People ask me all the time how get rid of cat urine smell from carpet, and many people also ask what the best cat urine remover is. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this not-so-fun cleaning task, our readers share here what cleaning products have worked best for them. You will find the best cat urine carpet cleaning solutions below.
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that effectively gets rid of cat urine smell and other stubborn odors for good (and doesn’t just mask the smell).
Q:I am trying to sell my home and I can’t get rid of cat pee smell in carpets. Sick and old cat messes were cleaned up immediately but still the scent lingers and has now intensified with the hot and humid weather! Any suggestions? I have tried most of the pump sprays on the market!
Tip #1: The same problem happened for us when our cat had a blockage in his bladder. Recently I have heard that straight vinegar will do it but,
I used undiluted Lysol Cleaner
Tip #2: A product called Nature’s Miracle
Tip #3: There are many bio-products on the market that will “eat” the bacteria that cause the odor. Go to PetSmart or one of the major pet stores to buy one.
They really do work. You can also use Febreeze spray. It’s good, because it works the same say…Suzi
Related article: How to Get Cat Pee Smell Out of Couch
Tip #4: When my fiance let a roommate move in he had a big dog and kept it in his room a lot and didn’t clean up after him as often as he should.
Yuck – we used the shampoo for the cleaner – going over it twice then we used OxiClean
It takes work no matter what but it’s worth a try. There’s also a product called Kids ‘N’ Pets
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Tip #5: We bought a condo in Houston and “someone” left the door open while the work was being done. Somehow, cats got inside and really did a job on the new carpet before we moved in.
While inspecting the unit we discovered the cat urine smell. Not wanting to go through the expense of replacing and possibly not matching new carpet, we had the installer return.
He said that it was well known that you could get this and other terrible odors out by using Downy Fabric Softener
Related Article: Say Goodbye to Old Cat Urine Odor with These Home Remedies
We replace with hardwood flooring six years later and it had not returned. I believed he used the mixture in a carpet machine, but the order was gone. I sure hope this helps.
Tip #6: My brother had a similar problem. He bought a house that previously housed an old, incontinent dog. He shampooed the carpets and boy did that cause the odour to “bloom”. It was AWFUL!
He borrowed an ozone machine from my mom and left it on in the house and went away for the weekend. When he came back the smell was gone and permanently, too! It also works on a rotten milk smell.
My mom didn’t know but her milk fell over in the trunk of her car and spilled everywhere, and on a hot day, too! She cleaned it up as best she could but still the rotten milk smell persisted.
Related Article: Say Goodbye to Dog Pee Smell in Carpet: Easy Tips and Tricks
Many weeks later she bought an ozone machine
An ozone machine works wonders on a house permeated with cigarette smoke or an overflowed toilet smell!
There’s almost nothing that thing can’t handle! Unfortunately, my mom has lent the ozone machine
Tip #7: You didn’t mention the color of the carpet but mine is white berber with brown flecks. I finally ended up using a carpet shampooer with hot water, a small amount of “flavored” bleach, and a commercial grease cleaner called Castrol sold at O’Reilly auto parts stores.
The Castrol is very concentrated so I only used a very small amount. Of course, it brightened the carpet but the smell from the bleach took about 3 days to dissipate.
Related Article: How to Easily Remove Vomit Smell from Your Carpet: A Quick Guide
Of course, if you don’t have white carpet, just try the Castrol and hot water rinse with a carpet shampooer. You can also use a black light on the area to see how much of the pee you are getting out.
Tip #8: I tried everything and I found what works best for me is filling a spray bottle with vinegar (white) and adding some vanilla….spray it on anything and everything with the smell, works like a charm.
Even use it outside my apt where the neighborhood cats pee in the yard, makes that go away too. Leaves a nice vanilla scent to linger….after vinegar dries.
Tip #9: You can use a product called Nature’s Miracle
I tried lots of stuff before I found this. It works. It is expensive though. About $30.00 per gallon, and I used two for the space I am talking about.
Related Article: Eliminate Litter Box Odors: Tips and Tricks for a Fresh-Smelling Home
You put it in a sprinkle water can and totally saturate the carpet all the way thru the pad, to the floor.
Then you scrub it in, blot up the excess and let it dry. Sometimes takes a week or two to get totally dry. It worked. Killed the smell and the stain seems less too.
We will still need to eventually replace the carpet but at least the smell is gone.
Tip #10: The ONLY thing that has ever worked for me, and I’ve tried every homemade concoction and store bought solution ever made, is saturating area with Nature’s Miracle and let sit for 48+ hours (the longer the better) and then saturate with a strong solution of OxiClean
The Nature’s Miracle
There was an occasion once when I had to treat the area twice with the OxyClean but it has ALWAYS taken the smell completely out of whatever I used it on.
Tip #11:Use 16 oz of hydrogen peroxide
Do not blot, rub, etc. mixture, let it work on its own. Dispose of leftover formula as the peroxide will “explode” in container over time.
This is fool proof and will work and the smell will be gone. Patience is the answer, let it dry completely.
Tip #12:Use 100% vinegar. Pour on the spot let stand. Let dry. Pour on let dry. And then shampoo. The problem is not the carpet. Its the wood under the carpet that smells.
Let the vinegar stand on the carpet so that its soaked into the wood floor.
After you shampoo the carpet the smell should be completely gone. Once the smell is gone the cat will not pee in that spot any more.
Make sure pets are spayed or neutered. Cats will “spray” when they are in “heat” to attract other cats.
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I adopted 2 cats recently (Oliver and Sam). Both are neutered/spayed. They have no problem using the same litter box, but my older cat (Spanky) will no longer use the litter box once they have. Multiple boxes aren’t the answer as Oliver and Sam will use those as well. Until I can fix this, there is no reason to eliminate the smell as Spanky will just keep going on the carpet. So depressing.
Just as a precaution to a comment above..never ever use bleach when cleaning up cat urine the ammonia in the cat pee will cause a dangerous chemical reaction, creating mustard gas! Which is extremely dangerous and poisonous!
I read spraying vodka would remove smell
Great tips!
One of my 2 cats (both neutered males) had taken to painting all of my walls, furniture, and anything else he could reach. I was horrified when I got a UV light. He never did that in all of the 9 years I’ve had him and didn’t when I got him a buddy (they love each other and did so right away) but when a strange black cat started showing up outside both of my cats went nuts and the older one (9) started his wall painting, as well as the curtains out in the kitty room. I couldn’t keep up with it.
My cats are indoor cats so it’s not like the stray is actually going to get in here but they both hate him (and he is weird…my neighbor’s cats hate him too). I’ve tried cleaning with a pet urine enzyme and then spraying some “No More Spraying” but that hasn’t worked.
He’s a sneaky little bugger too; he waits until he thinks I’m not looking and then does it. He’s learned that the minute I see him backing his butt up to something he gets yelled at.
It wasn’t until I found “Cat Spraying No More” that I was able to finally get rid of this tiresome behavior. Now my house nor my ropes don’t smell like a litter box anymore 🙂
Here’s a link the their site if you’re interested in checking it out, I highly recommend this: http://nomorecatpee.com
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!!