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We have been lucky that our dog has been, for the most part, pretty accident free in our house in the 12+ years we've had her.
But, every now and again, she gets an upset stomach and if we are not quick enough to notice, she has an accident on our carpet- typically in the form of vomit.
For the most part, light stains we catch quickly are fairly easy to deal with. But one time she had such a severe case of diarrhea after eating something bad that not only should it described as a disaster scene (it was all over our carpet, on curtains that were touching the ground, and even our Turkish rug- don't worry, I'm not posting before photos of this one). To make matters worse, it happened when we were gone, and it had several hours to set into said carpet, rug, and curtains, too.
The solution we had used time and time again for minor stains wasn't making a dent in this catastrophe. That dog doo stain wasn't going anywhere. Cue panic and buying every cleaning supply imaginable with rush, next-day delivery- no cost was too high for this mess!
Thankfully, after testing a number of products, we have three that we have found work well enough depending on the level of pet stain you are dealing with. So, in this one, we thought we'd share the best ways to clean dog stains from carpet (all stains, mind you- urine, vomit, and poop), and highlight the one that has worked best for us out of them all.
So let's dive into a topic I never thought I'd be writing about on the internet, and hope that we can help you out if you are facing a poop explosion like we did.
Warning: Before purchasing and/or using any cleaning supplies recommended in this article, please reconfirm material compatibility. We have not had issues with any of the items mentioned below on our own carpets and pet-friendly upholstery; however, some materials may not be compatible and could result in discoloration or worse (for example, for the insane dog doo stain referenced above, we took our Turkish rug to a professional cleaner as some cleaners can discolor that material). But, as with everything, you may want to test on a hidden area to confirm to ensure no discoloration or damage.
Minor Stains – Resolve Pet
Up until what we are now calling the Poopocalypse happened, we had always found good luck using Resolve for cleaning up minor stains on our carpet after cleaning up any bulk material on top (this included most Resolve products, be it regular or their Ultra Pet line).
These sprays generally contain a mix of detergents and solvents to break down messes on carpet, and after letting them soak for a few minutes, the residual stains seem to come out from the surface and can be pulled up into a paper towel with gentle blotting.
For things like vomit or mild urine stains that haven't set in yet (i.e. we caught it while it was happening), we had always had decent luck with this product- although some more severe cases have sometimes required a few passes and/or longer soaks to get a stain fully out of the carpet. But, still, we find it works well for minor stains all around.
- Pro: Fairly effective on fresh urine or vomit stains in carpet when caught quickly
- Con: Less effective on old stains that have set and/or dried, fecal matter, deep stains, and residual odors; sometimes seems to leave soap-like ring stains if too much is used and not blotted up effectively
Residual Stains – Folex
Folex is an interesting one you may see pop up in cleaning recommendations, and it is a little different from Resolve if only because it is primarily a surfactant cleaner designed purely to dissolve and lift out stains outright that other cleaners left behind. (We've seen recommendations that this is best on dried, residual stains, but your mileage may vary here- we primarily use it as a secondary if Resolve did not get everything out.)
One interesting thing about Folex is that is often thought to work without needing soaked up and won't leave a detergent ring on your carpet, which we like, and in practice we've found that it does seem to work a little bit better on harder-to-remove stains more than Resolve. Residual stain colors are its target here!
In our experience, if we use Resolve and find that it gets 80% of the way there, applying Folex after the initial cleaning and drying may help get us to most of the remaining 20% residual discoloration in a second pass.
- Pro: Fairly effective on dried stains that have not dyed your carpet outright, or residual stains not removed by Resolve; easier cleanup
- Con: This one still seemed to struggle on set fecal matter that had sat for a while; diminishing returns on subsequent passes
Major Stains – Carpet Cleaning Machine with OxyClean
For major messes, we reach for our carpet cleaning machine with an Oxy-like detergent.
This is a one-two punch for most messes (we've even had great luck with it removing coffee stains!) as it can spray detergent with water and provide a deep suction all in one machine. This one is what got all of the residual nastiness out of our carpet after the now-infamous Poopocalypse, and it wasn't even close.
Oxy-style products tend to either use a sodium percarbonate that breaks down to hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate in the presence of water (if in powder form) or hydrogen peroxide outright (in liquid). When mixed and sprayed onto carpet, it penetrates the fibers to help oxidize the compounds, break them down, and the vacuum attachment sucks up the liquid into the machine's dirty water reservoir.
For extreme messes, like our situation, we did have to use several passes all the same (if buying for an emergency, add on extra formula with it- the sample size with the machine was good for one big cleaning or a couple small ones), and a short soak time before sucking the detergent and mess mixture into the reservoir, but with a few passes our carpets looked as good as new!
After using this one on the dog stain, we've since had a fair share of work out of this little machine. A coffee explosion soaked one of our light grey upholstered dining room chairs shortly thereafter, and this little cleaner not only got all of the stain out, but also saved me from one very imminent panic attack. As such, if you don't have a wet carpet cleaner like this one, it may be a good pre-emptive purchase as the question is not so much if you're going to need this, but when.
- Pro: Pretty good effectiveness for most all pet stains (and other stains!) and easy to use
- Con: Can be bulky and may be overkill for small/fresh messes; consumes a fair bit of detergent per use relative to spot cleaners
Still Have Smell? Don't Forget Baking Soda or an Enzymatic Cleaner
Although the above detergents and chemicals are often great at getting rid of stains, you may find that some could struggle with residual smells- particularly if your stains are large and have penetrated below your carpet to the padding or floor such that conventional cleaners do not reach them outright.
If you have extremely deep stains, or did not get all of the staining out from the above methods, you may need to also use an enzymatic cleaner and/or baking soda.
For lighter odors, a sprinkling of baking soda on the afflicted area may do the trick as it can absorb some of the odor-producing chemicals before being vacuumed up and discared. After cleaning up our massive mess, a final pass of baking soda seemed to do a pretty good job at eliminating most odors that we could personally detect.
For more stubborn odors or urine stains (which we have thankfully not had to deal with), enzymatic cleaners may also be necessary. These often have components like proteases to breakdown proteins for easier removal and ureases to help break down urea- particularly useful for the smell of residual pet urine that you just can't seem to get up otherwise.
Thankfully, we've never had a stain so stubborn that any of the above options couldn't fix (fingers crossed on no major urine messes in our future with our aging dog). But this is something you may want to keep in mind if everything else fails, too. Because after that, your options may be much more limited- a professional cleaning surface or replacing your carpet / afflicted item outright!
Overall, with what could have been a nightmare, these cleaning products really helped us manage a pretty nightmare situation and get our carpets looking as good as new. But, as with everything, your mileage may vary- be sure to read material compatibilities and test any new chemical on a hidden area first to ensure your upholstery or carpet is not discolored or damaged!
How have you managed cleaning up a major dog stain out of your carpet? Did it work or did you want more? Comment below to share!