We at Dynamic Carpet Care are pet lovers. We can certainly find comfort in a cat’s company and we are not alone. Florida has the third highest cat population in the United States. Every cat is bound to not use their litterbox at some point in time. When their little messes are discovered this leaves Tampa residents scrambling to answer the question “How do I Remove Cat Urine Odor from Carpet?” Dynamic Carpet Care will give you a few steps that can drastically decrease the impact of cat urine.
First and foremost, time is of the essence. Acting fast will reduce the impact the urine can have. Due to gravity and the absorbent nature of the padding underneath your carpet, all liquids will prefer to travel downwards. Once there is an obstruction and the liquid cannot travel downward any longer it will start to travel outward. There are instances where the padding underneath the carpet has a larger surface area affected than the actual carpet. Meaning the stain on the carpet or wet spot may have a diameter of 3 inches while the padding under the carpet has a diameter of 6 inches. Acting quickly reduces the amount of material that will be exposed to the urine.
Step 1
The first thing you should do is to remove the bulk liquid from the carpet. That means extracting the liquid from the carpet. The best way to do this on your own is to use a Shop-Vac. If you do not have one, you should definitely buy one. They are inexpensive and can really come in handy for a lot of things. They even make shop vacs systems that just attach to the top of a 5 gallon bucket. Place the Shop-Vac hose on the area of the carpet where the cat went to the restroom. Don’t be afraid to allow the Shop-Vac hose stay in one place for extended period of time. The suction on a Shop-Vac is strong enough to allow the hose to stay in place even if you don’t hold it.
Step 2
Next, you can put water in the same area the stain is at on the carpet and immediately use your Shop-Vac to remove the water. This will thin out the potency of the cat urine. You can choose to skip this step entirely if you choose to as long as you use more liquid from step 3. We simply recommend this step in order to dilute the cat urine at a lower cost.
Step 3
You will want to be careful with this step. It has the potential to damage your carpet if you do not follow directions. Almost all hydrogen peroxide you would buy in stores is 3% hydrogen peroxide. We recommend diluting the 3% hydrogen peroxide by mixing it with water. A 50/50 mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water.
A Word of Warning
Once you have made your solution, you should test the solution on a part of your carpet for colorfastness. Colorfastness is a term that is used to describe change of color in carpet. Almost all carpet cleaning product companies recommend testing your carpet before using the solution widespread. Put a small amount of your peroxide and water solution on a part of your carpet that is hidden. We recommend putting it on spare carpet you might have left over. If you do not have extra carpet around, you can test the solution in a closet at the very front corner. Wait for the solution to dry and see if there is any change in the color of the carpet. Use a healthy amount of Hydrogen Peroxide on the area where the cat urinated. Leave the hydrogen peroxide on the area for a few minutes to allow it to fully saturate the area. Once the hydrogen peroxide has had an opportunity to soak into the carpet you should go back to your trusty Shop-Vac and use it to remove the peroxide.
Avoid Bleach Based Products
Why would we use Hydrogen Peroxide opposed to a bleach based product? Cat urine contains proteins. When bleach (commonly contained in most store-bought carpet cleaning products) comes into contact with protein based stains it has a chemical reaction. The reaction between the bleach and the proteins will change the color or your carpet. If you have white carpet for instance the reaction caused by the bleach and proteins will turn the carpet a light yellow color. Any colored carpet will become lighter and bleach will permanently damage the carpet. Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidative agent that reacts with and breaks down proteins. Warning. Cat urine contains ammonia. When you mix bleach with ammonia, it creates hydrochloric acid which then produces chloramine vapors. Chloramine vapors are toxic and can even be deadly. That is why it is always so shocking to see pet stain removers sold with bleach as an active ingredient. The more expensive pet stain removers that claim to be “organic” or “natural”, usually use hydrogen peroxide and just charge a lot for it.
Still Have Questions? Need a Tampa Carpet Cleaning Company?
If you are in the Tampa area and are looking for a carpet, upholstery, or pet stain removal expert, call us. Dynamic Carpet Care has been providing services to the Tampa Bay area since 1992. We look forward to working with you. Our expert team can help reduce pet induced stress so you can hang out with your cuddle kitten free of animosity. Call us today to schedule. Also don’t hesitate to ask any questions about our services, carpet, company, or scheduling. And if you’d like to know more about preventative maintenance, check out our article about keeping your furniture look great.