COIT’s Guide to Removing Urine Stains
Among the hustle and bustle of your daily life, keeping your house clean is no easy task. Tidying up is one thing, but stain removal? Now that requires a bit more work, depending on the type of stain and the type of surface you’re working with.
Removing Urine Stains
Whether you’re potty training a toddler or you have dogs or cats at home, removing urine stains isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world to do, right? Nevertheless, accidents involving urine require quick and effective clean-up.
With COIT’s guide to removing urine stains, we’ll help you get your carpets, mattresses, and upholstery back in shape.
Remember to always do a spot removal test on a portion of carpet or upholstery that is normally not visible.
What is Urine Made Of?
We all know urine stains are far from appealing. Both the stain itself and the odor it produces are certainly not shy about sticking around. But why is removing urine stains and odors so difficult?
By definition, urine is actually a waste product that both humans and animals expel. It’s made of many components, from chemicals to blood cells, to other forms of waste.
Urine is usually around 95% water, with the other 5% varying based on the person or animal’s consumption. Proteins, uric acid, salts, minerals, and ammonia can all be found in urine, to varying degrees.
Types of Urine Stains
The most common types of urine stains occur on the following surfaces:
- Urine stains from carpet
- Urine stains on upholstery
- Urine stains from mattresses
- Urine stains on clothing
Each stain type requires a different removal process for do-it-yourself removal. Below, check out COIT’s step-by-step guide to help you get your home fresh and clean, without too much hassle.
Types of Upholstery
Before you try to remove a stain from upholstery, it’s important to know with what kind of material you’re working on. There are eight different types of fibers in upholstery that contain different properties:
- Wool
- Cotton
- Nylon
- Leather
- Polyester
- Rayon
- Acrylic
- Olefin
In the 1800s, upholstery looked different than it does today. Back then, upholstery was actually made of horse, hog, and cow hair, with hay and straw used for the stuffing. The industry has since turned to using more synthetic materials, like some of the ones listed above. Cushions, for example, are made of a high-density foam core, which helps them keep their shape.
How to Remove Urine Stains from Upholstery
If your pet at home leaves you a surprise urine stain on your favorite couch or chair, have no fear – there is a way to remove it. And the faster you act, the better!
- Blot the urine stain using a cloth. Be careful not to spread the stain onto other parts of the furniture.
- Mix one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with two cups of cold water in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon of vinegar to the solution and gently stir.
- Dip a clean white cloth into the solution. Gently sponge the urine stain, working from the inside to the outside of the stain.
- Using a dry cloth (with no solution), gently blot the affected area until it’s dry.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the urine stain is no longer visible.
- If the urine stain is still visible after repeating these steps, apply a few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the stain using an eyedropper. You can follow by applying a few drops of ammonia to the stain as well.
- Using a clean cloth, dab the area with cold water until the chemicals are removed.
How to Remove Urine Smell from Carpet
COIT’s Guide to Remove Urine Smell from Carpet
Amidst the daily wear and tear your home experiences, there are all kinds of stains and smells you can encounter. From dirt to ink, to wine, and more, it’s virtually impossible to prevent accidental stains from happening.
One of the toughest stains to handle at home is a urine stain. Whether it’s a human or pet urine stain, the odor that comes with it is pretty unpleasant, right? Once that odor is there, don’t worry - your nose will let you know!
Well have no fear, fellow odor haters. In the following guide, COIT will take you through the necessary steps to get your home smelling fresh and clean once again.
Ways to Remove Urine Smell from Carpet
Depending on the materials you already have at home, you may not even have to make a trip to the store. With a few simple steps, any lingering odor from urine stains will be on its way out the door.
If you have a pet at home, you’ll definitely want to know how to remove dog urine smell from carpet, right? Well here are a few solutions to try:
How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Carpet
Dogs and kids aren’t the only ones who have occasional accidents, right? If your cat leaves you an unexpected urine stain, it doesn’t mean the smell has to stay around forever.
Check out a few more at-home solutions below to remove cat urine smell from carpet:
- Using baking soda and water, combine the two ingredients into a small bowl to make a paste.
- Apply the paste to the affected area. It’s best to use gloves to avoid any direct contact with the urine stain.
- Next, pour enough distilled white vinegar over the area to cover the stain.
- Using a clean towel or paper towels, press the stain to blot up any moisture.
- Repeat steps 1 through 4 again, no more than two times.
Rinse the stained area with water and blot using a towel. If you have a hairdryer, try drying the carpet with it for a few minutes. The vinegar smell may stick around for up to a few days, but then the urine smell will disappear.
How to remove dog urine smell from carpet
If you really need to remove dog urine smell from carpet fast, give this do-it-yourself method a try:
- Grab a generous amount of cornstarch and apply it directly onto the urine stain. Use enough to cover the entire surface area.
- After letting the corn starch sit for about 30 minutes, rinse the area with water.
- Using a cloth towel or paper towels, press firmly to absorb any remaining water.
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If you find that urine smells are still lingering, exploring professional cleaning services may be the best option. COIT Carpet Cleaning can give your carpet a much deeper clean, using professional technology that’s proven to be effective. Call COIT today to learn more and don't forget to check out our coupons!
Remember to always do a spot removal test on a portion of carpet or upholstery that is normally not visible. These are suggested treatments only and COIT can't be held accountable for any damage sustained by the use of the treatments in this spot removal guide.
How to Remove Urine Stains from Carpet
COIT’s Guide to Removing Urine Stains from Carpet
If you have small children at home, or a few family pets, chances are you’re familiar with accidental carpet stains. From dirt, to mud, to punch, to ink, your carpet is exposed to all kinds of substances on a daily basis.
One of the tougher stains you may have to tackle is urine. You can go about removing urine stains from carpet in a variety of ways. Below, COIT will take you through each method, step-by-step.
Remember to always do a spot removal test on a portion of carpet or upholstery that is normally not visible.
How to Get Urine Stains Out of Carpet
This first approach to get urine stains out of carpet involves liquid dishwashing detergent.
- Before doing anything else, if the area is still wet, be sure to blot the urine stain with a clean towel. You can also use paper towels to help absorb any remaining urine. To prevent further absorption, the faster you do this, the better.
- If you have access to any kind of shop-vac, use it to extract any remaining urine. If you don’t have this tool, proceed to the next step.
- Take one-quarter teaspoon of liquid dishwashing detergent and mix it with one cup of warm water. Be sure to specifically use this kind, not laundry detergent or dish soap; these may contain bleach or lanolin.
- If you have a spray bottle, pour the solution into it. Spray the urine stain, aiming directly onto the carpet.
- If you can extract the solution from the carpet using a shop-vac, this is a good next step. Otherwise, you can use a cotton cloth or paper towels after the solution has set into the stain.
- After rinsing the area with warm water, repeat steps 1-5, as long as you’re seeing the urine stain gradually fade.
- Last, take two tablespoons of ammonia and mix into a cup of water. Rinse and repeat until the stain has disappeared.
How to Remove Dog Urine from Carpet
Though we all love our cats and dogs, we certainly don’t love the stains they leave when they have an accident, right? Luckily, there are relatively quick ways to remove dog urine from carpet.
If you’ve been out for a few hours, chances are that Fido’s urine stain may have been sitting for a while. As soon as you discover it, it’s important to clean it right away. If you wait too long, bacteria can start to grow in the affected area, which leads to unpleasant odors.
Here’s one way to remove dog urine from carpet:
- Soak up the urine stain using paper towels or a cotton cloth. Press firmly into the stain using an old shoe or something disposable. This will help absorb as much urine as possible from the carpet.
- Using white vinegar and water, mix a solution in a bowl (50% vinegar, 50% water). You’ll want to mix enough of the solution so that it can reach deep down into the carpet’s fibers.
- Pour the solution onto the urine stain. Using a scrubbing brush, work all of it deeply into the carpet, scrubbing vigorously. The vinegar should help to neutralize the ammonia in the urine.
- Blot the urine stain using a paper towel, pressing firmly into it.
- When that section of the carpet is dry, take one to two handfuls of baking soda (depending on the size of the urine stain) and sprinkle it onto the stain.
- Mix one-half cup of three percent hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent and apply to the stain. You can use the scrubbing brush again to thoroughly clean the carpet.
- Once dry, vacuum the area.
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If these methods for removing urine stains from carpet aren’t enough, you may want to consider professional treatments. COIT Carpet Cleaning Services uses a truck-mounted cleaning system to shampoo and condition stains and high traffic areas. Contact Professional Cleaners today to learn more about how to remove dog urine from carpet and don't forget to check out our coupons!
Remember to always do a spot removal test on a portion of carpet or upholstery that is normally not visible. These are suggested treatments only and COIT can't be held accountable for any damage sustained by the use of the treatments in this spot removal guide.
