If you’re like me, not much infuriates you more than a pet who continues to make a messy on the clean carpet. Pets are a joy to have around; they provide companionship, give us a low-maintenance responsibility, and are simply fun to cuddle up with under a warm fleece on a rainy Saturday afternoon. But they are not as trainable when it comes to potty duties. They will occasionally use your carpet or floor as a toilet. It is generally too expensive to call in the carpet cleaners or to replace a carpet each time it occurs, so let’s go over some of the precautions and solutions to dealing with pet mess.
Walk the Walk
Never forget to take your pets on walks. Dogs especially, but cats as well. Do it on a regular schedule so your pet knows exactly when it is about to be taken outside. If you’re a city dweller be sure to keep the neighborhood clean and pick up after your pet does the duty. I use two plastic grocery bags I get from WinCo or Walmart, put it over my hand like a glove, grab the droppings, and pull it inside out so that it doesn’t get on my hands and I’ve got a disposable way to collect pet waste. This works great outside but also can be used as a cleanup tactic in the house. That way you can snatch it up and throw it into the outside bin immediately.
Iron/Paper Towel Combo
A friend led me on to this one. When a pet urinates on the carpet, using Lysol or Resolve to scrub up the mess works but there is always just that little bit of waste imbedded in the carpet. A great way to lift those tough to get particles from the carpet is using a hot iron and some paper towels. Get the iron hot, place a paper towel on the carpet, then slowly move the iron across the paper towel in circular motions. The urine will begin to soak into the paper towel. I always use a couple paper towels to make sure most of the waste is lifted.
Apple Bitter Deterrent
Grannick’s Apple Bitter is a great product that can be used for all sorts of pet training. If a pet makes a mess, spray some Apple Bitter on the end of a towel. Take the pet to the area in which it made the mess and put the Apple Bitter towel up to the pet’s nose. Dogs are generally pretty smart about knowing what they did wrong, but I don’t have the experience with cats. Your animal will soon associate the bad action with the unpleasant bitterness. I was able to train my Labrador after only two Apple Bitter exercises.
Pet Crate
Pet crates can be used to house the animal during long days at the office. While not allowing them the freedom to roam about, pet crates are a way to eliminate a pet’s contact with your floor or carpet. Pets will also not leave waste in the crate.
When all else fails and the mess becomes too much for the carpet, a solid carpet cleaning service for your home might be tough to avoid. While it might be tough to come to terms with, this may be the best option. Be sure to take all the inexpensive precautionary steps so you can save money in dealing with pet waste. If you’re smart about the situation, you can prevent pet mess before it even occurs in addition to train the pet that using your home as a restroom is an unfavorable action.