Remove Pet Stains from Your Floor

Having pets myself, I know how important it is to be able to find the perfect solutino for the little mistakes that are bound to occur. I mean, even if your dog, or cat, is typically 110% house trained, he's still going to have his mistakes every now and then.

For, example, my mother's St. Bernard/ Collie mix has been housetrained since 4 months old and day one at her house, but even to this day 5 years later, the dog will occasionally have a slip up and throw up on the floor or pee from excitement. It happens, and when it doesn't just remember that it's not the dog's fault. Mistakes happen, and dogs are just like young children, so typically you must treat them as such when the mistake is all over your new carpet, minus the spanking and punishment because in most cases, you dog isn't going to realize what he did wrong, unless you catch him in the act.

But, anyway, I'm rambling a little... Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that mistakes happen, and when they do you want to know how to handle the situation and how to remove the odor and stain from your floor.

There are several different reasons as to why your pet has pottied in the house, and you want to make sure that you consider these reasons, so that you can potentially prevent the mistake from happening again. The more common reasons can include: 

1. Your dog just can't hold it and he potties on the floor.
2. Your dog is sick, and can't help the mistake because he just doesn't feel well, or there's some underlying medical condition that's causing his incontinence or diarrhea.
3. You didn't catch the signs that he had to use the bathroom.
4. Your pet isn't fully housetrained.

Dealing With Your Pet's Mistake in the House 

You want to make sure that you know how to handle the situation, and typically, there are going to be two different scenarios...

1. You step in, or nearly, step in the mess after the dog or cat has already made the mistake.
2. You catch your pet in the act.

Now, depending on the situation, you the course of action will vary...

1. If you found the mess after the pet has completed the deed, you'll want to just clean it up and leave it as is. If you yell and scream at the dog or cat, mini pig or whatever pet, he's just not going to know what in the world you're talking about. Especially, with dog's they're in the moment, and if he peed on the floor an hour ago, he's just not going to know why mommy's yelling at him an hour later. But, that doesn't mean shove his nose in the puddle or in the poop so that he knows why you're yelling; this is typically never going to help the situation, and can create other problems in the long run. So, unless you really, really know what you're doing, DON'T shove your dog's nose in a puddle of pee or pile of crusty poop.  
2. In situation two, where you're catching your pet in the act, you have full force to yell "NO" or whatever bad word you choose. Typically, 'no' is sufficient as the pet knows that 'no' means he's doing something wrong. Some pets will stop, but others will just look at you like, "I'm sorry but I have to go." And, in this situation, you don't want to make a HUGE deal out of the situation, but you want to make sure that the pet does realize what he was caught doing was wrong, and no that still doesn't mean that you shove his nose in it when he's done.

So, basically... the gist is, if you catch the pet in the middle of messing on the floor, you can make a small deal of it, but if you just find the leftover, then don't make a big deal out of it.

You just don't want to make the situation worse than it already is. 

Now, the reason that you're really here is to find out how to remove the pet stains...

First off, consider that there are loads of products on the market that are labeled to be the best at removing pet stains from carpet and upholstery, but they don't all work. Some enhance the ammonia smell, which means your pet will continue to go to that spot, and others really don't do anything.

What you want to do is catch the spot as soon as you see it. Try not to let it sit any longer than you can help it. And, always try to soak up any wet areas before you attempt to clean it up. 

Method 1:

You want find your seltzer water and pour it on top of the stain, letting the bubbles take effect on the carpet. Then, take a new sponge or wash rag to scrub the carpet in order to loosen anything that may have dried on the carpet. Apply more seltzer water and dab a paper towel on the stain to soak it up. Continue using paper towels to soak up the excess water.

If the stain is still present, you'll want to dust baking soda over the stain and then resoak it with more seltzer water. Again, let the bubbles work their magic and use more paper towels to soak up the excess water by just dabbing the stain. Keep doing this until the stain has been removed.

Method 2:

Here's one that will work well on urine. It's going to smell a bit, but it works wonders to get the ammonia smell out of your carpet. It's actually a great recipe to cleaning small animal cages, as well.

If you have a wet area, soak up as much as you can before you start to clean it up. Once you've got as much of the wet area cleaned, you want to use plain vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, mixing the two products in a 50/50 ratio. Pour it on the area and scrub away. Use paper towels to dab the excess dry, and repeat if you need to.

You never want to use soap and water, household cleaners, or anything perfumed to remove a stain or to cover up an odor because remember that our pets have a very strong sense of smell, and the more you try to cover up the smell, the more it will just sit in your carpet for your dog to pick it up again.

Now, being more specific as to what type of floor you are cleaning, you'll want to consider the following:

Just remember that before you get started, carefully remove any solid material and dry up any wet areas. 

Acrylic Fabric, Modacrylic, Nylon,Olefin, Polyeste

Soak a sponge into a mix of 1 quart warm water, 1 teaspon liquid detergent, and 1 tables spoon of ammonia. Ring out the sponge and apply light strokes moving outward from the center of the stain. Continue until the stain has been removed, and rinse the area thoroughly to remove the ammonia from the floor.

Asphalt, Cork, Linoleum, Vinyl Tile

Wash the area with a rag or sponge dipped warm soapy water. Rinse the area thoroughly with water and wipe the area dry with a clean, soft rag

Bluestone, Brick, Concrete, Flagstone, Granite, Limestone, Masonry Tile, Sandstone, Slate, Terrazzo

Wash the area with a rag dipped in washing soda or liquid detergent (not soap) and water. Then rinse the aree with new clean water and let it dry clean. 

Carpet (synthetic or wool)

You can use one of the two methods above, or you can use a carpet stain remover such as Spot Shot Carpet Stain Remover, Stain-X, or Up & Out, and be sure to follow the directions to a tee.

Or, use 1 teaspon of a non-alkali detergent with 1 pint of warm water. Blot the area dry and soonge the area with the mixture until stain is gone. If the stain persists, you can try mixing 1 tablespoon of ammonia with 1 cup of warm water (don't use this mixture on wool carpets, just synthetic). Blot any excess liquid up with a clean rag or with paper towels, and let the area air dry.

Wood

Wipe the area with a rag dipped in warm, soapy water and rinse with a new rag dipped in clean, cool water. Then wipe dry.