How to Clean Dried Cat Urine from Carpet?
- Locate the source of the smell from the cat urine.
- Make sure you have the right cleaner. Use White vinegar or apple cider vinegar 1:1 with water.
- Spray the solution onto the spot to get the area wet again
- Use a rag to blot out the wetness
- repeat until clean and dry again
Last updated on February 24th, 2023 at 11:45 pm
Discovering your cat has urinated somewhere other than their litter box can be problematic. The smell is pretty bad, worse than dog smell and worse than other pets smell.
This is especially true the longer the urine is left untreated the worse the smell becomes. Even well-trained cats have accidents but that doesn’t mean it’s time to buy a whole new carpet just yet.
Dealing with dried cat urine can be as bad as dealing with skunk spray. When cleaning the stains it’s very important you use the right methods otherwise you risk making the situation worse. Use this guide to help you eliminate cat urine stains effectively and efficiently.
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How to Locate the Source of the Pee Smell
Step one is actually finding the cat urine in your home. If you didn’t catch your cat in the act then there’s a very good chance you aren’t exactly sure where your cat has urinated. Search and discovery is next. The strong smell should help you to narrow it down to a particular room.
However, with the urine now being dry, you may struggle to locate precisely where the urine or spray is which means cleaning the area is also going to be challenging.
Discovery is key
If this is the case, consider purchasing a low-cost black light such as this handheld UV blacklight. This can be used to quickly and easily detect stains that you cannot see with the naked eye.
The UV light should be used in a dimly lit room and will immediately make any cat urine that is present glow, even long after the urine has dried it will be highly visible under the UV light. Using this special light allows you to instantly locate the stains and tackle the problem head-on.
Related Article – How To Find Cat Urine WITHOUT a Blacklight
How to Clean the Urine Stain
Locating the source of the smell is step one in dealing with the problem. Once you have found the stain (or stains) it is time to treat the areas. The fact that the urine has now dried into the carpet means that a deeper clean will be necessary to ensure all of the urine is removed.
- Use an Enzyme-based Cleaner
Before you grab your go-to household or carpet cleaner and get to work, you need to first make sure the cleaning product you use is not ammonia-based. This can actually set the stain and worsen the situation. Ideally, you should use an enzyme-based cleaner such as this Pet Stain and Odour Remover from Simple Solution. We recommend an enzyme formula as it is specifically formulated for use on pet stains and can effectively break down the stain and the odour. Apply the chosen enzymatic cleaner to the stains liberally and leave it to dry.
While these shop-bought cleaners are effective, you may also have suitable products within your cupboards that can do the job just as well. White vinegar is commonly used as it also deals with the issue by neutralizing the alkaline salts within the dried urine. Mix a solution of equal parts water and white vinegar and pour this solution onto the stained area. Scrub it into the carpet and then leave the solution to sit for around 15 minutes. After 15 minutes use an old rag to soak up as much of the solution as you can then allow the area to dry.
- Sprinkle Baking Soda on the Area
Once you have cleaned the area using an enzyme-based cleaner or a vinegar solution, liberally sprinkle baking soda onto the dry carpet and leave to sit for one hour. Baking soda also helps to deodorize the urine particles. After an hour, vacuum the area thoroughly. A regular vacuum will do the trick here, ultimately the more powerful the vacuum is the more effective it will be in removing deep-seated stains.
- Use a Wet Vacuum on Tough Stains
It’s very important not to use a steam cleaner when dealing with cat urine as this will only make the stain worse. With that said, a wet vacuum can be very effective in dealing with those tough, dried in stains. The PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner is an excellent example, the wet vac works by saturating the carpet (we recommend you use cold water rather than hot when dealing with cat urine stains) and then sucking up the dirty water allowing you to pick up the urine particles that are deep within the carpet fibres.
- Repeat as Necessary
Cat urine that has already dried into the carpet is more difficult to get rid of. You may have to repeat the cleaning process and really use some elbow grease to eliminate the odour. Don’t be afraid to fully saturate the area with the chosen neutralizing solution as, more often than not, this will be necessary to reach all layers of the stain.
How to Stop Your Cat from Peeing There Again
Now that the stain and smell have been dealt with, it’s important to take steps to stop the problem from happening again. Fortunately, neutralizing the area is already a huge step in the right direction. If your cat can still smell the urine it makes them far more likely to repeatedly pee in the area.
You can also invest in great home litter products for your pet. These will help keep your cat on track.
To deal with the problem long-term, you need to figure out why your cat is not using their litterbox. One possible reason is health problems such as kidney or bladder issues. It is best to take your cat to the vet to be checked over in order to ensure the behaviour you are seeing is not due to health issues.
Your cat and your dog are different…make sure you pay attention to your cat’s signals for finding the pee.
Once you have ruled out health problems, there are a couple of other reasons your cat may be urinating away from their litter box. The following tips may help to rectify the situation:
- Ensure the litter box is in a safe private area. It also needs to be easily accessible and not near your cat’s food and water sources.
- Keep the litter box clean.
- Make sure the litter box is large enough and put more than one in your home.
- Try a different litter type, particularly if the current litter is scented as many cats dislike this.
- Neuter/ spay your cat to avoid territory marking
Related Article – Old cat not using litter box anymore – cat urine carpet cleaning
Cleaning and Removal
These tips should help in preventing future accidents. Your cat may require some additional training to teach them to use the litter box rather than the carpet. When training your cat use positive reinforcement and be patient. Cats make excellent pets. Using the above tips and tricks you can make sure dealing with cat urine is a problem of the past.
For additional cleaning tips – source – https://thepets.net/how-to-get-rid-of-the-cat-urine-smell-in-your-house/
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