Highlights
Hiring a pro to clean up pet stains has many benefits.
DIY cleaning techniques sometimes do more damage.
You rarely remove deeply ingrained stains with DIY methods.
Reputable pros know which strategies work best and when the damage is irreparable.
Despite how adorable they are, keeping your house clean when you have pets is a challenge. Accidents are inevitable, regardless of your dedication to potty or litter box training. If your pooch piddles on your pristine carpet or drools on your new couch, promptly and properly cleaning it up prevents tough-to-remove stains and unpleasant odors from developing.
However, if your cleaning technique isn't up to scratch, those unpleasant ingrained stains and odors are hard to avoid. Calling in the pros may be your best chance of salvaging your carpet and couches. Read on to learn more about why hiring a cleaning professional to remove pet stains is a worthwhile investment.
Some DIY Cleaning Techniques Do More Harm Than Good
When your pup pees on your carpet, you might grab whatever cleaning products you have in your cupboards and wildly scrub without really giving it much thought. However, the cleaning method you choose should depend on the type of carpet. Plus, abrasive cleaners and bleach further discolor fabrics, soapy detergents are hard to lift out and can attract dirt, fragranced products may only mask and not lift odors, and excessive scrubbing (rather than blotting) can damage carpet fibers irreparably.
It's not uncommon for well-intentioned homeowners to overwet while cleaning, making the carpet difficult to dry out—especially when it soaks into the absorbent padding underneath. This leads to a buildup of unhealthy mold, mildew, and worse odors.
Most over-the-counter cleaning products can’t cope with deeply embedded, strong stains. The more you use them, the more chance you can damage your home fixtures further. And the non-water-soluble uric acid from urine that you don't clean up properly starts to crystallize and emits pungent odors.
With all of these issues, it’s not surprising that figuring out a DIY method for carpet cleaning can leave your head spinning. While you can do a little research to clean up minor messes, calling in a hiring a local carpet cleaning company to freshen up your carpets regularly is still wise.
Professional Cleaning Protects Your Family From Unseen Health Hazards
Pet urine doesn't just stain carpets and couches. If you don't clean it up properly, you risk leaving harmful bacteria to flourish on your floors. And a buildup of mold from overwetting carpets can affect indoor air quality, leading to respiratory and other health problems. The pros will thoroughly clean your carpet and won’t leave it problematically damp.
It Also Keeps Your Couches Around Longer
After much searching, you finally found the perfect couch that not only fits in your living room layout perfectly, but also matches your aesthetic. However, muddy paws on your couch can spell disaster, and harsh DIY cleaners can cause damage and force you to part ways with your favorite couch before you’re ready.
While you can clean up the occasional mess yourself, calling in a local furniture cleaning service regularly will help maintain your favorite pieces longer, ultimately saving you money.
Reputable Pros Have Appropriate Know-How
Choosing a reputable carpet cleaning service saves time and money in the long run and ensures a thorough job. Pros understand what cleaning techniques are best for the type of carpet you have, assess the extent of the issue (including checking carpet backing and subflooring), and find the problem spots that aren't always visible to the naked eye.
The same goes for couch cleaning, too. Pros can give your pieces a much more thorough cleaning than you can get with a vacuum and a bottle of stain remover.
Pros Have the Right Tools For the Job
With their specialist equipment, professionals can deep-clean carpets and, if necessary, the padding and subfloor beneath, in a way DIY manual tactics never manage. The tools and techniques they use will depend on the type of carpet you have and the level of damage.
Hot water extraction (or steam cleaning) provides a deep clean without harsh chemicals that can leave a residue, but it needs to be done correctly to ensure the carpet dries out fully. Dry cleaning methods often suit humid regions better, but they might not lift the urine out as thoroughly as steam cleaning.
The "bonnet" or absorbent-pad method is a more affordable option for light stains. It involves spraying chemicals on the carpet surface, and this helps to bring dirt to the surface before lifting it out by a machine with an absorbent spinning pad.
Pros will undergo an involved carpet cleaning process for deeply ingrained stains to ensure a thorough job. They may have to lift the carpet, replace or clean carpet backing pads, kill mold growth in the subfloor, sand flooring, and then clean the carpet and treat it with professional-grade enzymatic stain and odor removers.
You May Keep Your Carpet Around Longer, Too
The average cost to clean a carpet is between $120 and $230. If a pro successfully removes the stains and odors, this type of carpet maintenance can considerably extend its life. Plus, it's a lot less expensive than having to replace your carpet altogether.
Good Cleaning Pros Are Honest About What They Can Achieve
Sometimes, professional know-how and tools aren't enough to salvage a stained carpet or couch. When you'rehiring a specialized cleaning company, a reputable outfit will tell you when things are beyond repair. Urine stains can be permanent, depending on how long you've left them to absorb, the material type, the strength and composition of the urine, and any finishing treatments and dyes.
Dog urine can even stain and stink up a hardwood flooring base. Sometimes it’s best to admit defeat and invest in a new carpet or couch. A good pro can help soften that blow and give you accurate info so you can make the call with confidence.
