How to get pee out of carpet (stain and smell)

How to remove urine from carpet

1. 1

   Blot up as much as you can

   Press a thick layer of white paper towels onto the wet spot and stand on it for about a minute. Replace the towels and repeat until they come up barely damp. Don't rub.

   Why: Urine sinks down the pile into the backing and pad. The more you lift before it dries, the less is left to cause the stain and smell.

2. 2

   Blot on a mild detergent solution

   Mix ¼ teaspoon of clear liquid dish soap in 1 cup of lukewarm water. Saturate a paper towel with it and blot the spot, then absorb the moisture with dry towels. Don't use laundry or dishwasher detergent.

   Why: This is the Carpet and Rug Institute's urine method. Mild detergent lifts urine residue. Laundry detergent can contain brighteners that dye carpet fibers, and dishwasher detergent can contain bleach.

3. 3

   Rinse and repeat while it's improving

   Blot with warm water, then apply the detergent solution again. Keep alternating detergent and water as long as the spot keeps improving or towels keep picking up color. Don't over-wet.

   Why: Repeated small applications move residue up into the towels. Flooding the spot would push it into the pad and can loosen the bond between carpet layers.

4. 4

   Blot on a vinegar rinse

   Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water, blot it onto the area, and blot dry.

   Why: Vinegar neutralizes the alkaline detergent residue so the spot doesn't become sticky and attract dirt.

5. 5

   Treat the smell with an enzyme cleaner

   Once the stain steps are done, test an enzyme cleaner on a hidden spot, then apply it generously enough to reach as deep as the urine went. Follow the label's contact time and don't rinse it off.

   Why: Enzymes break down the organic residue that bacteria turn into ammonia. If any residue stays in the pad, the smell keeps coming back.

6. 6

   Weight-dry the spot

   Lay a half-inch layer of paper towels over the area, weight it with something flat, heavy and colorfast, and change the towels often until the carpet is completely dry. Fans speed this up.

   Why: Weighted towels wick moisture and dissolved residue up out of the pile, so the stain doesn't wick back to the surface as it dries.

Why pee smells worse the longer it sits in carpet

Fresh urine from a healthy person smells fairly mild. The sharp, stale smell develops afterward, as bacteria use the enzyme urease to break down urea, which makes up more than half the solids in urine, into ammonia. Urine also leaves uric acid salts that barely dissolve in water. In carpet, all of that settles into the base of the pile, the backing and the pad below, where surface cleaning can't reach.

That's why air freshener fails: it sits on top while bacteria keep making ammonia underneath. Urine is also a protein stain, so heat is the enemy. Hot water or a steam cleaner can set the stain and the odor before you've removed them.

When the stain is dye damage, not dirt

The Carpet and Rug Institute warns that urine can change carpet dyes, sometimes right away and sometimes weeks or months later. In its bulletin on pet urine, it explains that in beige carpet urine attacks the blue dyes, leaving the red and yellow behind, so the spot turns red, yellow or orange. If that's happened, the color is gone from the fiber, and no cleaner will put it back. The fix is a carpet repair or patch by a professional.

Whether a spot becomes permanent depends on the urine, the dyes, the carpet's finish and how long it sat. That's the strongest reason to treat urine the same day. For general carpet care, see how to clean carpet.

By situation

Fresh pee on carpet

Blot immediately, then go through the detergent, rinse and vinegar steps, and finish with the enzyme cleaner and weighted drying. Fresh urine is the most likely to come out completely, with no dye change and no lingering smell.

Old or dried urine smell in carpet

Find the spots with a black light in a dark room, since urine glows. Rehydrate each one with cool water, extract it with a wet-dry vac or rented carpet cleaner (not a steam setting), then apply the enzyme cleaner. Old spots often need two or three rounds.

The urine soaked through to the pad

If the smell keeps returning after several treatments, the pad underneath is holding urine. Humane society guides note that the affected section of carpet pad, and sometimes the carpet, may need to be replaced. A carpet professional can lift the carpet, replace the pad and re-stretch it.

Leftover odor after cleaning

Once the spot is completely dry, sprinkle baking soda over it, leave it overnight and vacuum it up. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recommends this only for odor left after cleaning, not instead of it.

Bedwetting or potty-training accidents

Repeated accidents in the same spot build up residue in the pad. Treat each one fully with the enzyme step, and put a waterproof cover or absorbent pad over that area until accidents stop, which makes the next one much easier to clean.

Wool carpet or rugs

Wool is a protein fiber sensitive to alkaline cleaners. Blot, use only the mild detergent solution and water, and call a rug cleaner for odor or lingering stains rather than experimenting.

What not to do

• Don't steam-clean or use hot water on urine. Heat can set the stain and odor, and steam can spread urine down into the pad.
• Don't use laundry or automatic-dishwasher detergent. Laundry detergent can contain optical brighteners that dye carpet, and dishwasher detergent can contain bleaching agents that destroy carpet dyes.
• Don't mix bleach with ammonia or vinegar. Bleach plus ammonia releases chloramine gas, and bleach plus vinegar releases chlorine gas. See never mix these cleaners.
• Don't cover the smell with fragrance. Odor returns, especially in humid weather, because the urine residue is still there.

Other methods that work

Ammonia solution (for stubborn stains, not odor)

The Carpet and Rug Institute's wet-urine sequence includes 1 tablespoon of household ammonia in 1 cup of water after the detergent and vinegar steps, rinsed and blotted.

Caution: Test first: it can change some dyes. Never use it with bleach. In homes with pets, humane societies avoid ammonia because it can attract animals back to the spot.

Texas A&M sponge method

Sponge the spot with cool water, then with a detergent solution, then rinse by sponging with half white vinegar and half water, and let it air-dry. It's a gentler variation on the same idea.

Caution: Don't over-wet the carpet; blot repeatedly between steps.

Professional carpet cleaning

Best for large or repeated accidents, urine in the pad, dye damage and wool rugs. Tell the cleaner it's urine, and ask for enzyme treatment rather than heat-based methods, as the Edmonton Humane Society advises when hiring cleaners.

Stain still there?

The stain came back after drying

Urine in the base of the pile or the pad wicked up as the surface dried. Repeat the detergent and rinse steps and weight-dry under a thick layer of paper towels, changing them often.

The spot is now yellow or orange

Urine has probably changed the carpet dye. Cleaning won't restore it. A carpet repair professional can patch the area.

It still smells after the enzyme cleaner

The cleaner may not have reached deep enough, or earlier cleaners are blocking it. Rehydrate and extract the spot, then reapply more enzyme cleaner and let it dry completely before judging.

Safety

• Wear gloves when cleaning urine and wash your hands afterward.
• Never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar, and ventilate the room.
• A strong or unusual urine smell from a person can point to dehydration, diet, diabetes or a urinary tract infection, which is a medical question rather than a cleaning one.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Urine on other surfaces

• Urine stains: the complete guide
• Urine on a car
• Urine on clothes
• Urine on a couch
• Urine on a mattress

Other stains on carpet

• How to clean carpet
• Blood on carpet
• Cat urine on carpet
• Chocolate on carpet
• Coffee on carpet
• Crayon on carpet
• Dog urine on carpet
• Glue on carpet
• Grease and oil on carpet
• Gum on carpet
• Hair dye on carpet