How To Clean Dog Poop Off Your Carpet
If you own a dog, then you know poop happens. And, when it happens inside, you’ll want to clean it up as quickly as possible.
If you’re lucky, the package you have to deal with will be firm and easy to clean up. But more often than not, when an accident happens on your carpet or rug, it will be on the softer, smellier side.
But no worries, either way. These tips on how to get poop out of your carpet will leave you breathing fresh air again.
What you’ll need in your poop-cleaning arsenal:
Your favorite commercial products such as pet stain enzymatic cleaners and other products such as:
- Nature’s Miracle
- Lysol Pet Disinfecting Cleaner
- Arm and Hammer Plus Oxiclean Dirt Fighters
- Scouts Honor Stain and Odor Remover
- Scouts Honor Advanced Severe Mess Solution Stain and Odor Remover
- Resolve Pet Specialist Stain and Odor Remover
- Angry Orange Pet Stain and Odor Remover
If you don’t have any commercial products on hand, no worries. You can make your own pet-safe poop cleaner using these common household items:
- Water
- Baking soda
- Dish soap
- White vinegar
You’ll also need:
- Disposable towels
- Paper towels
- Trash bags
- Gloves
- Baby wipes
- Spray bottle
- Bristle brush or putty knife (for dried poop only)
- The ability to look on the bright side (it could always be worse, right?)
The Best Way to Clean up the Poop
- Deal with it as soon as possible
In other words, clean up the poop as soon as you can. The longer it sits, the harder it will be to clean so you’ll want to deal with it as soon as you find it, no matter how unpleasant.
- Get your gear ready
Collect all your supplies. Grab your commercial cleaner or mix your DYI solution (directions below). Trust us, you don’t want to be searching for something after you get started.
DIY Cleaning Solution
- 2 cups cool water
- 1 tablespoon dish soap (no bleach)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
If you need more than two cups, we feel for you but simply double the recipe.
- Glove up
Put your gloves on-you’re going to need them.
- Pick up as much poop as you can
Avoid making poop soup by picking up as much poop as you can before applying any products. Use baby wipes or a damp disable towel to scrape as much as you can off the carpet and rug fibers. Pinch the fibers and pull the poop up and off, never rub it in. The more you can remove, the better.
- Apply your cleaning solution
Fresh poop
If you chose a commercial product, follow the directions on the package. If you’re using the DYI solution spray or pour a small amount of the solution on the stain and let it sit for 10 – 12 minutes.
After it sits, begin blotting the stain with your disabled towel (don’t rub). Keep repeating until the stain is no longer visible. This takes patience and you may need to repeat it 3-5 times.
Dried poop
If the poop is dried solid, before adding any moisture, loosen poo from the carpet fibers with a bristle brush or putty knife then pick up as many of the crumbs as possible before applying the cleaning solution.
- Rinse, finally!
After the stain is gone, you’ll want to remove the cleaning solution residue. To do this, gently pour a small amount of cold water on the area and blot it up with paper towels. If you discover more poo, repeat step 5.
- Freshen the carpet
After you blotted up as much moisture as possible, sprinkle baking soda over the area. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes or up to overnight to let it work its deodorizing magic. Baking soda is non-toxic so no worries about it being in your pet’s space.
- Throw it all away
Throw your dirty wet wipes, paper towels, disposable towels, and lastly your gloves into your trash bag and throw away the bad memory.
- Vacuum up the baking soda
After the area is fresh and the carpet is dry, simply vacuum up the baking soda and hope you never have to clean poop again.
More Helpful Tips:
When using any cleaners, always do a test swatch on your carpet or rug to make sure it doesn’t damage your carpet. If it stains or lightens an area, you may want to call a professional carpet cleaner.
You can also use this technique in your car and outdoor rugs.
Never use bleach with vinegar or mix random cleaning products because it can create toxic fumes. Mixing vinegar and baking soda will create messy foam that is hard to remove. Hydrogen peroxide can bleach fabrics.
Always blot, don’t rub the poop deeper into the carpet because it will only make it harder to remove and you may never get the smell out.
If your pet marks or uses the area again, try using a commercial product designed to remove odor and deter marking.
We hope you’ve found these tips helpful and that you also never have to use them. Please feel free to share with your friends.
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