Felecia Coleman
When your pet can an accident on the carpet, you may be tempted to run to the store to purchase some expensive cleaner, so you can be sure you get up all of the urine and its scent. However, the longer you let the urine sit, the more scent will linger. If you find yourself without carpet cleaner, you're best off cleaning up the urine stain immediately—using just items from your kitchen. Here's how.
Step 1: Blotting up the urine.
This step sounds simple, but a lot of people do screw it up because they don't blot up enough urine. Set a thick towel on top of the stain, and actually stand on top of the towel. Your body weight will compress the carpet and encourage more urine to be lifted up than if you were to just press on the towel with your hands. Repeat this process with new towels until you're not noticing any more urine on the towel after blotting.
Step 2: Applying vinegar and dish soap.
Vinegar is an excellent deodorizer, and dish soap helps ensure it gets carried deep into the carpet fibers, where it can free any lingering urine particles. Mix up a solution of 1 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar, and a little squeeze of dish soap. Pour this liberally on the stained area. Do not rub the solution around—this will just drive the urine deeper into the carpet fibers. Instead, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then blot it up with the method used in step 1.
Step 3: Freshening with baking soda and tea.
This final step removes any last traces of pet urine, and it also removes lingering moisture from the carpet more quickly, so you don't end up with a musty odor. Open up 2-3 tea bags, and mix their contents with 1/2 cup baking soda. If you don't have tea, you can just use plain baking soda, or you can mix in a few pinches of dried basil or rosemary for a fresh, herbal scent. Sprinkle the mixture liberally over the wet area. Let it sit for a day or longer, and then vacuum it up.
As long as you follow the steps above, your carpet should come out fresh and clean again. This urine removal process is not only less expensive than using a conventional stain remover, it's also good for the environment and safe for your pets. If you need some extra help removing the stain, call a local carpet cleaner (such as Beatty's Carpet Cleaners).
How many hours do you spend cleaning your home each week? Do you find it difficult to get to those difficult areas, like the bathrooms, as often as they need to be done? Have you considered hiring a cleaning service to come out and help you get the work done? I had never thought that I would be able to afford to hire a cleaning service, but my mother bought me a year's service for a Christmas gift. After that year, I hired the company on to come out and do just the three bathrooms and my kitchen once each week. To find out how you can schedule cleaning services to suit your personal needs, keep reading.