Updated on October 11, 2022
Are you wondering how to clean dog poop from carpet? I think you’ll agree with me when I say cleaning dog poop out of carpet is hard. Or is it?
Well, it turns out there’s an easier way to get the poop out of your carpet for good! It’s as simple as following just a few steps and you’ll be on your way to clean carpet that doesn’t have any residual smells or stains.
It’s going to take some time, supplies, and elbow grease, but it is not as hard as it seems. Before you know it, your carpet will be looking – and smelling – like new.
Accidents Happen
We’ve all been there: walk in the door, ready to relax after a long day at work and there’s your puppy, cute as a button but… What is that smell?
If you’ve ever owned a dog, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you have hard floors, those pet accidents are a quick and easy cleanup, but if you have carpet, that’s not exactly the case.
Whether your new puppy couldn’t hold it in long enough for you to get home, your dog got into the trash and ate something that upset their stomach, or you have an older dog that’s having a hard time controlling their bodies, accidents happen.
First Thing’s First…
Nobody wants a splotchy, stained carpet that smells like urine and feces. The first thing to remember is, the sooner you get the poop out of the carpet, the better your chances are to avoid set-in stains and smells that sink deep into your carpet.
Before you start spraying or scrubbing your carpet, you need to remove anything sitting on top of your carpet. Do this by using paper towels or baby wipes to pick up any chunks, then wipe and pinch the carpet to try to get any excess poop out of the carpet fibers. The last thing you want is to push anything down into your carpet that can simply be picked up.
Once you get that part taken care of, then you’ll be ready to start scrubbing.
Let’s Get Started
You’re probably wondering what supplies you’re going to need to get this mess taken care of.
Supplies:
- Cool water
- Dish detergent
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- White rags (or whatever you have on hand)
- Vacuum
Now that you’ve picked up anything sitting on the surface of your carpet, it’s time to mix your cleaning solution and get started.
You’ll want to mix the following:
- 2 cups cool water
- 1 tbsp non-bleach liquid dish soap
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
You can put your cleaning solution in a spray bottle or you can pour it directly on the stain you’re trying to remove. Both options work just fine. If you opt to use the pour method, make sure you don’t pour too much at a time; you want to wet the spot, not create a wet, poopy puddle.
This next step you’re going to be repeating a few times.
Wet, Blot, Repeat
As the heading suggests, you’ll be wetting the stain with your cleaning solution, blotting the liquid out, and repeating as often as you need to until the rag comes off of the spot clean. I recommend switching rags frequently so you can gauge how much poop remains in the carpet.
If you’ve started blotting with a new rag and it’s just wet, then you’ve successfully removed all of the poop from your carpet and you’re ready for the next step.
More Blotting
Now that you’ve removed all of the poop from deep down in your carpet, you’ll need to rinse any excess cleaning solution out of your carpet. The good news is that since it’s just water, soap, and vinegar, there’s nothing included that will ruin your carpet or padding if there’s a bit left behind, but you still want to get as much out as possible.
To rinse you’ll simply spray or pour some plain cool water on the spot and blot it with a clean rag. You want to make sure you do this for a few minutes so you pull out as much excess water from your carpet and padding as possible.
Congratulations! The hard part is over!
The Final Step
Once your carpet has dried thoroughly, sprinkle the area with baking soda. If the spot was particularly funky, you may want to use a firm bristle brush to work the baking soda down deeper into your carpet before removing it.
Let the baking soda sit for at least 10 minutes, some people choose to leave it overnight. After letting the baking soda sit for 10+ minutes, the last thing to do is vacuum the area really well to get all of the baking soda out.
Voila! Your carpet is as good as new!
See Also: Why Your Bathroom Smells Like Sewage
Other Methods
There are several different ways you can clean dog poop from your carpet. Some people prefer to use commercial pet stain removers and spot cleaning appliances. Others have alternative variations of the cleaning solution used in this article.
Take Oprah’s story, for example. She’s a long-time dog owner and has owned more than 20 dogs in her life. She uses a combination of club soda and dish detergent to remove poop from her carpet.
Take a look at the video below to see Oprah’s method for cleaning her carpet when her dogs have accidents!
Conclusion
Coming home to an accident from your beloved dog doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your carpet. Using our wet, blot, repeat cleaning method you no longer have to be worried that dog poop is going to stick around forever. You can even use a good handheld carpet cleaner to get the job done.
So give it a go the next time your puppy poops on the carpet! Your rugs will thank you.
