Six Steps to Clean Area Rugs from Pet Accidents

When Fluffy, Spot, or Roscoe has an accident on your beloved area rug, you may think that all is lost. Fear not; “the dry guys” can help you fix even the worst pet-related issues and restore your floor covering to look its best.

Step One: Don’t panic.

Accidents happen, and yelling or chasing the animal will only increase the chances of more mess as they nervously evacuate, vomit, or run through the existing mess. Move the animal to a secure location, and move on to step two.

Step Two: Assess the damage.

Depending on whether there is a relatively dry mess of solid feces, a wet but mostly clear puddle of urine, or a spattered mess of diarrhea or vomit, your approach will vary. If the mess is extensive or happened while you were away and has been tracked across the entire area rug, you may need to call “the dry guys” right away.

Step Three: Clear the solids.

Any vomit or feces that is in solid or semi-solid state can be carefully picked up with paper toweling and discarded (be careful not to smear.)

Step Four: Soak up the spillage.

If there is a watery mess, use a clean, white cotton towel to carefully blot and remove as much of the moisture as possible from the surface of the area rug. Don’t scrub, rub, or scrape; this will simply push the mess deeper into the rug fibers.

Step Five: Check for color bleed.

If the rug fibers are bleeding color out from the site of the spot, pack the rug on both sides with baking soda and call “the dry guys”. If no bleed is present, dab and blot carefully with club soda and check for bleed again.

Step Six: Dry thoroughly.

If the club soda doesn’t cause color bleed, continue to dab with club soda and blot until the stain is gone. Prop the rug up and turn a fan on it so air can circulate above and below until the rug is completely dry. Also, clean the flooring underneath the rug.

Ask “the dry guys” for a spot cleaning kit for emergency use. If you can’t get a stain out, give us a call and we’ll come to assess your area rug and figure out how to fix it. If accidents happen regularly, consider moving your rug to an area of the house not frequented by pets.

There’s no need to replace a beautiful, expensive rug just because of a common pet accident. You can have your companion animal and lovely home – all it takes is a phone call.