What Can You Do About Pet Stains On Flooring?

Posted on: 29 August 2017

Pet stains on your flooring is an issue that can be embarrassing as a homeowner. You have a few options if you are trying to remove the smells and sight of pet stains in carpet, wood or another surface.

Linoleum

If you have a synthetic surface, such as linoleum, you might be in luck. These stains can sometimes be lifted with a simple, DIY baking soda paste. Use equal parts baking soda and water to create the paste and then rub it into the stain. It should lift up some of the coloration that's left behind by urine and other pet stains. Another fix to try is white wine vinegar or another clear vinegar. A toothbrush is a great brush to use to apply the paste and really abrade the top layer of the flooring to lift out the color.

Wood Floors

Much like linoleum or other synthetic floors, a baking soda paste will work to get up a lot of the stain. However, if it is an older stain, some of the urine might have soaked into the wood and changed it to a permanently different color or texture. Some of this can be fixed by refinishing the floor. Often, you will need to do a darker sealant color in order to completely remove the signs that part of the flooring is stained. Still, this is a good way to avoid having to replace an entire floor when it gets stained with a lot of pet stains.

Carpet

Carpeting may have some more issues when exposed to pet stains. Your first line of defense will be to get a professional carpet cleaning team to use a carpet steamer on the mess. The carpet steaming will use chemicals and ultra hot water to try and bind the molecules of the pet stain and separate them from the fibers of the carpet.

The problem you run into with carpeting is that it tends to hold the stain longer. The pet waste smell may be more prominent in carpet, especially if your carpet has a longer thread. A flooring expert might offer you the option of replacing sections of carpet flooring, but they may not match the existing carpet to the tee. Another option, if the smell or visual is still very strong, would be to pull up the carpet and replace it, or finish the flooring and then just leave it exposed.   

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