Your house has been soiled with cat urine. That sucks, literally and figuratively. While there is a lot of nonsense on the web about home remedies, most people who try these will eventually turn to something more effective, like a commercial enzyme-based cleaner. But there are four key steps to getting that awful cat urine stink out of your carpet:

1. FIND ALL THE CAT PEE!

There are two main components to doing this: First, use a commercial UV light (available on Amazon for less than $20) at night or in a dark room to uncover surface marks from dried cat urine. You’ll likely be surprised at the brand’s reach; we certainly were when we first tried it. So you need to understand that what you are looking at is simply the tip of the iceberg, as stains usually collect in the carpet padding and can move laterally a considerable distance.

2. STAIN, STAIN, STAIN.

This is unlikely to help much, as the stain is usually on the padding, but it can’t hurt.

3. TEST COLOR FASTNESS BEFORE USING AN ENZYMATIC CLEANER

Enyzme cleaners contain enzymes that react with the chemicals in a cat’s urine to effectively remove its characteristic odor; therefore, they are my “go to” product for this purpose. (While bleach itself is a powerful odor oxidizer, it’s not a good idea to use it on cat urine. In addition to the fact that it bleaches anything it touches, it can be dangerous due to reaction with ammonia in the cat’s urine can (can cause toxic fumes, so avoid it).

However, before using ANY product, you should test your carpet for color fastness. Keep in mind that urine itself may discolor your rug, so you may have little choice here, of course. Once you have selected your enzyme cleaner, it is very important that you follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions. Often the manufacturer will tell you to “fully saturate” the stain, that is, to ensure that the product can reach (and react with) 100% of the stain, including the part that has adhered to the padding or possibly has penetrated the stain. underground below.

4. ADDITIONAL STEPS

In some circumstances, you may be able to remove the carpet and see the extent of the damage. If so, make sure the subfloor and tack strips are thoroughly soaked with the enzymatic cleaner so they don’t act as hiding places for the stench.