Carpet Tech's Floor Care & Restoration Blog

Carpet Cleaning: Removing Pet Urine

 Part of being a pet owner is dealing with occasional accidents. Sometimes Fido can't wait till you get home from work, or Fluffy gets upset after a trip to the vet. Pet urine can be tricky to remove, especially if it's been left untreated for a long time. However, with a few simple tricks and some fast response, you can successfully preserve your carpet.

Step 1: If the area is still damp, start by blotting with a plain white towel.

Step 2: Next, mix a cleaning solution of a half-teaspoon of liquid detergent (no bleach) and one cup of warm water. Apply the solution to the area, blot with a white towel, then rinse with warm water.

Step 3: Keep repeating step 2 until the discoloration is removed.

Step 4. Mix one cup white vinegar with two cups water. Apply and blot up with a towel. Rinse with water.

Step 5: Get the carpet as dry as possible. Blot as much moisture up with towels as you can and turn a fan on over the spot to get it dry.

These steps work well on fresh urine stains. However, if the stain has been there for a long time (or if it is a spot that has been repeatedly marked), the urine may have saturated down through the carpet and padding. If this is the case, it's time to call in the experts. Your carpet cleaning professional has an arsenal of specialized products to tackle your worst pet odor problems. So don't hesitate to call!

Keep Your Carpets in Great Shape: Stop Carpet Abuse!

Your carpets take a lot more abuse than you realize, and we're not just talking about the occasional spots and spills. Daily wear and tear can really take its toll on your carpet and shorten its life. Carpeting is an expensive investment and we want to help you protect that investment. Here are a few signs your carpet is in trouble and how to rectify the problems. As always, make sure to have regular professional cleanings at least once a year.

• 1) Sprouting: Shoe nails, pet claws or defective cleaning equipment can pull tufts above the level of the carpet. To prevent additional problems, use a sharp pair of scissors to trim the excess tufts as soon as you notice them.
• 2) Shedding: These short, broken fibers can be trapped during the yarn-making process. After your carpet is installed, they may show up as fuzz. While some is normal in high quality spun yarn, it's best to get these fibers up and out by vacuuming to eliminate the problem.
• 3) Shading: Heavy traffic causes carpet pile to lie in a variety of directions, so tufts remaining upright appear darker than compressed fibers. A thorough vacuuming or combing will rectify the situation so pile wears uniformly.
• 4) Pilling: The small, fuzzy balls that stick to carpet surfaces are caused when strong, unbroken fibers cling to weak ones. Most often, the cause is using old cleaning equipment, so ask your carpet care professional to inspect your vacuum and other cleaning tools. Pets may also be the culprits, too.
• 5) Furniture dents: Finally decided to rearrange the living after 20 years? You can try getting rid of those unsightly dents by holding a steam iron over (never against) the indented pile, then gently brushing the area.