Cleaning Cat Poop From Carpets
So your miss fluffy decided to relieve herself on the carpet and you are left with the unenviable task of cleaning up the aftermath. Worse yet, you didn’t notice until it was a week and now you are left with the task of having to remove dried up and smelly cat poop. Don’t panic. It’s not too late to clean your carpet. Sure your task will be more difficult than it would have been had your noticed earlier but it’s not a feat impossible to achieve.
PREPARE YOURSELF
You obviously don’t want to be touching poop with your own hands. Not only because it is obviously disgusting to do so but also because it is extremely unhygienic to do something of the kind. So first grab a pair of gloves and a dusting pan. Next look for something with which you can easily break up the hardened poop such as a scraper or a steel ruler. Once you have gotten at least these three items, you can proceed to the next step.
REMOVING ANY SOLIDS
If the poop has dried up, it is unlikely for you to be able to just dust off the solids from the carpet. Instead, try to break down the dried up poop by scraping the affected area of the carpet with a scraper or something similar. Dust the pieces into the dusting pan. However, be careful not to scrape or pull too hard at the edges of the carpet as you will end up disturbing the weave making the carpet look weird at certain spots. You can also pull off dried up poop by holding a dampened cloth between your glove-clad fingers and moving it along the carpet strands caked in poop.
CLEANING THE STAINED AREA
Use a towel, preferably a white paper towel (as you can easily dispose of them once you are done cleaning). Look for an oxy-cleaner or oxi based cleaning solution. Spray it onto the stained area on the carpet. In a bucket of cold water, mix some liquid detergent solution and apply on the stain. Gently dampen the area using this stain removing mixture and keep blotting the area with it repeatedly. A couple of retries may be necessary to completely remove the stain. Rinse it thoroughly with plain water and wait for it to completely dry.
If you notice that your feline keeps frequenting this area despite your best efforts to clean it you may need to consider pulling up the carpet and cleaning the area underneath it thoroughly with some bleaching solutions. Leave the area to dry before putting the carpet back down.
GETTING RID OF THE ODOUR
Be it a cat or a dog, animal excretion contains proteins particularly ammonia which is responsible for the offensive odour that is emitted from the carpet material. To ensure that the odour is removed it is a good idea to mix equal parts of white vinegar with equal parts of water to create a disinfecting solution that will neutralize the obnoxious smell. You can also opt for enzyme sprays that are available in pet shops to cure the smell. The enzymatic sprays work by breaking down the compounds in the excreta to their elemental forms and getting rid of the smell. Any retraining that you put your cat through will be of no use unless the smell from the affected area is completely removed. The feline will keep revisiting that area whenever it feels like relieving itself and you will be caught up doing repetitive cleaning chores.
PREVENTING FURTHER ‘ACCIDENTS’
Clean the cat’s litter box daily. No one likes a dirty bathroom. Why should your cat be any different? Ensure that a clean area is available to your pets for cleaning themselves. Dispose of any unclean cloths or paper towels that you might have used during the cleaning process.
Train your cat well. If despite trying all of the above measures, the problem persists, contact your vet for a checkup to look into any possible illness.
For people living in Okotoks, we provide some quality services at great prices to get rid of these nasty stains and help you restore the beauty of your carpet. Don’t hesitate to call us for a bid.