How to Clean Dog Poop from Carpet [Preserve Your Floors]

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​Whether your dog is trained to go outside or if you have a puppy, accidents will happen. While it can be frustrating, there is a simple step by step system to show you how to clean dog poop from carpet. Before you just start immediately vacuuming up the dog poop, follow these steps. This way you can clean up the mess and restore your carpet to it’s original beauty.

1. Protect Yourself

Dog poop carries harmful bacteria that can spread to us, so it is always import to make sure you protect yourself when you clean dog poop from carpet. It is a good idea to keep latex or rubber gloves around the house for cleaning. The best to use are the ones you can toss after cleaning.

While you do not need a face mask to protect you from airborne germs, you may want to use one or tie a scarf around your nose and mouth to help block out the strong smell. This will make cleaning a little easier and without you needing to hold your breath.

When it comes to dog poop, you really don’t want to spend extra time or effort cleaning other items, so opt for cleaning materials that you can throw away after use. Choose strong paper towels for blotting and a paper plate to scrape off any surface mess.

These protective steps will help make it easier when you are learning how to clean dog poop from carpet.

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2. Clean the Surface

Even if you are lucky and the poop is solid, this does not mean that you can just pick it up and walk away. As gross as it may sound, poop is never just solid. There will be a liquid addition that can and will seep into your carpet.

So whether you can see it or not, there are layers of dog poop that need to be properly cleaned and sanitized. Learning how to clean dog poop from carpet will help you keep your family from getting sick.

How Long Should It Take To Clean Your Home?

What is the size of your home in square feet?

What type of flooring do you have?

To begin cleaning, pick as much from the surface that you can. Use a trash bag or a small plastic grocery bag to lift up solid pieces. Be careful and pick it up from a straight up and down angle to reduce possible smearing.

If there is dog diarrhea, then you will want to use a paper plate or piece of cardboard to scrape off as much as you can. Again, do this slowly to reduce the risk of smearing or splattering the poop elsewhere. Be thorough in your pick up of the dog diarrhea, as this is the best method when you need to know how to clean poop off carpet.

3. Clean the Carpet

Once you have gotten up as much of the mess as you can, then the cleaning can begin. There are plenty of chemical cleaners that work well for cleaning, but since you have a pet it could be more beneficial to opt for safe natural cleaners.

We recommend making a homemade solution utilizing vinegar. The vinegar helps to dissolve the dog poop residue, while simultaneously preventing any discoloring in your carpet.

Use Vinegar and Water

An added bonus is that the items you will need to make a cleaner are probably already in your pantry. White vinegar is a must have when it comes to carpet cleaning. This vinegar is a simple and effective. It is enzyme based, which means it will break down the stain and clean it.

The best method for using white vinegar is to mix it fifty/fifty with water. This will lower the acidity content. You can also add to this mixture to better suit your cleaning needs.

  1. You can add a few drops of essential oil to alleviate some of the vinegar smell.
  2. Spray the water and vinegar mixture onto some baking soda to make a bubbling cleaning agent.
  3. Finally, you can add a few drops of dawn to make a foaming carpet cleaner.

For dog poop cleanup, your best choice would be with Dawn added. This will give your cleaner a a secondary enzyme fighting power. Put your chosen cleaner into a spray bottle, this will help control the spray and keep you from over saturating your carpet.

Apply the Solution

Spray a good amount on the offending spots. You don’t want to soak it, but you need to put a concentrated amount on the dog poop to clean it.

  1. Spray a good amount on the offending spots. You don’t want to soak it, but you need to put a concentrated amount on the dog poop to clean it.
  2. You also do not want to scrub your carpet. This can damage the fibers and spread the stain further. Instead you will want to blot the stain.
  3. If you are using Dawn in your spray, then it can be helpful to agitate the area to help it foam up some. Using your gloved fingers, massage the area to help stimulate the cleaner to foam up some. This will help to clean up the mess and start attacking the stain.
  4. After it foams, let the cleaner sit for a few minutes.
  5. To follow up, you will want to have a bowl of warm water and a rag or paper towel.
  6. Dip your rag into the warm water and squeeze out the excess water.
  7. Then begin to blot up the cleaner.
  8. Rinse the rag and continue until there is no more foam in the carpet.

You may need to repeat this step if there is still residue. If you have a stain then you can skip on to the next step. Cleaning the area and treating the stain are two different processes. If the first cleaning step gets rid of the stain then that is great, if not then there is more you can do to restore your carpet.

Dog resting its head on a sofa

4. Treat the Stain

When the remaining stain is no longer improving from your method of cleaning, then it is time to start treating the stain. For stain treatment, it is always good to test a small spot to make sure it won’t harm your carpet. Sometimes even natural cleaners can harm or bleach a carpet.

There are many different stain removing cleaners when you need help with how to clean dog poop out of carpet. While chemical based treatments can remove the stain, there are also home products that can do it just as well.

Strain Treating Options

  • Shaving cream is a great stain remover since it can sit and dissolve on it’s own. However, since this is a bacteria-made stain, you will want something that will also help in sanitizing.
  • A vinegar and Dawn combination will have some sanitizing properties to it, but it is always a good idea to re-sanitize an area if you can to make sure all the germs and bacteria are eliminated.
  • Hydrogen peroxide is a great option to stain fighting and sanitizing. It will eliminate stains while dissolving any bacteria. The oxidizing properties will bubble and eat away at the components in the the stains.

Use Hydrogen Peroxide

Put hydrogen peroxide on a rag and begin to blot the area. You can alternatively spray the peroxide on the spot. Let it sit and work for fifteen minutes and then blot it up with warm water.

If the stain improves but does not completely disappear then repeat the treatment to see if if comes up.

If you are concerned about the bacteria, you can also use vodka to disinfect the area. There are also chemical based disinfectants if natural ones do not seem strong enough for you.

5. Get Rid of the Odor

Now that your carpet looks great again, it is now time to give it a final refresh by deodorizing the area. People usually neglect to take care of the smell when they are finding out how to clean up dog poop on carpet.

Get Rid of the Dog Poop Smell

Instead of spraying more vibrant smells in the air, you can choose a simple deodorizer that leaves a fresh smell on your carpet. Baking soda is a multi use deodorizer that can be simply sprinkled on your carpet and vacuumed up.

  1. Sprinkle a copious amount of baking soda onto the affected area.
  2. Once you sprinkle on the baking soda, you can let it sit for twenty minutes to twelve hours. If the cleaning spots on your carpet are still damp, then the baking soda will help absorb some of the moisture to help it dry faster.
  3. When ready, vacuum the baking soda up. It is important to make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter in it. This type of filter traps dirt, dander and fine particles in the filter so they don’t blow out into the air.

If you are dealing with very wet spots, then try to vacuum up the baking soda after twenty minutes. If you can, use a vacuum for pet hairs, as that will have features like a brush roller that will help in picking up the baking soda.

You can then sprinkle more and repeat this step as needed to refresh your carpet. If you’re dealing with shag rug or carpet however, use a vacuum that specializes in those.

Deodorizing when you are learning how to clean dog poop from carpet is an important step. That’s because your pet may be able to smell faint traces from the accident and think that it is an okay spot to revisit if they need to.

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Conclusion

Now that you know how to clean dog poop from carpet, you can take care of accidents when they happen. However, you can purchase sprays from the store or make your own citrus based spray to deter your animals from using your carpeted area as their own personal bathroom. Most dogs do not like the citrus smells and will avoid using the bathroom where the smell is.

Lauren Moldvay is a freelance writer from Virginia and the mother of one (not always) sweet little girl. She specializes in trying to help others find easier ways to clean, manage the home and save money with DIY projects.