I’ve been trying to get cat pee out of a carpet for three weeks. I finally caved in and bought a steam cleaner. A Bissell Quicksteamer Plus, no less.
Got it home, assembled it, tried it out. First of all, the brush underneath doesn’t spin or scrub or anything. It just scrapes across the carpet as I push and pull the damn thing back and forth. No deep scrubbing at all. I could do better with a scrub brush.
Second, there was NO STEAM. The machine does not heat the water. You fill it with hot water from the tap and there you go. No steam!! How the hell can you call it a quicksteamer if there’s no steam involved? And of course there’s a warning on the canister saying “do not fill with boiling water”, so that idea’s right out.
So to sum up, the machine dumps relatively hot water onto my carpet, drags a brush across it half-assedly, and sucks up the extra liquid.
There ARE steam cleaners that will heat the water. I have the Bissell Pro-Heat Steamer. It does an excellent job. I’ve had it for a few years now. They cost a little more, but it’s worth it.
Now, as to the cat pee thing. Is this a spot that has been peed on for a long period of time, or was it just one time deal?
If this has repeatedly happened, I am afraid that this has now soaked into your carpet pad and your chances of getting it out are very slim. My good friend had this very same problem and we tried numerous things to get it out. It helped somewhat, but we could still smell the pee. I’m not trying to make you feel worse, but I figure it’s better to be honest.
There is a product that you can obtain from pet stores that is supposed to help with this problem. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of it. You spray it on just like a regular spot cleaner and blot it up, or steam it up.
Finally, you can contact a professional carpet cleaner service and see what they recommend.
((((((roxx222))))
I once had adventures in the non-steaming carpet cleaning world. I was trying to remove the wretched smell of puke out of a new carpet.
The carpet wasn’t even tacked down when my son ( who was 16 months old at the time ) decided to welcome it to our house.
Finally, we rented a rug doctor, it worked well. Sorry you spent so much money to not have fresh smelling carpets.
I believe you’re referring to Nature’s Miracle, a liquid containing enzymes that supposedly neutralize the pee and make the smell disappear. I’ve used it by the gallon, with mixed success. Worth a try, anyway.
(I’ve actually had better luck with straight vinegar; just soak the whole area until it’s standing in puddles. It neutralizes the ammonia found in kitty-pee. It’ll probably stain or bleach your carpet, though, although cat pee does that anyway.)
Well, I managed to return the useless cleaner last night, so at least I have my money back.
I’ve tried laundry soap, two different enzymatic cleaners from the pet store, Shout carpet cleaner, diluted vinegar, pure vinegar, and baking soda paste. The cat obviously still smells it, because he goes there and scratches at it, and pees there. I can’t really soak the carpet, because it’s a giant 12x12 area rug sitting on a hardwood floor. And the carpet isn’t removable from where it is, either, due to some ridiculously heavy furniture I can’t move.
I suppose I’ll have to go rent a giant steam cleaner and lug it up three flights. My only worry is, what if the cat does it AGAIN? I can’t go through this every second day!
Maybe I’m not meant to have a carpeted living room.
If the cat isn’t using the litter box, it could be due to a health problem. One male cat of mine started peeing outside of the litter box, and the vet had to remove a nasty blockage in his urinary tract.
If kitty keeps it up, I’d see a vet. (But -you know your cat the best)
Now, if kitty thinks it’s just fine and dandy to go ahead and pee on the carpet, try putting down a little cayenne pepper around the scratching area.
Also – avoid using rug-cleaning products with ammonia. Cats seem to like the smell of it - for some odd reason.
Try a citrus-based cleaner from a rug-cleaning company. After the spot is dry, put a piece of furniture or a plant over the spot to ward off the marauding feline. Or get a gunny sack. Either way.
Here’s another vote for Nature’s Miracle, but you have to follow the directions exactly. Don’t dilute the product, and soak the stain thoroughly. It can take up to two weeks for it to work, and even then you sometimes have to re-apply and wait another two weeks for the smell to be competely gone, but it works better than anything else I’ve found.
Also, check with your vet; they might have a product that they use or recommend for pet stains.
No matter what, though, you are probably going to have to get that rug up so you can really soak the stain with the product for it to be effective. Sorry.
When my mother had problems with one of her cats peeing on the carpet, she was advised to put down a sheet of aluminum foil over the spot after cleaning. Supposedly cats don’t like to stand on it/don’t like the sound of pee on it/something like that, and will learn to avoid the area. It won’t help with the smell, but at least it might discourage further marking.
