Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice: Pet Urine Staining and Odors by Laura Bacon

Urine Staining and Odors

Let’s face it – life is messy! When the unexpected happens, and your canine or feline companion eliminates in the house, are you prepared?

Dr. Laura Bacon and her dogs

While I’d like to think my pets have never had an accident in the house, just between us, I will admit that it has happened (shh- don’t tell my husband). Between raising puppies, the occasional indiscriminate eating of who knows what from the yard, the periodic hairball, and living with my special Sydney dog who had chronic kidney failure – my house has taken a little beating over the years.

Because I am also a bit of a neat and clean freak, and now with having a baby and a toddler in our house, proper cleaning is essential to me. I want to remove the urine residue and help sanitize any areas where my pets may have had an accident. Without proper cleaning, it is very hard to remove pet urine odor from carpets, clothing and upholstery.

Cleaning hard surfaces is straight-forward – wipe up the mess, and then treat the area with an enzymatic product that will break down the urine. The product that I have had the most success with is Nature's Miracle Stain and Odor Remover.

Here are a couple of links to it:
http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Miracle-Remover-Gallon-gallon/dp/B00008437W

http://www.petodorurineremover.com/

You can get it at many pet supply stores, at some veterinary clinics, or on-line from stores such as Amazon. You can also treat throw rugs and clothes with this by soaking them in the product and then washing well with a good detergent. (I also like Odor Mute C powder that you can mix up as strong as you need and use in laundry etc.)

Treat the hard surface as directed with the Nature’s Miracle. After this step, I like to follow with a good disinfectant, like Lysol, just to be on the safe side. Lysol does need to sit for several minutes in order to properly disinfect – again, read the instructions on your product.

It’s important, when using an enzymatic cleaner, that you use it FIRST, prior to using any type of detergent or cleaner. The detergents / soaps will inactivate the enzymes, rendering in useless. Residues in the carpet can also affect its performance.

For carpets – remove feces if present. If urine, blot up all you can. Then, place a stack of paper towels under something heavy, like a book, and leave over the area for several hours to absorb as much liquid as possible. Follow with your enzymatic cleaner as directed. It may need to be repeated. Use liberally.

You can use a carpet cleaner with plain hot water, also, to dilute out the urine and extract it from the rug.

I like to follow with my Shark steam mop with the carpet feature – blasting the area with steam to help sanitize.

If you are not sure where there might be urine staining, you may want to consider purchasing a black light (ultraviolet light) to help find any urine located in your home. It's a bit like the TV show CSI - you turn out the lights at night and use the black light to look around your home. Check the couch, the carpets, your bed and your clothes. If something glows it is probably animal urine – or who knows what – that should be cleaned.

Here are some links to black lights:
http://www.amazon.com/Stink-Stink-Finder-Ultra-Violet-Light-Flashlight/dp/B00008434W/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_b

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Solution-11350-Ultraviolet-Detector/dp/B0002XAIP2

Happy cleaning!

Post by:

Laura Devlin Bacon, DVM DABVP

Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In Home Euthanasia