Eliminating Dog Urine Odor: Nature's Miracle Vs. White Vinegar
I'm a dog lover, but not a good dog trainer, so there have been a few accidents on our wall-to-wall carpeting. Luckily, our carpeting doesn't really show stains, so the whole thing would be no big deal if it weren't for the horrible odor! I'm constantly trying to fight the scent of dog in the house, and I've used everything imaginable to do so. My main goal is to eliminate the odor completely, rather than merely covering it up. (Even though I almost always have some kind of air freshener, candle, or Scentsy going.)
A friend of mine highly recommended Nature's Miracle to eliminate the urine odor. I bought it, followed the directions, and when it dried I couldn't smell the urine anymore. Until, and this is important, until I steam-cleaned the carpets. At that point, the odor came back with a vengeance! It seemed even stronger than it had the first time. (And here I thought I was cleaning the house!) Evidently, steam-cleaning had re-hydrated the urine spot that I had saturated with Nature's Miracle, and produced a resulting odor that can only be described as dog urine concentrate. At $23 a gallon for Nature's Miracle, it's no surprise that I never bought it again.
The next time I found a spot on the carpet, I decided to take a different approach. I've used white vinegar as a laundry deodorizer for a long time, and it works great! (Don't ask me how it works, but it does.) White vinegar completely eliminates set-in odors (like from working at a fast-food restaurant) from clothing, so I figured it was worth a try on the carpeting.
I saturated the urine spot with white vinegar and let it sit. Our carpeting is dark, so when it dried there was a white ring around the spot. I got rid of the ring by lightly scrubbing it with a damp scrub brush. (No soap.) Then I kind of forgot about it. (For about two months.) I couldn't smell it, and I couldn't see it; so everything was fine with me.
Steam-cleaning time rolled around, and I was curious as to what would happen with that spot. I was really hoping I wouldn't have the same experience with white vinegar that I had with Nature's Miracle, and I didn't!
I steam-cleaned, and I sniffed. I steam-cleaned, and I sniffed. No odor! I asked everyone who came in the house that day if they could smell the dog accident. They all said no.
Bottom line: Nature's Miracle is $23 a gallon and doesn't work, white vinegar is $2.79 a gallon and works wonders. Hands-down, no doubt, white vinegar is the way to eliminate pet odors from carpets.
The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.
Published by Kay Whittenhauer
Kay Whittenhauer resides in Rochester, NY, with her husband, their teenage son, and a rambunctious dog of mysterious pedigree. She works year-round as an office administrator at a non-profit organization and... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentWe have a very elderly cat and she makes an ooops once in a while. She is 19 and it comes with the territory. We have tried everything and are constantly steam cleaning the carpets and buy the really expensive additive - what a waste of money. As you said, it smells worse afterwards than before you started. Tomorrow, to the store and white vinegar it is. Thanks!!
I had the same experience with Nature's Miracle.
good job
Nice!
We no longer have a dog or a carpet, but I'll keep this in mind when we do.
I also use white vinegar in my laundry and in the rinse cycle of my dishwasher, I love!
Interesting. Ruby has had a few accidents on the rug, but I have to admit - it doesn't smell...but we are long past those accidents now, thank goodness.
great job