Faster than a speeding bullet, you turned your back for only a second, leaving just enough time for the new puppy or kitten to christen your beautiful wool area rug!  Here in Prescott Valley we love our pets the problem is sometimes our pets love our rugs and chooses the rugs to potty on. Perhaps because it’s the closest thing inside the home to the preferred grass or perhaps it is because wool is from another animal and as you likely know, animals like to mark their territory and the smell of the wool is kinda like having another animal in the house….. an animal your pet may be intimidated by and feels marking helps maintain his dominance in the home.  Exactly why an animal will choose a wool rug over other surfaces is not completely understood and is less important than your immediate response to this urine christening. Getting right to the task of cleaning up the urine should take priority.  Don’t panic – but do work fast, because immediate cleaning may make the difference between the urine spot coming out and not becoming a permanent stain.  Of course even after spot cleaning you will still want to seek the services of a professional rug cleaning service such as Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care in Prescott AZ to safeguard your rug and to insure  ALL of the urine salt crystals are flushed out of the carpet fibers, even down to the center of the knots, otherwise permanent damage such as dry rot from the urine can occur.

First tip is to always test in an inconspicuous area before spot cleaning with each of the cleaning solution you will be using.  Once you are comfortable with your testing and the pet stain is still wet blot up as much of the liquid urine as possible. White paper towels or white cotton cloths work well for this. I like to make a little stack of white cotton cloths and then stand on top of them. The weighted cloths will allow the urine to wick up and into the cloths. Replace the towels with fresh ones and continue with this wicking up procedure until no more urine is wicking up.

Mix a teaspoon of colorless dish soap with a cup of tepid water. Lightly distribute this solution with your finger tips and beginning with the outer edges of the stain and working towards the middle blot (do not rub) towards the center of the spot.

Next step is to mix an ammonia solution of ¼ cup of clean household ammonia to a cup of water. Once again, gently working it in as you did with the dish soap.

Last step is to mix a vinegar solution of 1/3 cup white vinegar to 2/3 cup of water. Gently work this in with your fingers and blot up from outer edge of spot to the center.

Patience is your biggest asset when spotting and you may need to do these steps a few times before seeing some results.  Once all traces of pet urine are removed, sprinkle with plain, lukewarm water with your finger tips and blot dry. Positioning a fan to blow air over the area to expedite drying time is always a good idea.

Here at Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care we specialize in the urine treatment of area rugs. It is important to remember that all rugs should be professionally cleaned after a urine accident because urine salt crystals are very destructive to carpet fibers and cause dry rot, which in turn weakens the fibers. Weakened fibers are apt to split, tear or become holes over time. 

Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Prescott Valley, Prescott, Sedona and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training which includes certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures the area rugs of our client’s receive the utmost in care.

Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!

If you are in the Prescott Valley, AZ and need additional help on how to clean urine safely from fine wool area rugs, please call us for additional information and quotes at 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available).