How to Clean Dog Pee From Carpets? (This is The Right Way)

Who doesn’t love dogs!?

Dogs are fun, dogs are sweet, dogs are humans’ best friends! That’s why it’s the number one pet in America according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association!

However, if you own a dog you’ve probably had to deal with one unfortunate problem: Dogs love to pee on carpets.

But don’t worry! We’re going to see how you can remove dog pee from your carpet using towels and an enzymatic cleaner (you can [amazon link=”B00FFDP0F2″ title=”buy it online”/], or simply do it yourself). There will be slight differences whether or not the pee stain is old or new, but you’ll basically want to moisten the stain first and then clean it with an enzymatic cleaner. Dry the stain with some paper towel and repeat until the stain is gone. Keep reading to see the step-by-step solution!

Step by Step Solution

Let me start by pointing out how important it is to try to clean dog’s pee as soon as possible.

You might not know this, but pet pee is the number one reason why people need to have their carpets deep cleaned in the USA. We explained this on a different post (you can check it out here).

But basically, your vacuum cleaner and the regular dry cleaning carpet methods only clean the top third of the carpet’s fiber. Pee, on the other hand, stains 100% of the fiber. Thus, needing a deep clean to be completely pee free.

So, the sooner we clean our dog’s pee, the least amount of time we give the pee to impregnate the carpet’s fiber. And hopefully, you won’t have to clean your carpet that often.

Anyway, let’s get started with the step by step solution.

How to remove new dog pee stains

First things first, let’s take a look at the materials we’re going to need to clean the pee stains. Don’t worry! You probably have them already (or you can easily do them yourself). Anyway, here they are:

– Paper Towels or Cloth Towels

– Cold water

– Gloves

– Heavy object

– Enzymatic cleaner

1. Absorb all the urine

While the pee is still wet, try to absorb as much of it as possible with paper towels or cloth towels. Even if you think you won’t be able to absorb any more pee, place a towel on top of the pee and place a heavy object on top. Let it sit for a couple of minutes so the cloth can soak up as much pee as possible.

PRO-TIP

Both baking soda and salt absorb moisture and odors. So, if your dog’s pee is extremely smelly (for whatever reason), pour a little salt and baking soda on top of the urine when you’re moisting for the first time. The salt or baking soda will trap the pee, and it’s easier to remove than pee.

2. Moist again the spot

The second step is to get the stain moist again. In order to do so, try using cold water and a spray bottle. If you don’t have a spray bottle, carefully pour a little bit of water around the perimeter and then inwards. That wall you’ll make sure that you’re not spreading the pee all around your carpet. Let it sit for a little over a minute and proceed to step 3.

WARNING

Remember! This step is about getting the carpet moist, not too wet! If you get it too wet (and the carpet is more than a couple years old), you could cause carpet browning. And we don’t want that to happen!

3. Spray the affected area with the enzymatic cleaner

This is the most important step! We’ll get into what enzymatic cleaner you should be using in a minute (if you can’t wait, [amazon link=”B00FFDP0F2″ title=”this is the one I usually recommend the most”/]). These products are non-toxic and pet friendly. And they’re great at removing not just the stain, but the odor too. And they’re surprisingly inexpensive!

WARNING!

Read the manufacturers instructions carefully. You don’t want to apply too much product (nor too little).

4. Repeat step 1 with a clean towel

Once you’ve applied the product, take a clean towel and dry the stain again. Just like you did in step one. But this time, you can leave the heavy object overnight to make sure that the towel absorbs as much moisture as possible.

This should help prevent the carpet browning we talked about earlier.

5. Let it dry

If the stain is completely gone, just let it dry. If not, you can repeat step 3 until you get it off. However, it’s unlikely you’ll get it off after the third time applying the product. In that case, you’ll have to deep clean your carpet.

But this isn’t as hard as you may think! There are some really great steam cleaners that can clean your carpet and leave it looking like new! (if used regularly). Check this post to know all about the best carpet steam cleaners of 2022

How to remove old dog pee stains

Sometimes removing the pee stains right away is easier said than done. And dogs can be as smart as they’re cute! They know they’re not supposed to pee on the carpet, and so they’ll try to hide it from you.

If that happens, don’t worry! It can still be cleaned. This is the 4 step process:

1. Search for Stains

Dogs usually pee on the same places, so it would be wise to check the places were your dog has peed before to see if she/he has done it again.

2. Moisten the Stain Area

Once you’ve found a pee stain, it’s time to start the cleaning process. First thing you’re going to do is pur a small amount of water around the permiter and move inward from there.

The idea is to moist the stain, not to get it soaking wet! So don’t over do it. Having a spray bottle could be helpful.

3. Spray an Enzymatic Cleaner

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Most of the time you’ll have to spray the product directly on the stain and let it work overnight.

But make sure you can apply it! Some fabrics (like wool rugs and carpets) are more delicate. But you can also find wool friendly cleaners that will do the job just as well.

4. Moisten some Paper Towels

Once the product has been applied, it’s time to reabsorb what’s left of the product and dry the stain. You can easily do this using cold water and a towel. Place a dry towel on top of the stain and a heavy object on top of the towel. That way you’ll make sure you’re applying as much pressure as possible.

If the stain is still there after step 4, simply repeat step 3 and 4 until the stain is gone. If it doesn’t go away, there’s still hope! I would really recommend dog owners to have a carpet steam cleaner to deep clean your carpet in case you need to. It’s the only method that will remove 100% of the stains.

Products you should consider to clean dog pee

In this section, we’re going to talk about products that you can buy and solutions that you can do yourself. However, let me start by saying that you can’t and shouldn’t expect homemade carpet cleaning solutions to work as well as a product that has been manufactured specifically to remove pet stains.

I would never recommend a homemade carpet cleaner unless you don’t have any other choice. Believe it or not, using a homemade carpet cleaner isn’t an inexpensive alternative. In the long run, you’ll have to hire a professional to clean your carpet or even worse… you might have to replace your carpet.

Pee Carpet Cleaners you can buy online (or at your store)

Right now we’re going to talk only about products that will help you clean dog pee stains. Most pet stains removers are surprisingly inexpensive and will do a fantastic job!

We could do a side by side comparison, but I honestly think that anyone will work just fine. I usually recommend the [amazon link=”B00FFDP0F2″ title=”Resolve Pet Stain & Odor Carpet Cleaner”/] because of it’s price (it’s super affordable) and how well it works:

[amazon box=”B00FFDP0F2″]

Carpet Steam Cleaners 2022

If you own a dog and have read this far, you clearly care a lot about your carpet. And I’m sure you’re taking good care of it, but when you own a dog… you just can’t do enough.

The most intelligent thing you’ll do is to buy a carpet steam cleaner. It’s the only way you’ll be able to deep clean your dogs stains without calling a professional.

You have steam carpet cleaners that are very inexpensive like the [amazon link=”B077S6KQ88″ title=”Steam Mop Cleaner ThermaPro”/]:

[amazon box=”B077S6KQ88″]

Or you could buy a more robust (and way better overall) carpet steam cleaner like the [amazon link=”B00450U6CS” title=”Bissell Big Green Professional Carpet Cleaner Machine”/]:

[amazon box=”B00450U6CS”]

I honestly think this is going to make a HUGE difference and that your carpets lifespan will skyrocket with one of these.

Best Homemade carpet cleaner to remove pee

If, for whatever reason, you run out of a carpet stain remover and your dogs pees on your carpet! Don’t worry! There are a couple of DIY solutions that will work ok. They aren’t as powerful as the store solutions (especially because they won’t remove the odor as well), but they’ll work just fine for the time being.

We wrote a whole post on the best homemade carpet cleaners. So go check it out if you want to learn other recipes. For now, we’re going to look at the recipe that has proven to be more effective in cleaning dog pee from a carpet.

Now, for the recipe:

Ingredients

• Dish washing liquid
• White vinegar
• Warm water
• Baking Soda

Instructions

1. Create the mix. Pour half a cup of warm water, add 4 tbsp of white vinegar, 1 tbsp of baking soda and a little bit of dish washing liquid. Mix altogether!

2. Enjoy!

Conclusion

Owning a dog is one of the best things in the world! They’re the cutest pets ever and always seem to be happy to see you when you get home.

However, dogs and carpets aren’t the best combinations because for some reason dogs love to pee on carpets. But don’t worry too much! There’s always a solution and you can clean it and leave your carpet looking like it was new.

In order to clean both old and new pee stains, you’re going to need an Enzymatic Cleaner (although you can DIY one if you don’t have time to run to the store or buy online). The one we usually recommend is the [amazon link=”B00450U6CS” title=”Resolve Pet Stain & Odor Carpet Cleaner”/]. It’s amazing how well it works! And it’s very affordable too.

Last, but not least… there’s one thing that everyone who owns both a carpet and a dog should have. And that’s a steam carpet cleaner. They’re quite expensive, but I can guarantee it’s a wise investment. Using one of those steam cleaners you won’t have to hire a professional to clean your carpets nearly as much and your carpets lifespan will increase a lot!