How to Get Rid of Pet Odors
In hardwood floors, carpet, linoleum, etc.
Pet accident spots are an embarrassing problem that can be self-perpetuating if you don’t treat the odor properly. Lingering odors will signal to your pets that the spot is an appropriate place to pee/poop in the future.
Not only that, but it’s important to remember that your pets’ noses are more sensitive than yours – even if you can’t smell a spot, they may be able to.
What you need is complete odor removal. Here are the most popular methods for dealing with this problem.
Destroy Pet Odors Completely with NonScents
Our Pet Odor Removal Spray is the best choice for removing pet odors from both flat floors like hardwood, linoleum, tile, and various carpets. NonScents technology doesn’t try to cover or absorb aromas, it actually attacks odor-causing compounds at the molecular level, destroying, dismantling, or modifying them (depending on the compound) so that the smell is permanently removed. It doesn’t just work on fresh accidents, it will destroy odors from old stains as well.
Just clean up the mess, then spray the area with the odor remover. If the stain is old, be sure to soak it thoroughly. Wait 30 minutes, then dry up any remaining spray with a cloth or paper towel. The odor should be removed. In fact, the spray will continue to protect that spot from future odors for several weeks after use!
If you’re already buying our Cat Litter Deodorizer, it can also be used to fight odors in these spots. After cleaning, sprinkle some of the deodorizer on the spot, let it sit for several hours, and then vacuum it up (it’ll help deodorize your vacuum at the same time!).
Consume Pet Odors with Enzymes
Enzymes, despite being the new buzzword of choice in the odor control industry, have three problems. First off, they’re slow. This particularly becomes a problem when you include their second problem: they’re fragile. Finally, they’re limited - they only break down specific targets.
Enzymes are special proteins that work on very specific target compounds. Proteins by their very nature are more fragile than other methods – susceptible to interference due to temperature changes (breaking down if things get too hot, slowing or stopping if things get too cold), the acid/alkaline nature of their environment, ambient moisture, and other things.
All of this means that it’s easy for your enzymatic spray to break down before it’s done the whole job. Plus, given how selective enzymes are, it may not be doing the whole job under even ideal circumstances.
Neutralize Pet Odors with Vinegar
Popular home remedies for treating pet odors are frequently based on vinegar, which has its merits. The acidic nature of vinegar reacts with the odorous alkaline salts that form as pet urine dries, neutralizing them. Vinegar is also fragrant and volatile, so it temporary masks aromas as it evaporates.
Unfortunately there’s more to pet waste odors than just alkaline salts, and many of these other components aren’t affected by vinegar.
Absorb Pet Odors with Baking Soda
Sprinkling the area with baking soda or mixing it with water into a paste applied to the spot are other ways people try to get rid of pet odors. Baking soda can potentially neutralize some of the odor-causing elements, but its primary action is absorbing odors. Unfortunately this is a passive effect. If odor compounds don’t blunder into the net, they don’t get caught.
Hide Pet Odors with Fragrances
A lot of commercial & home remedy odor fighting solutions include fragrances or essential oils. Using stronger, ostensibly more pleasant aromas to cover bad smells is never a method that we recommend, because you’re only changing the problem, not fixing it. Plus, there’s a risk that your pet will be able to smell past the fragrance, perpetuating the repeat occurrence problem.
Clean the Spot with a Carpet Soap/Shampoo
Beyond cleaning up the actual mess, soap is a good idea for controlling odor from spots on carpeting, as it will remove odor compounds. Unfortunately it often won’t effectively remove odor compounds that have soaked into the carpet padding under the piles.
NonScents Pet Odor Removal Spray is actually a great solution to this problem because it not only destroys odor compounds on the surface, it acts as a barrier (typically for weeks) against any trying to come up through the pad later.
Using a Carpet Cleaning Machine
If you have a shampooing wet vacuum, cleaning it more completely using this method is a great idea. Unfortunately most carpet cleaners are bulky, loud, a hassle, and expensive. Not everyone has them, and even if you do it can be hard to summon the effort and time to get everything out for a single spot. They’re often best used periodically across your entire carpet rather than as a spot treatment.
They can also be hard on some carpets and, depending on your climate, cleaned spots can take a long time to dry properly.
Using Soap & a Brush
Getting on your hands & knees with a brush, soap, and water to scrub the spot will work too. Of course, it can be hard to get all the residue out of the carpet once you’ve bound it in the soap, since you don’t have the vacuum of a carpet cleaner. It can also be hard to get the soap down far enough into the carpet to catch everything.