How to Remove Urine Smell From Carpet
2014 was a year of drastic changes for our family. Our son J. was born mid May. We up and moved from the tree covered hills of New Hampshire to the flat palm swaying roadways of central Florida. I had quit my job to stay home with our new baby (have you seen the price of daycare...crazy!). To top it off we upgraded from a 1600 sq ft home to a 3000 sq ft home to make room for us, my husband's office, and all the relatives that had already informed us would be using our place instead of hotels to save on money.
Having left my entire family back in NH plus downgrading to basically just me and the baby all day was a reality check in the word “lonely”. Everyone has their own remedy for fixing loneliness. Some go join clubs, others eat sugary foods, but coming from a family that always owned a pet, even if it was just a few bug-eyed goldfish, a dog seemed like a great way to fill the echoes that reverberated our mostly empty hallways. Plus if our son ended up hating me at least dogs always love their owners, right? Ok I'm just kidding. Funny enough our future fur baby would actually turn into a Papa's girl.
The following summer we found our selves 2 hours from home, feet covered in dust, starring at several rows of potential candidates. With a temperature of 90+ degrees (and no fans), only a small few had the energy to wag their tails. Florida Animal Control allows roughly two weeks for animals to find a home before terminating. If for no other reason, simply because they don't have the man power or the space for all the animals that come to them daily. My heart seemed to grow heavier with every cage I passed. This particular bunch was scheduled for execution the next day.
My heart had been instantly attached to a white and grey pointer mix named Watson that I had seen on facebook. One of many posted on Sebring, Fl Urgents rescue page. You can find a link to their facebook here.
https://www.facebook.com/Sebring-Fl-Urgents-Please-Save-Us-136510243142818/?fref=ts
Life never turns out quite like you expect. Instead of walking away with the energetic Watson, our family decided to go with a more docile boxer mix named Caroline. Turns out, it was the best decision we could have made. She has been a great addition to our family, and my son adores her. I'm also happy to report, thanks to the Sebring, Fl Urgent group all the dogs that were at Animal Control during our visit had been saved. Yay!
Fast forward another summer. Instead of braving the Florida heat we packed up our truck and drove to my childhood home in the much cooler state of New Hampshire! Little did we know after 27 years my parents finally decided to do some updating. Including brand new extra soft carpets for the bedrooms. I'm betting you can see where this is going. Traditionally, every year we all go up to Vt to go tubing. This year the plan was simple. Go up to the cabin and tube just for the day and come home. We let Caroline out to use the bathroom and gave her some food and toys until we got back around dinner time. Apparently mother nature had other plans.
Have you ever had to drive through rain that poured so hard you couldn't see the car in front of you? How about wind so strong that trees started breaking only to land on the roads blocking traffic? That's what happened right before we went to leave camp for home. So our little day trip turned into an overnighter. Luckily I have some great relatives that were nice enough to check on my fur baby, but with the rain she wouldn't budge from her spot on the carpet (I don't blame her). As we walked into the house the next morning the first thing we noticed was the over powering smell of urine. Turned out, Caroline had decided to wait out the storm not only on the carpet but in my parents bedroom as well, and it reeked! Saying I felt guilty is a huge understatement. Not only did my poor dog have to wait out the storm alone, but my parent's brand new carpet might have been ruined. I immediately checked to make sure Caroline was ok then put on the rubber gloves and got to work.
After trying several products including 409 Pet Odor Eliminator, and multiple attacks with my parents rug washer the urines unmistakable musk still assaulted my nostrils. Just shy of calling a professional cleaning company I decided to try one more strategy and amazingly it worked! Thank you google!
What you'll need:
White vinegar
Water
baking soda
3%Hydrogen Peroxide (1/4 cup)
Dishwashing Detergent (1 tsp)
Febreze
2 Empty spray bottles
Instructions:
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Blot up as much of the urine as possible with a paper towel, sponge, or bath towel.
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Mix 50/50 water and white vinegar in one spray bottle. Shake to mix. Spray urinated area but don't soak. Just a light spray.
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Sprinkle a heavy amount of baking soda over sprayed area.
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Mix 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1 tsp of dish detergent ( I use Melaleuca products) in the second bottle. Spray over the baking soda and rub in with hands or stiff brush. Really mix it up.
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Wait 15 minutes...
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After the 15 minutes is up blot the treated area again to remove any extra moisture. Wait for the area to COMPLETELY dry. Air drying works fine but you can also use or fan or a hair dryer. For best results wait 24-48 hours.
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When the area is completely dry vacuum up the remaining baking soda. NOTE: You may still smell the urine until after you vacuum because the smell has been absorbed into the baking soda (which is still on your carpet). You may have to use a brush to loosen up some of the dried baking soda.
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You shouldn't need it but I always like to add a spray of Febreze for that extra clean smell. And that's it!
