Removing Pet Stains from Furniture

It can be a daunting task trying to keep furniture clean when sharing it with pets. Often, we find muddy paw prints running across our couch cushions or a dirt stained piece of furniture after our pet's spend a fun day playing in the dirt. And sometimes, our pet's may even have an accident on our furniture. Luckily, we do not have to live with stained furniture. There are actually multiple things you can do to remove pet stains from furniture.

Dust and Dirt
Removing pet stains caused from a day outside, such as mud and dirt, can easily be done using a little bit of foaming, white shaving cream. Before trying this on a large area, it is best to test the furniture in an inconspicuous area prior to cleaning the entire piece of furniture. To remove a stain, allow the white, foaming shaving cream to sit on the stain for about one minute. After it has set, lightly blot the area to remove the shaving cream residue.

Vomit
Our pet's often become sick in the worst places, like on our beds or couches. Removing vomit stains from furniture is never any fun but it can be done. After a vomit incident has occur, remove the vomit as best as possible. Afterwards, sprinkle salt on the area and then cover the vomit spot with a damn cloth. Let this sit on the spot for about 2 hours. When you lift the cloth, the stain should have disappeared.

Urine
Whether you are house breaking a puppy, or have an expertly trained pet, every once in a while they will have an accident and urinate on furniture. Removing pet stains caused by urine can easily be done. First, use paper towels to absorb as much of the urine as possible. After this is done, mix 1/2 teaspoon of laundry detergent and about one cup of warm water. Using this mixture, take an old, clean rag and blot the urine stain. Do this multiple times until the urine stain has been completely removed.

Odors
No matter what type of pet stain we run into, they can often leave behind a horrible odor. To remove the odors caused by pet stains, you will need to buy a high quality pet odor neutralizer. These are available at many pet stores. Avoid buying ones that have scents added in because this often just masks the odor. Follow the directions of the neutralizer very carefully. You will always want to test the product in an inconspicuous spot.

What NOT to Do
When removing pet stains, there are some things you do not want to do because it can actually make the stains worse. One thing you should avoid is using steam cleaners on furniture. This will not remove odors but instead make them worse. This is because the heat causes the odors to bond with the material fibers, making the odors set in and almost impossible to remove later.

Avoid using cleaning chemicals on the area because it may mask odors to you, but your pet will still smell the urine stains. If you pet urinates on furniture and then you use chemical products, it may actually encourage them to continue urinating in that area.

References:
"Removing Pet Stains and Odors" The Humane Society
"Pet Stain Removal Tips" Mrs. Clean USA