Pets are a wonderful addition to any family. They bring us happiness. They bring us joy. They love us unconditionally and never judge us. Through the good and the bad, they are always there to offer a quick cuddle, tail wag, or a good reason to go outside after a rough day. These furry little friends can bring so much to our lives, but they can also cause some pretty significant problems for our flooring, our upholstery, and our homes. While we wouldn’t trade our pets for anything, inevitably we all end up feeling like it is pretty obvious that we own them. Puppy kisses are a yes, but most of us could do without the puppy smell.
At Buyher’s, we are experts when it comes to managing pet stains and odors. We know that your beloved little furball can also make quite a mess, but we are here with solutions when they do. Whether you are looking to clean up a particularly bad mess or you just don’t want your carpet to smell like your furry friend, our team has you covered. Our intensive approach to treatment comes in various forms depending on your needs and budget.
How to Get Pet Odor Out of Carpet
If the accident is fresh, what you do in the next few minutes matters more than anything else. These steps work for most urine spots on synthetic carpet:
- Blot, don’t rub. Press white paper towels or a folded towel firmly into the spot and stand on it. Repeat with dry towels until almost nothing transfers. Rubbing spreads urine sideways into more fibers.
- Rinse with cool water and blot again. A light rinse dilutes what’s left. Use only a little water so you don’t push urine deeper into the pad.
- Use an enzyme cleaner made for pet urine. Apply enough to reach as deep as the urine went, which is usually deeper than the visible spot. Leave it as long as the label says. Enzymes break down the compounds that cause the smell instead of covering them up.
- Let it dry slowly, without heat. Skip the hair dryer, iron, and steam cleaner on urine. Heat can bond the odor into the fibers and make it permanent.
- Test first. Try any cleaner on a hidden spot, especially on wool or older carpet.
A few things make pet odor worse: ammonia-based cleaners (they smell like urine to pets, who may go back to the same spot), mixing cleaning products, and scented sprays or powders, which mask the smell for a day or two and then it returns. For more on that difference, see carpet deodorizing vs. odor removal.
When DIY isn’t enough
Call a professional when the smell comes back on warm or humid days, when there are several spots or old accidents, or when the carpet feels clean but the room still smells. Those are signs that urine has soaked through to the pad or the subfloor, where surface cleaning can’t reach. We explain why in why pet odor returns after cleaning, and the first steps for a fresh accident cover the first hour in more detail. If your sofa is the problem, see couch smells like pets.
Here’s how we handle the cases that need more than a home treatment.
UV Blacklight Inspections
When you give us a call, the first thing that we are going to do is break out our UV blacklights. When you have a pet, you tend to spend a lot of time cleaning up after them. While there are plenty of great products on the market, the reality is that everyday cleaning products generally aren’t enough to completely remove those pesky messes. We use blacklights to show us where your carpet or flooring is still holding traces of urine so that we can target those areas specifically while treating the rest of the area at the same time. Even if you can’t see the urine, our blacklights can.
How We Handle Pet Odor
Pet Odor Treatments
The majority of animals are highly dependent upon smells when it comes to their living spaces. Since animals rely on smells so much, it comes as no surprise that they come with quite a few smells of their own. Whether you are experiencing odors from pets marking their territory or the smell of your pet rolling around on the carpet has overtaken your living room, we have the tools to help. At Buyher’s Carpet and Upholstery, we know how to remove odors at the source instead of covering them up. We offer light odor treatments, heavy odor treatments, and extreme odor treatments. Most odors can be removed with the right treatment; when urine has soaked into the pad or subfloor, we’ll tell you honestly what it will take.
When Urine Has Reached the Pad
Sometimes the source is deeper than the carpet. Urine that was left untreated soaks into the pad underneath, and the result is carpet that looks clean but a smell that won’t go away. We treat that layer directly, saturating the affected area with an enzyme treatment and extracting it so the treatment reaches where the urine went. When a pad has absorbed years of accidents and can’t be saved, we’ll tell you so. Replacing pad is a job for a flooring company, and we’d rather say that up front than sell you a cleaning that won’t hold.
When Carpet Can’t Be Saved
Sometimes pets do more than a cleaning can fix: carpet that’s torn or chewed, or stains and odors that have permanently changed the fibers. When that’s the case, we’ll tell you honestly before you spend money on a cleaning. We don’t remove or install carpet ourselves, so for torn or worn-out carpet you’ll want a flooring installer. We’re happy to clean the rest of the house.
Pet Odor Questions
Does vinegar or baking soda get pet urine smell out of carpet?
They can soften a light, fresh smell, but they don’t break down urine the way an enzyme cleaner does. On older or repeated accidents the smell usually comes back, because the source is still in the pad.
Why does my carpet smell like pee again after cleaning?
Usually because the urine reached the carpet pad or the floor underneath. Surface cleaning makes the top of the carpet look and smell clean, then moisture or warm weather draws the odor back up. Treating the pad and the floor underneath fixes the source. If the pad can’t be saved, a flooring company replaces that section, and we’ll tell you if that’s where things stand.
Can steam cleaning remove pet odor?
Hot-water extraction removes a lot of what’s in the carpet fibers. Used on its own over urine that’s deep in the pad, heat can make the smell worse, so we treat urine spots with enzymes and extraction aimed at the affected area first.
How do you find urine spots you can’t see?
We use UV blacklights, which make dried urine glow, so we can treat every spot instead of only the ones you can smell.
Need help now? Call (800) 794-9241 or text a photo to (626) 260-6256. We answer 24/7 across West Covina and the San Gabriel Valley.
