Carpet stains from urine are not only unsightly, but they can also cause your home to harbor foul odors. Oftentimes, the urine stain and smell will soak into the padding beneath the carpet, making it even harder to remove. But how do you remove urine from carpet padding? We have researched the answers to this, and in this post, we will share them with you.
Here are the steps to remove urine from your carpet padding:
- Locate and blot up the urine from the carpet
- Create a homemade solution
- Vacuum the carpet
- Apply enzymatic cleaner
- Break out the steam cleaner
- Let the carpet dry and inspect the following day
Whether you have a cat or dog, their urine stains can be a nuisance if you have a home that is carpeted. Knowing the right tools and chemicals to use on your carpet can help you keep your home as fresh as possible and save you hundreds of dollars in professional cleaning. Continue reading to learn more about how to remove urine from your carpet padding.
Steps to Remove Pet Urine From Carpet Padding
Animal urine is highly acidic, and the enzymes in the urine along with bacteria are what cause it to have a foul odor. When cleaning the urine, it's best to find chemicals that can remove the ammonia-releasing bacteria so that you can lift the smell from the carpet and padding. There are a few chemicals that you can use to do this. Let's take a look at some of them.
Things you'll need:
- Enzymatic cleaner
- Baking soda
- Distilled vinegar
- Cleaning cloth or sponges
- Medium-size towels
1. Locate and blot the urine from the carpet
The first thing that you need to do is blot up the urine with your towels. Try to blot as much as possible and do this until the carpet is no longer soaked. It's also helpful to do a quick check on surrounding areas to make sure that you have located all of the urine stains. Some smaller stains may not be as visible.
Before doing so, throw on a rubber glove to protect your hand. Run your hand across the surrounding areas of the carpet, pushing down to detect any soaked areas.
2. Create a homemade solution
Next, mix an equal amount of water with white vinegar and 1/4 portion of baking soda and pour it into a spray bottle. If you have a stain that's over 8 inches in diameter, use at least two cups of water and vinegar to cover the entire area.
Next, spray the stained area and surrounding areas with the solution and let it sit on the carpet for about 30 to 45 minutes. Be sure to thoroughly saturate the carpet. You want the solution to penetrate the carpet padding.
3. Vacuum the carpet
Next, take a vacuum and go over the entire carpet, paying special attention to the stained areas.
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4. Apply enzymatic cleaner
Wait until the carpet is slightly on the dry side and spray it with an enzymatic cleaner specially formulated for pet urine. Be sure to thoroughly saturate the carpet so that the cleaner reaches the carpet padding. You can find these types of cleaners online or on Amazon for anywhere from $10 to $20. Allow the cleaner to sit on the carpet for the recommended drying time. This is usually anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes.
Learn more about this enzymatic cleaner on Amazon.
5. Break out the steam cleaner
Fill the reservoir hole of your steam cleaner with carpet shampoo and hot water. Next, turn the machine on and cover the entire affected area and surrounding areas. Be sure to go over the affected section of the carpet repeatedly, allowing the hot water and solution to soak deeply into the carpet so that it reaches the padding. Let the cleaner sit on the stained sections for a few minutes before going over it again to suction it back out.
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6. Let the carpet dry and inspect it the following day
Let the carpet dry out overnight, and then inspect the previously soiled areas the following day. Get close enough to the carpet to see if there is any odor emitting from it or any signs of visible stains. If there are, repeat the previous steps as needed.
Can you steam clean carpet padding?
In some cases, it is recommended to steam clean carpet padding, especially if the stains are smaller than a foot in diameter. However, if a large portion of the padding is considerably soiled with pet urine, you may be better off simply tossing the padding and replacing it. This is definitely the case if the padding for carpet is over 7 to 10 years old. If your carpet padding emits foul odors from old age, pet, or other liquid stains, replacing it may be better.
How do you get pet urine smell out of carpet padding?
The type of method and application that you use will depend on the size of the stain, whether it's new or dried, as well as its age. Remember, it's always best to blot up urine immediately to keep it from penetrating through your carpet to the padding.
However, sometimes this is easier said than done when you aren't aware that the stain is there. There are a few different methods that you can use to remove the smell from new and old urine stains on your carpet padding.
Use an enzymatic cleaner
Enzymatic cleaners contain neutralizing agents that break down the molecules in pet urine. These protein-based molecules are responsible for the ammonia-based gas released by the urine. Sometimes, a urine stain may require multiple applications with an enzymatic to completely eradicate the odor, especially if the stain is old. You can apply the enzymatic cleaner using cleaning cloths, sponges, or a steam vacuum.
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Try baking soda
Baking soda is one of the best and most reliable smell neutralizers that you can purchase, and the biggest benefit is that it is fairly inexpensive and easy to find. After you blot up fresh urine stains, mix two cups of water with one cup of baking soda and spray it on the stained area. Let the baking soda sit on the area for about 30 minutes to an hour, then vacuum it up and let it dry. Repeat this as need until the smell is gone.
Use distilled white vinegar
You can also use distilled vinegar alone to help remove the urine smell from carpet padding. For this method, fill a spray bottle with an equal amount of distilled white vinegar and water. Spray the stained area into the carpet is completely soaked. Let the solution sit for about 30 to 45 minutes. Following this, you can use a wet-dry vac in addition to an enzymatic cleaner to further lift the smell from the padding.
How do you clean urine out of a carpet pad?
The first step to cleaning urine from a carpet pad is to blot up as much urine as possible. Next, you'll want to use a cleaning solution that will neutralize the bacteria and proteins in the urine, which are responsible for the odor. This can include a combination of vinegar, baking soda, enzymatic cleaners, and a carpet shampoo that is specially formulated for urine.
When applying the treatments, you want to ensure that you fully saturate the carpet so that the cleaners can penetrate deep down into the fibers of the padding. Steaming the carpet afterward can help to fully get rid of the urine from the carpet and the padding beneath it.
What do professional carpet cleaners use for pet urine?
Professional carpet cleaners used industrial carpet cleaning machines with professional-grade topical treatments. These carpet treatments can deeply penetrate the fibers of the carpet and the carpet padding. In some cases, the cleaners may use a technique referred to as "flooding" to help neutralize carpet areas that may be heavily saturated with urine stains and smells.
Industrial carpet cleaning machines have very high suction capabilities. The cleaning solutions that they use are usually disinfectants that effectively remove water, oil, and protein-based stains from carpets and padding.
Wrapping things up
Removing urine smells and stains from your carpet padding is possible with the right techniques, tools, and treatments. The most important thing to remember is that the best treatments neutralize enzymes in the urine so that the odor will be removed from the padding. Treatments capable of this include white vinegar, baking soda, and various enzymatic cleaners.
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