How To Remove Dog Pee Stains & Urine Odor From Everything

You love everything about your dog, from his adorable wet nose to his wagging tail. What you don't love is the dog urine smell and unsightly stains that come from any accidents your pooch has in your home.

Fortunately, you can remove dog pee stains and that pungent dog urine smell from everything around your home with a few simple ingredients and cleaners. In no time, your home should smell and look fresh and clean by following these tips.

Your best bet for getting rid of stubborn stains and odors from upholstered furniture, leather, carpet, and porous solid surfaces like wood and cement is to use a pet urine enzyme cleaner. These types of cleaners contain special enzymes that break down the chemicals in the urine, removing its odor. Best of all, they don't require rinsing, making them ideal for materials you can't simply toss in the washing machine.

To use a pet urine enzyme cleaner, blot up as much urine remaining in the area as you can using paper towels. Rinse the area with cool water and blot again. Then, simply douse the area with the pet urine enzyme cleaner and allow it to dry. This should remove any stains and neutralize odors to discourage your dog from soiling the areas with urine again.

If you don't have a pet urine enzyme cleaner handy to deal with your dog's urine stains and odors, you can make a homemade dog urine cleaner yourself, recommends Today.

• Mix up one tablespoon of liquid dish-washing detergent with two cups of water in a small bowl.
• Add one tablespoon of vinegar to the cleaning mixture. Don't add too much vinegar because the smell can attract your dog back to the area to mark it again with urine, warns the Humane Society of the United States.
• Pour the cleaner over old stains on fabrics, carpets, and upholstery.
• Wash away stains using a microfiber cloth to work the mixture into the stain.
• Gently rinse the area with a damp sponge and blot dry.

The best carpet cleaner for old pet urine is an oxygen-based one that also helps eliminate that unpleasant dog urine smell. Oxygen bleach won't typically lighten fabrics like traditional chlorine bleach and is safe to use around pets. Plus, these cleaners kill off any odor-causing bacteria in the dog urine, neutralizing lingering dog urine smells.

You can use oxygen-based cleaners on solid surfaces to wipe away urine and any stains left behind. Better yet, you can use oxygen bleach to treat items like pet bedding and blankets before tossing them in the wash. And, you can spray oxygen bleach directly on carpeting and upholstery to remove stubborn older dog urine stains, recommends the University of Illinois Extension.

Can't get dog pee smell out of carpet or upholstery? When dealing with particularly smelly dog urine stains, especially older stains, using a carpet cleaning machine to tackle them might be your best bet. But, avoid using a steam cleaner to clean dog urine stains from carpeting or upholstery because the heat can permanently set the stains and odors, warns the SPCA of Texas.