How to Clean Dog Urine

Dogs are notorious for marking their territories and returning to do it again. Whether your pooch has had an accident or is making sure everyone knows the house is his, you want to rid the area completely of the urine and any lingering odors that accompany it. 

You Will Need: 

  • Rubber gloves
  • Pet urine remover or vinegar
  • Paper towels
  • Old cloths or towels 

Steps to Remove the Urine: 

  1. Whenever cleaning pet urine, wear rubber gloves to protect your hands.
  2. Start by mopping up the mess or use old towels or paper towels to soak it up.
  3. Next, you will need to treat the area for odors and stains.
  4. There are a variety of pet urine removers available. Nature’s Miracle is a well known brand with a high success rate. Kids ‘n Pets is another product designed for removing a variety of stains and odors. Both are effective removing the stains and lingering odors that come from dog urine. Some have also found simple, white vinegar to be effective in removing pet odors as well.
  5. Apply you selected cleaning product liberally to the area.
  6. For carpet or padded furniture, make sure you apply enough to reach the bottom of the stain so all of the odor is removed.
  7. Some cleaning products will recommend that the product be scrubbed and rinsed, while most are left to air dry. The extra time on the stain allows the product time to break down the urine proteins and odors to remove them completely.
  8. If cleaning a hard floor, simply apply the product and wipe the area clean with paper towels. Note that cloths or old towels can be used as well, but they will also hold the odor, even after a regular washing.
  9. Once the area is dry, vacuum carpeted areas to restore the texture of the carpet. 

Additional Tips and Advice

  • Be sure to treat the entire area to avoid a repeat occurrence. Pets are likely to return to the same spot and urinate gain if they smell any of their “markings” in the area.
  • The best indicator to determine if the smell is still there is to watch your pet. They will smell an area with a scent more intently, giving you time to move them outdoors and retreat the area.

Comments

  1. Lynn says:

    Dogs have accidents, it’s a fact of life. They sell special dog urine removal solutions at the pet store, or even in the grocery story pet food department. The solutions work like any other carpet spot cleaner, but they’re specially formulated to kill the urine smell so the dog won’t come back to that spot.

  2. Lynn says:

    Soak up as much of the urine as you can, then pour table salt all over the wet spot, lay down a good thick layer of it. The salt will soak up the rest of the urine, then you can pick up the crusted salt – use gloves – and vacuum up the rest.

  3. Lynn says:

    We found out the hard way that using an ammonia-based cleaner is an open invitation to our dogs to return to the scene of the crime. Make sure that anything you use to clean up dog urine doesn’t also smell like dog urine.

  4. Lynn says:

    You can teach a small dog, like a chihuahua, to use a litter box just like a cat. It takes a little more work, but since dogs like to go in a place they’ve gone before they catch on pretty quickly. And once the dog is used to the box, you won’t have to run for the door first thing in the morning to head off a wet spot on the rug.

  5. Lynn says:

    Get the kind that foams and has a carpet brush attached to the can. Blot up the urine, spray on the foam and wait however long it says to wait on the can before vacuuming up the dried foam. Repeat if the spot still smells.

  6. Lynn says:

    Be sure to check the baseboard next to an accident site, and clean down between the carpet and the wall as much as you can. Leftover urine isn’t just nasty, it will draw your dog back to that place to do the deed again.

  7. N. Stevens says:

    Mop up the urine until the area is as near to dry as possible. Spray white vinegar all over the area and allow to dry. The vinegar breaks down the crystals that form. If the accident spot is on carpet, then after the vinegar has dried (once dried you cannot smell the urine or the vinegar) sprinkle Bicarbonate of Soda over the area, brush it into the carpet, leave it for a few hours then vacuum up.

  8. GayLynn says:

    A professional carpet cleaner told me to use vinegar for the 3 “p’s” pee, poop and puke. After picking up or blotting up as much of the offending material as possible, saturate the area with white vinegar, blot and then rub north and south and east and west to make sure that you are getting all sides of the fibers. Vinegar does not leave a residue like some cleaning products do, and it eliminates the odors too.

  9. Juenell says:

    I read on one site that Listerine works well to clean up after dog (and cat) urine. Our Lab/Chow used to be an outside dog and had trouble making the transition to living inside; consequently, we had lakes, not puddles to clean up. We also had to deal with the long-lasting smell. After mopping the floor, I poured Listerine over the scene of the crime, let it soak in a bit, and then dried the area. The anti-bacterial forces in the mouthwash killed the smell. I’m cheap, so I bought the store-brand or generic versions of Listerine, and they worked the same.

    For really bad messes, I recommend a steam mop. I bought a Shark steam mop and have noticed that the areas where she left her mark smell better and she is less likely to return to the scene of the crime.

  10. Wilma says:

    Use pine sol and water, saturate the area well and let dry may take
    more than one application, make sure you have good ventilation.

  11. Dog Pee on a Persian (Wool) Carpet

    David says:

    Our Golden Retriever peed on a light colored Persian Carpet (Rug) a number of times before we realized. We had it cleaned but they could only do a light clean as the dye began to run. Any idea how we can remove/reduce the Yellow staining, and to remove the final residue of smell. Thanks,

  12. Cleaning pee spot from dog after it has dried?

    Jean says:

    I cleaned the spot that my dog had an accident on during the night, when it dried it looks very bad. It is a round spot that looks dirty. How can I clean this and make my carpet look the same. Thanks.

  13. Cleaning Dog Urine

    Laura says:

    I’ve tried everything and ended up putting 1/4 water and 3/4 white vinegar in a spray bottle. I have only used this on tile, pergola, and linoleum. It works great. Spray, let sit for just a minute, and wipe up with a towel. Works great!

  14. Good to Know

    Teresa says:

    I will be sticking to a vinegar solution from now on. In a pinch I have used ammonia and water to clean an accident. Now I understand that it may attract a repeat performance. Thanks!

  15. Good for stains, pets or blood

    RJ says:

    Windex w/ammonia D is very effective for blood stains and dog accident stains, if you use before anything else. Soak in slightly watered down Windex for large areas, or spray out of the bottle and saturate. Let sit or soak 1/2 hr. or so. Use carpet cleaner, washing machine or just scrub and blot. Very good on clothing for blood from fishing, hunting etc.

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