When Accidents Happen
Many of us are blessed to have animals to brighten our lives! They bring us so much joy, don’t they? But what happens when an accident occurs?
You know what I mean, your puppy is potty training and pees on the carpet or your cat is getting old and misses the kitty litter. How do you get rid of dog and cat urine odors the all natural way?
Stick around…I am about to tell you how! But first…here is our story.
Here Is Our Story
A few years ago we had a cat, Mason. We just LOVED Mason! I mean how cute is Mason right?
Unfortunately, Mason was getting very old, 17 years in this picture. With age, sometimes cats begin to have kidney problems and oftentimes have a hard time squatting and pee standing up rather than squatting. This leads to the cat spraying urine on the wall behind the litter and oftentimes on the sides of the litter.
Well….have you ever tried to get cat urine out of carpet or hardwood floors before? Oh my gosh, it is nearly impossible.
I tried everything under the sun to try to get rid of these smells but it wasn’t until I tried to get rid of dog and cat urine odors the all natural way that I finally tackled my problem!
And then Gemma came along…PUPPY….need I say more? Puppy and Pee go hand and hand don’t they? With these two adorable pictures are you wanting to run out and get a fuzzy animal yet?
So with an aging cat and a new puppy, you could imagine that we experimented a LOT with getting urine out of carpets and floors.
I think I have finally perfected the PERFECT formula to get rid of dog and cat urine odors the all natural way!
How To Get Rid of Dog and Cat Urine Odors The All Natural Way
So what is this formula you ask? Would you believe me if I told you it has only 4 ingredients? Better yet, you most likely already have these 4 ingredients in your home already!
Here is what you are going to need:
- Empty Spray Bottle
- White Vinegar (See my post on How Vinegar Gets Bad Odors Out of HE Washer Machines)
- Dish Soap with Orange Scent, or Wild Orange Essential Oil (You Can Buy Here), (note: I have found that essential oils produce the best results).
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Baking Soda
Depending on the size of the area you are treating you might need to double or triple this recipe. Only make what you are going to use.
Safety Note: Dispose any leftover formula, do not leave it in the spray bottle.
Although this is a natural formula, you are mixing together items that could have a reaction if left to sit. Be safe and properly dispose of the leftovers if any.
As with any product, ALWAYS test a small section of the carpet, hardwood floors or furniture to make sure that this formula doesn’t react negatively with your items.
We used this formula on wood, carpets and linoleum floors and had no issues with any of them…but always check to be on the safe side!
The Formula
Now that we have the ingredients and safety all taken care of, let’s dive into this simple formula.
Pour the following ingredients into a spray bottle:
- 5 oz hydrogen peroxide
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp dishwasher orange soap (something about the orange scent help break up the urine smell), or for best results use 3 drops of wild orange essential oil (You Can Buy Here)
When all of the ingredients have been added, gently shake the bottle. Now simply generously spray the affected area with this solution and allow to completely dry. It will become powder-like once the formula dries.
Once it dries vacuum up the powder. If the smell is still there, then repeat this step again and add the extra step included below.
Final Application To Purify The Area
If you want to take this formula one step further, be sure to purify the area. To do:
- Add 6 drops of Lemon Essential Oil (You Can Buy Here) to 1 cup of baking soda and place into a container and shake until well combined.
- Sprinkle on the dry affected area and leave on for several hours or overnight.
- Vacuum up and you will be good to go!
That’s It, How Easy Was That?
That is it! Easy right? Who knew it was so easy to get rid of dog and cat urine odors the all natural way!
As always, I am here if you should have any questions! Feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
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Would sweet orange essential oil work? Or does it have to be wild orange?
That will work just fine!
Will the peroxide change the color of the carpet. Mine is maroon
I’d test a small spot before applying to your whole carpet to make sure that it won’t discolor your carpet.
Do you know of a safe/pet friendly recipe to deodorize a cat litter box using baking soda & an essential oil mix? I would like to sprinkle this mix in with the cat litter.
I’d caution you on using essential oils with cats. Many can be harmful to felines. I do not have a deodorizer recipe for a cat litter, sorry.
How about a sofa? Out outside cat accidently got locked inside overnight and urinated right in the middle of the sofa! Right where every cushion meets! Will this work for me?
Thanks for the article is this 100% peroxide and are you sure that doesn’t bleach. Most peroxide I see is 3% or 6%
It is 3% peroxide Belinda and always test a small spot that you are treating before you apply to the whole surface.
Thank you so much!!! I have 7 fur babies and one just refuses to tee tee in the litter box. This has saved my sanity. This is the first formula that I have tried and it really works.
Happy to help and glad it is working so well for you Cheryl. Give those fur babies some love for me! 🙂
This works so well, thank you! We are renting a condo, and our older dog was peeing on the tile floor, where it would flow down the grout lines to the wall. I thought I was cleaning it fine until the closet on the other side of the wall suddenly smelled very strongly of urine. I tried Lysol, which made it worse. I searched online and found your formula. I doubled it, using sweet orange essential oil, and poured it on the tile and along the baseboards on both sides of the wall. It took a couple of days for the smell to start fading, but it is now completely gone! I am so relieved. Thanks again!
So happy it worked for you! Thanks for sharing!
I have all ingredients but the hydropen peroxide, what I have might be dilluted, (don’t ask, have an eleven year old son, need I say more!) Will this mixturethane till work, I plan on picking some up but want to get this started as sown as possible.
Sorry about the misspellings.
Dear Halle,
In my case… the problem is the dog urine smell that enters and stays in the room adjacent to the spot where my neighbor’s dogs (male) pee (in their own yard). Often times even my eyes start to burn of the strong ammonia in the air (in the afternoon during dry season). I currently have one Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) plant to absorb the ammonia (smell) which I want to believe helps a bit. Do you have any other DIY non toxic remedy that I could try?
Thanks in advance.
Wow, so the smell is coming from outdoors? I’d be sure to keep the windows closed at all time and if you already do, consider weatherproofing the windows so that air can not seep into your space. I’m so sorry you have to deal with this. 🙁
Hi there,
Would this work on a subfloor after the carpet and padding are removed? My cats have destroyed my carpet to the point where I need to get rid of it. 2 of my cats have medical conditions so I was going to pull the carpet and pad up, and then treat the subfloor and use throw rugs until I can the type of flooring I want put in.
Yes, it will work Leila. I’d also recommend after you put the solution on and it is very dry to add a thick coat of Kilz primer to seal the floors.
I was wondering if u might have a solution. My new puppy peed in her new puppy playpen. But because she was still going outside every half hour with me I didn’t notice that she had until the next day. I have tried some other suggestions to get the smell out to no avail. I would love to try yours but I can’t vacuum it so I am wondering if it would still work without the baking soda. Or if you might have another idea. It is made of 600D Oxford Cloth. I’m also wondering if you think the essential oils will be diluted enough or will they eat through the material? It’s like a windbreaker material. Thanks
I am in the process of moving into a small 650sf apartment I am renting. I used to manage properties for years and KNOW I smell a very strong pet odor, although the realtor & owner both said they did not smell it on my initial & 2nd visit!:/ The apartment was built in the late 60’s & is mostly real hardwood flooring with carpet only in the bedroom & tile in the bathroom. The smell is SO strong it nearly knocks me down each time I go over there to clean, paint, etc. The weird part is the smell isn’t nearly as strong in the bedroom as the rest of the place. Mainly in the large open kitchen/living room area at the front of the unit. I have been over there 3 x this week & painted the bedroom thinking it would help, put out air freshener, sprayed the unit down with pet odor eliminator, glade & also put out a febreeze odor eliminator thing to help lessen the smell. Nothing is working. What can I do in the kitchen/living room area that is all hardwood floors where the horrible pet smell is the strongest??!:( PLEASE help…I am at a dead end with this, the owner is very uptight & barely let me paint! So i am afraid of what to do considering those hardwood floors. Any suggestion is MUCH APPRECIATED. Thank you!!!
**Also I have searched online everywhere for the Air Renu some have mentioned to put in the paint to paint the large area in the kitchen/living room and cannot find where this product is sold. I have no time to order online and need a place to purchase in store asap! IF this is something you would recommend doing that is. Thanks again!!