Preventing Carpet Damage From Pets – Of course you love Fido and Fifi. After all, they’ve stuck with you through it all: your childhood years, college, your first love. Always there with a purr or a snuggle, your pet means the world to you. But to your carpets, they’re enemy #1. Just like kids, pets cause a lot of damage to flooring, from pet dander and fur to spit-up and urine. Keeping your carpets from experiencing an abbreviated life span is a priority for you as a homeowner, so be diligent about keeping it clean.
Carpet Damage
Here are some tips on how to prevent carpet damage from your precious pets.
- Clean up the accident immediately. Don’t put it off till later, as this will allow it to set in, causing staining and lingering odors. Dogs and cats will return to the scene of the “crime” and keep soiling that area if they continue to smell their scent there. Neutralizing the odor is imperative, which trains them not to have accidents there again. If you are house breaking a kitten or puppy, this will take extra diligence and patience on your part.
- If the accident involves urine, soak up as much as you can with a paper towel or rag first. Don’t scrub at it right away. Gently blot the area to get up the liquid.
- Use a carpet cleaning solution or spray on the area if it’s a deep-set stain. Let it sit and apply again. Gently blot, don’t scrub. This will only serve to make the matter worse.
- Rinse with cool, clean water, then soak up that water with another paper towel or rag. You can also use a wet/dry vac if it’s a big area.
- Nix the steam cleaner. Using this type of machine on urine and other stains will cause them to set in deeper, not to mention the odor will stick around too.
- Use a pet odor neutralizer on the area once you have cleaned it up. This will add a fresh fragrance to the carpet to get rid of any lingering odors.
- Avoid using vinegar, ammonia or harsh chemicals on carpeting which can strip the carpet of its color. In addition, it will only serve to mask the odor and your pet will only come back to the source for another offense once the odor comes back.
- For those with shedding pets, regular vacuuming is imperative. However, pet hair and dander can really get into those fibers, which calls for a more thorough job than surface cleaning. One idea is to lightly sprinkle the carpet with baking soda, then vacuum. This will pull up hair from deeper in the carpeting plus it will deodorize the room as a side bonus. Another fun tip: Rub an inflated balloon over the carpet; the static cling will remove stubborn pet hairs.
Having a pet is great; the damage to your carpeting is not. Keep up with regular cleaning to prevent damage to your flooring.
