How to Remove Cat Urine Stains and Their Smell From Your Home's Carpeting
When you have cats in your home, chances are high that you have had to clean up at least one urine spot. Cats can choose to mark their territory in your home, have potty-training accidents, or decide to pee on a towel lying on your carpeted floor instead of in their litter box. It is helpful when you can clean up cat urine because its lingering smell can lead to repeated peeing in that spot. Here is a method to help you clean up your cat's urine stains and smells from your home's carpet.
Locate and Prepare the Spot
Cat's urine is notoriously smelly, as it contains ammonia, which makes it very hard to get out of any surface it has saturated. Using a mixture of some basic household solutions, you can remove the stain and its smell. If the urine is a fresh spot, blot up as much of the moisture as you can from the carpeting with paper towels. Press them onto the carpeting with your foot. You can also use a shop vacuum to remove large areas of urine stains.
If you have encountered a dry cat urine stain, unless you sniff around the entire carpeted urine-smelling room, it may be difficult to determine where the urine spots are. Turn off the lights to the room and turn on and shine a black light onto the carpeting. The urine stain will illuminate under the black light, as cat urine contains particles that glow under this type of light.
Use a Homemade Spot Cleaner
Combine equal parts of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and saturate the carpet fibers where the urine stain is located. Blot up this solution with a clean towel or paper towels until the carpet is dry. Sprinkle the carpet with baking soda to cover the stained area.
Fill up a second spray bottle with three percent hydrogen peroxide and a couple squirts of dish detergent and swirl it around to combine the mixture. Make sure you don't use hydrogen peroxide that is stronger than three percent, as this can bleach your carpet. Spray this solution onto the carpet stain and rub it into the carpeting with a wet sponge.
Allow the treated spot to dry completely, then vacuum up all the loose bits of baking soda. If your carpet still has an odor, repeat this process again. This will remove all traces of the urine smell from your carpeting and home.