How to remove the smell of urine from carpets

Urine is quite possibly the hardest of all odours to eradicate, as not only do you need to remove the ingrained odour, but also often, there will be spillages and carpet spots which will need treating too. The odour from urine can be deeply pungent and complete removal is often difficult because the salt within the urine crystallises and acts as a desiccant, absorbing any indoor moisture and releasing odour.  

This article will look into the science of urine and how to remove odour from carpets quickly and with just a couple of products. 

If you have cleaned a urine spill from your carpet in the past you'd have noticed that sometimes, after drying, the soiling reappears. You may think this means that the carpet is stained but what it actually shows is that the soiling has remained deep in the carpet pile and wicked back up to the surface.  Wicking takes place when soiling becomes trapped in carpet padding or sub-flooring, it then slowly rises its way back up to the tips of carpet fibres as it dries out after cleaning. 

Some cleaning agents on the market will help remove the spill and the odours, but many just mask the smell on a temporary basis using a strong fragrance or a basic dispersant. As the months, and even years pass, the salts within the urine may remain masked but are still active. Given the right conditions of enough moisture and heat, bacteria can rapidly form and cause the odours that linger in the air.

To help ensure you avoid this from happening, below is our step by step guide on how to completely remove the smell of urine from carpets

1 . Act fast. Immediately scoop up or lift off as much of the soiling as possible.

2.   Blot – do not rub- the affected area with a clean, white absorbent cloth or paper towels to remove excess moisture. Always make sure you blot from the outer edge of the soil towards the centre, this helps to prevent spreading the liquid further around the carpet. Keep repeating this until the cloth/paper towels no longer absorb any moisture.

3.   Use  Cleantec Innovation Pro 42 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner. Apply this solution directly onto the carpet, using enough to evenly cover the entire area. Leave this to work for five minutes or so.

Pro 42 is a concentrated biological carpet and upholstery cleaner that does not contain harsh chemicals or masking agents. Instead, it is capable of penetrating hard to reach areas to completely break down and remove soiling, uric crystals and odour.

4.   Blot up the solution as you did the urine, using new, clean white cloths – pressing on them to soak up as much liquid as possible. Repeat until carpet is dry.

The above procedure also works well for vomit, pet urine and cat hairballs. 

For the very best results we advise regular dry carpet cleans, paying special attention to areas prone to accidents. Pro 40 Envirodri Microsponges   are one of the most advanced low moisture carpet cleaning powders on the market today. The tiny sponge like particles dissolve and absorb both water and oil based dirt and are ideal for eliminating unpleasant odours. The sponges work to breakdown the uric crystals urine leaves on carpet, permanently removing unpleasant odour and staining.

It is important to also note that unfortunately there can be a time when cleaning is too late and nothing can be done. Depending on how long urine has been left on the carpet, or how frequently re-soiling has occurred, sometimes no matter what you do, it may already be too late and the carpet or an area of carpet may need to be replaced. If urine has gone unnoticed and was not cleaned straight away it may have seeped past the carpet fibres to the backing of the carpet and into the underlay to the floor. At this point you run the risk of no product being able to remove the odour as the source is too deeply rooted.

If your carpets are at risk of accidents, prevention and fast reaction is the best course of action. We always advise to keep your products of choice and cloths ready to use in an accessible area.