Stain and Odor Removers

[corgimom]

I thought this would be a good subject since there are a variety of products out there. I know we have talked about this before, but it would be nice to have(in one thread) your opinions on what you have used and what works well.

I have used the Petastic Stain & Odor Remover along with the Natures Miracle, but I haven't had much luck with either and the stain from cat vomit is one of the worst thing to get out of the carpet. What have you guys used for your Corgis/other pets and if you could, mention if it is something you buy online or in the store.

[Squeaker]

For localised odours in carpet caused by vomit, urine or faeces, I generally bathe the area with a dilute solution of white vinegar in cold water. I apply it quite generously, then suck up the excess with an old white, towel. (White, because a cloured one might add colour where you don't want it.) Wooden floors get washed with the same solution. It seems to neutralise the odour, rather than disguising it. NB: It is very important that you use cold water if the carpet is wool or a wool mix. Urine bonds with wool when subjected to heat! Test for colourfastness on a small, inconspicuous area first!

Another method, useful if your animal has vomited and the vomit is dry, is to scrape the vomit off with an old blunt knife, then sprinkle the area generously with baking soda. Brush in lightly and leave for an hour or three, then vacuum thoroughly.

For general doggy odours caused by them lying around on the carpet, I do a more general sprinkle of baking soda, brush in, then vacuum after an hour.

Baking soda and white vinegar can often be bought in bulk very cheaply, are non-toxic and don't leave a nasty, cloying "cover-it-up" odour.

[Jespah]

Good environmentally sound ideas Clogs!! I guess that's why you drive a "green" bus!

I find a solution of liquid Tide and water works very well on those cat vomit stains Linda. Pour it on, brush it in, and leave for a bit and then as Clogs said - I put down an old white towel with a weight on it overnight or through the day and it will absorb pretty much all of it out.

[darci]

I agree Linda cat vomit is the worse to try to remove.....

Will have to try the natural idea.

[Dillydoodle]

I have noticed a few small stains that have "returned" - mostly cat puke stains. Would using a natural solution on such an old stain work? ( thinking one stain is about a year old) it has resurfaced gradually over the last few months...

Emilie

[CorgiMum]

I've been using a spray product, Petzyme form Petsmart for years and have found it to be very effective. There is also a shampoo machine formula as well.

[disraeli ears]

I've been using a spray product, Petzyme form Petsmart for years and have found it to be very effective. There is also a shampoo machine formula as well.

I agree...Petzyme is really good - especially if you can immediately spray the spot. If not, it still works pretty well.
I like it better than Nature's Miracle, actually.

[Squeaker]

I have noticed a few small stains that have "returned" - mostly cat puke stains. Would using a natural solution on such an old stain work? ( thinking one stain is about a year old) it has resurfaced gradually over the last few months...

Emilie

Emilie; for an old, recurring odour, I'd try the baking soda trick first. Sprinkle and brush in fairly intensively, leave and then vacuum thoroughly. You may need to repeat a few times. If that doesn't work, another thing to try would be borax, mixed into cornmeal. Sprinkle on the area, leave for a while, then vacuum. You should be able to get borax from the chemist or supermarket.

Failing all else, I would get some old fashioned plain unscented soap flakes (we Have Lux flakes here - don't know what is available to you) dissolve them in water and thoroughly clean the area. (You might have to work out gradually to avoid a veryclean spot that will stand out) Remove the soap by using clean water and the towel method, wait until it dries really well, then do the sprinkle with the baking soda. Try in an inconspicuous place first. Yes - I keep saying this, but it is important.

[Squeaker]

Folks - you may want to go back and re-read the entry about cleaning carpets etc. I totally forgot to add a warning about urine in woollen carpets. Hot water/steam cleaning causes urine to bond with wool, as we found to our distress when our rental house was broken into by street kids one time. The kids urinated all over the carpets so we had them professionally cleaned, but the guy who did the cleaning didn't know about the urine bonding. The resulting smell was actually worse than the original and we had to replace all the carpet!

[Squeaker]

One more thing and then I'll leave it alone. :D

Sometimes washing machines can get to smell...well, nasty is a good term. Add a cup of vinegar to the drum and do a hot wash with no clothes in. This will remove the bad smell. :)

[Dillydoodle]

These are great tips, and as for kids breaking in and urinating on your rugs... I hope they were caught...and punished appropriately... I would have been FURIOUS! I learned something new here about urine and wool rugs and steam NOT mixing, thanks for that info...

I have seen borax in CVS ( pharmacy) before, and it is over the counter product, i will see if i can grab that and test in corner somewhere... i could totally see my rug getting too clean and not matching the rest LOL! Why in the world do people put light colored rug infront of a door? I will never understand this concept... sigh

Emilie

[Squeaker]

These are great tips, and as for kids breaking in and urinating on your rugs... I hope they were caught...and punished appropriately... I would have been FURIOUS! I learned something new here about urine and wool rugs and steam NOT mixing, thanks for that info...

I have seen borax in CVS ( pharmacy) before, and it is over the counter product, i will see if i can grab that and test in corner somewhere... i could totally see my rug getting too clean and not matching the rest LOL! Why in the world do people put light colored rug infront of a door? I will never understand this concept... sigh

Emilie

Emilie, they were not punished at all, even though the police were certain who did it. There were no fingerprints as they used gloves, so no direct evidence to link them. Grrr!!

BTW, the borax/baking soda are more deoderisers than cleaners. Which is a funny concept, as you'd think if something was deoderised, it would also be clean. But yeah - I've "cleaned" carpet spots before getting on to this, and they weren't necessarily deoderised. Funny how those natural smells can hang on, isn't it?

[Dillydoodle]

funny thing , there is no smell, just a small slightly darker spot on the light colored rug. Now i have another rug that my kitty who passed had a few accidents on , and anyone with cats knows that male cat pee is the WORST thing to get out of a rug or any fabric for that matter.. I managed to clean it up using about 4 products ( ok let me rephrase, 4 BOTTLES of products) and about 5 rolls of paper towels, and no smell ( yet... :o )

Emilie

[corgimom]

Yes, male cat pee is the worse, I will second you on that Emilie.

My cats never peed on our carpet, but they did on our throw rugs and I ended up throwing them out; just could not get the smell out - it was awful:(

[Squeaker]

OK, cat pee - yes, surely one of the most difficult smells to remove. But, at the risk of sounding like an advertisement - it can be done and quite simply.

This is what happened: We went on holiday one time, and our neighbour who was keeping an eye on things for us managed to lock his cat in our house. The cat was locked in for two days and, of course, had to relieve himself during that time. Unfortunately, he chose our expensive wool-filled duvet to do it on. The duvet was folded in four and the urine soaked right through. The smell was unbelievable.
So, I filled the bath with cold water (remember the wool and urine rule...) and added one cupful of BioMagic. BioMagic is used for a number of things, including deoderising and sanitising urine and faeces in portable toilets, like the one we have in the bus. I threw the duvet in and crossed my fingers.

The duvet was left to soak overnight. I then rinsed it and gave it a wee wash, still in the bath, with normal wool-wash. Once dry, there was no detectable smell of cat urine what-so-ever.

This is the only thing I have ever used that has been able to get rid of the cat-pee smell. I guess for carpet, you'd just have to risk soaking the area thoroughly as it only works with water. But if the smell is really bad, you would have to wet it anyway.


http://www.biomagic.com/

[Dillydoodle]

I will have to check that out, that is really amazing that it took the smell out of the blanket, I know how that smell seems to soak in and stay around. I may have to get some of that product ( I dont have a male cat anymore, but i still have two other cats ( who have never gone out of the box, but you know as pets age, sometimes you can have issues, so it might be nice to have on hand incase).

Thanks for the tip
Emilie