to the kitty box or finding the door to go outside? Most are.

But still, they can get a little stinky from time to time. Cat box odors can linger and dogs like to roll in stinky spots they find in the yard, at least mine does, and until he gets a bath the odor can linger in the air. So, how about homemade air freshener to eliminate pet odors?

• Fill 8 ounce spray bottle with water then add in 10 to 20 drops lemongrass essential oil. Start with 10 drops essential oil, see what you think and more to your liking. If you have an aromatherapy diffuser, add a few drops of the essential oil.
• In an 8 ounce spray bottle add 2 tablespoons baking soda, fill bottle with water and shake well. Then add in about 10 – 20 drops lemongrass essential oil. Bergamot is also a good essential oil choice to help eliminate pet odors.

I love my pets, they’re a great addition to our family, but they can sometimes leave behind odors. Now, the next time you need to clean up after them and freshen the air, you’re ready!

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Removing Urine, Feces and Vomit Stains From Carpets

I absolutely love my pets. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them and I think I will always be a pet owner.

It’s unbelievable how disheartened and disappointed I get when seeing urine, feces or vomit from my pets on my clean, beautiful carpeting. Thank goodness it doesn’t happen all that often.

And, it seems to always happen at the wrong time – like when the kids come running in the door after school and step in the “present” the dog left. What kind of “sicko” would nick name dog poop a present anyway?

But there’s some good news. You’ve come to the right place. I’ve been there and done that! I know how to clean up even the worst urine, feces and vomit stains from your furry little friends, and I know how to clean it up right the first time too!

So are you ready then? Let’s get cleaning!

How to Remove Pet Urine from Carpets

Though I like to use natural remedies first, sometimes it’s just nice to grab a bottle of one of these sprays and get the job done.

Based on my experience (and by experience I mean my stepping in, using them and cleaning the urine up) these commercial products work.

Commercial Products

Who has time to mess with pee when dinner needs to be cooked?

• OUT! Pet Stain and Odor Remover. It is an advanced stain and odor remover that contains natural, enzyme cleansers.
• Nature’s Miracle Stain & Odor Remover, a highly, absorbent sponge-flake like substance that is great for absorbing liquid messes.
• Urine Off Odor and Stain Remover is great for furniture, carpets, and rugs. It works great and is completely safe.

Homemade Urine Removal Remedies

Ingredients you’ll Need on Hand

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Distilled white vinegar
• Baking soda
• A truckload of paper towels

Blot Like There’s No Tomorrow

To effectively clean urine from carpet, you need to remove all, not just most, of the urine. Paper towel’s are absorbent and a great option for this kind of “soak me up” kind of cleaning.

When the paper towels are soaked, be sure to replace with new ones. This part of the task is complete when you lay the paper towel over the area, press down and the paper towel comes up dry.

Throw the urine soaked paper towels in a bag and be sure to take it out to the trash so it doesn’t further stink up the house.

Add Plain White Vinegar to the Stained Area

To clean urine stains and odors from carpet, apply vinegar to the area. Vinegar will help deter your pet from using this same spot again because it will neutralize the odor.

Further, it will work its way into the carpet pad and prevent mold, mildew and bacteria from growing and causing additional foul smells.

Simply pour a small amount or spray the vinegar on the area. Massage into the fibers for five minutes and let stand overnight.

Sprinkle the Area with Baking Soda

If there is still odors coming from the area you just cleaned, sprinkle with baking soda. Don’t be stingy with this, either.

You can carefully work it in the carpet by using your fingers.

Baking soda will absorb any remaining moisture and odor.

Let it stand a few hours or even overnight then vacuum well.

Apply Hydrogen Peroxide

Like many of the other products I’ve listed so far, hydrogen peroxide is another staple I keep in bulk because of it’s many uses.

After you’ve completed the steps above and if there is still a little stain remaining, pour 3 percent hydrogen peroxide on the area.

Once the hydrogen peroxide is on the carpet, cover it and let it stand until it naturally dries. If hydrogen peroxide is exposed to light, it will eventually turn to water, that’s why we have you cover it. Repeat as necessary.

To check for color fastness, I would also do a spot check in an inconspicuous area first.

Removing Feces Stains from Carpet

This is the worst of the worst jobs.   But just stick to it. Hold your breath and follow these steps for getting feces stains out of your carpet.

Resist the urge to scrub vigorously (even though your time on your knees with poop in your face isn’t your favorite part of the day) because scrubbing it will fray the carpet fibers and drive any poop on the surface of the carpet down in deep into the carpeting. Keep dabbing until the poop stain is no longer visible.

In a bucket: 

• Mix 2 quarts cold water
• 1 tsp of dish washing liquid (such as Dawn)
• 2 cups of plain white vinegar

Here’s what I do from my personal, numerous experiences:

1. Get rid of the majority of the poop. Wear rubber gloves and scrape up as much of the poop as you can.
2. Take a damp paper towel and wipe any excess poop,but be careful not to spread the stain further.
3. Pre-treat the stain with a stain remover. I like the organic pet stain removers, Or, use plain household strength hydrogen peroxide.
4. Let the stain remover sit for about 1 hour before proceeding further.
5. Alternate between dabbing at the stain with your cleaning solution and a clean white towel.
6. Blot the stain with a paper towel to remove as much remaining moisture as possible.
7. When the carpet is only just slightly damp, take about
8. 1 cup of baking soda and sprinkle lightly on the damp, clean spot.
9. Let the baking soda sit undisturbed until completely dry- approximately 24 hours.
10. Then thoroughly vacuum the carpet to pick up the baking soda residue.

There’s no smell and no visible stain left to deal with – and the neighbors didn’t even see it. That’s a plus!

Removing Vomit Stains from Carpeting

OH! That terrible sound. no matter how hard you try and shoo your pet out of the door, I’ve never been able to get there in time. Can there be anything worse? I mean really. (Makes me feel just a little like gagging myself right now!)

Oxiclean: (Oxygen Bleach/ or Hydrogen Peroxide)

• I swear by Oxiclean. It’s pretty darn good at getting the vomit stains out. Prepare it like the manufacturer directs.
• Remove as much vomit as possible with paper towels.
• Apply the oxiclean per the mfg instructions. If using 3% hydrogen peroxide, you can pour this directly on the stain and let it dry (do not dry in direct sunlight- it inactivates hydrogen peroxide, hence, the brown bottle it comes in).

Table Salt

• Sprinkle salt onto the area and cover with a damp cloth.
• Leave this alone for about two to three hours and when you remove the cloth, the stain should have lightened considerably.
• This particular pet stain tip works incredible on yellow bile.

A Job Well Done!

So, there you go! A regurgitation removal professional. (Well, you know- whatever you want to call it)

Just follow a couple rules and those nasty stains won’t have a chance. Good Luck.

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Removing Dog Urine Stains from Carpet

To some, having a puppy or adopting an older dog is often like adding another member to your family. We get those cute little fury animals and, after potty training, most of the pet stain issues are over.

For other pet owners the issues continue and they are faced with the hard task of trying to completely eliminate stains and odors on a regular basis.

If you are a pet owner faced with removing stains, below are cleaning tips that will not only help to remove pet stains and odors, but also to prevent them.

So, whether you have cute little puppies or have an elderly dog companion, these tips will help make your life a little easier when dealing with cleaning issues.

Cleaning Dog Urine from Carpet

The first and foremost issue in effective stain removal is time. Cleaning the stain immediately is crucial so try to attend to the stain as soon as possible. When this is done you will not only be able to reduce the risk of permanent staining, but also reduce the chance of the stain soaking into the pad underneath your carpet.

To clean pet stains from carpet, first, get on your rubber gloves then use clean white paper towels to absorb as much of the liquid as possible. Blot the stain, be sure not to scrub. Repeat this process until no more liquid comes up from the spot.

When you’re done soaking up the liquid, you will still need to follow up with a cleaning solution. Perform the steps below to get your carpets back to fresh and clean.

To Remove the Stain:

• Mix a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and warm water. Put solution in a spray bottle.
• Spray the area lightly with the solution to neutralize the odor.
• Blot area until dry with a clean white cloth. Do not scrub as it may damage the carpet fibers.
• Repeat if necessary.

To Deodorize:

After removing as much of the stain as possible, use one of the following methods to deodorize.

• Sprinkle enough baking soda over the stain to completely cover it. Let sit about five minutes.
• Use the 50/50 warm water and vinegar spray mentioned above and spray the area. Let sit another five minutes.
•  Blot with a paper towel or clean cloth.

OR

• Sprinkle plenty of baking soda on the area to completely cover then allow it to sit overnight.
• The next day, vacuum up the baking soda and the area will be odor free.

If you still notice an odor, try using a natural enzymatic based cleaner.

With any method above, be sure to cover and allow the area to dry thoroughly.

Just remember, the best solution is to act fast. The sooner the better as you’ll have more opportunity to remove all traces of the urine stain and odor.

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