Cleaning urine and urine smell from a carpet

Why urine in a carpet is a different job from an ordinary stain

Urine often soaks down to the backing and, if the rug is thin, also to the floor or the underlay beneath it. The Feline Veterinary Medical Association (Feline VMA) writes that the area of smell can be up to three times bigger than the visible stain. So what you see on the surface is often not all of it.

With a fitted carpet, urine can get into the underlay and the floor, which cannot be lifted. With a rug that lies on the floor, you can look at the underside and at the floor under it. Before you send a request, lift a corner of the rug and see whether there is a dark area on the backing and whether the floor smells too.

Cat urine in a carpet

Cats often return to the same place. International Cat Care writes that heavily soiled material stays attractive for repeat marking even after cleaning, and if possible it should be thrown away. If a cat uses the rug again and again, the effect of cleaning may be short-lived until the cause is dealt with.

The MSD Veterinary Manual advises that in cases of repeat marking, health causes should first be ruled out with a veterinarian. Cleaning is the second step.

Dog urine in a carpet

The same first-aid rules apply to dog urine (see below): blot, no heat, no ammonia products. If there have been accidents in several places, photograph each one, because the price is calculated for the treated area. If the rug is wool or hand-made, urine is also a colour question: for such a rug the colourfastness must be tested on a hidden spot before it is wetted, because the dyes can bleed. We clean such rugs with pick-up in a workshop; more on the page wool rug cleaning.

What to do until the rug is cleaned

1. Blot Soak up the urine with a clean cloth or paper, pressing rather than rubbing.
2. Do not use ammonia Feline VMA warns that products containing ammonia smell like urine to a cat and can attract it back.
3. No heat Do not use hot water or a hair dryer. On wool, hot water together with rubbing can cause shrinking.
4. Test the product ASPCA mentions enzyme products for pet urine. Test any product on a hidden spot first.
5. Write it down Which animal, how long ago, how many times and what you have already used. All of this is useful in the request.

More on first aid at home: urine smell in a carpet.

If the whole room smells

If the urine is also on the floor, the walls or the furniture and the smell comes from the room, not only from the carpet, carpet cleaning will not solve the problem. Then see: smell treatment for the whole room.

How much carpet urine cleaning costs

The price is the cleaning by type of rug plus urine treatment for each treated m². Urine or odour treatment, extra: from €3/m².

• A 2 × 3 m synthetic rug at home with urine treatment: 6 m² × €6 = €36 and 6 m² × €3 = €18, in total from €54.
• A 2 × 3 m wool rug with pick-up and urine treatment: 6 m² × €10 = €60 and 6 m² × €3 = €18, plus pick-up and return €10, in total from €88.
• A fitted carpet (carpeting) up to 100 m²: from €4/m², treatment extra from €3/m².

The minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45. Pick-up and return in Riga costs €10 (both ways together). Travel is included in Riga and up to about 15 km outside the Riga boundary; further out it is from €10. All prices: prices.

What to expect after urine treatment

A smell can be reduced, but we cannot promise that it will go. The smell may come back, especially if the urine has reached the backing.