Cat litter spilt onto your carpets can be a nightmare to get out, especially if it isn’t a fresh batch and has urine or poop inside. Most pet owners are surprised by just how potent these particular smells can be, and how hard they can be to remove.
Getting it out takes time, patience and the right products to fully remove both the cat litter and the foul odour left behind.
In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of removing cat litter in a safe way for your pet from your carpets.
Steps for getting fresh cat litter out of carpet
Brush up the bulk of the litter with a dustpan and brush
Use your vacuum to remove some more After that
Apply baking soda and use a soft brush to gently agitate it inside the carpets
Let sit for 30 minutes and then vacuum again
How to get rid of cat litter from carpets with urine?
There is one key difference in removing cat litter that has been used, and that is when you can vacuum. Don’t use your vacuum cleaner until the urine has dried and the best way to help it along the way is with baking soda.
Apply the baking soda and let it soak up some of the urine that may still be damp. Let it sit for one hour and then vacuum up the cat litter.
How do you get cat poop out of a carpet?
If the cat litter came with a side order of poop, you might need to get it out of your carpets too. If the poop didn’t find its way onto the carpets then all you need to do is scoop it up in a bag.
If, however, some smudged into your carpet floor then follow these steps:
Follow the cat litter removal steps as stated above
Get a mixture of warm water and vinegar
Spray your mixture onto the stained area generously
Lightly scrub into your fibres and let sit for 30 minutes
Use a clean towel to dry the area by blotting it
Does cat litter evaporate over time?
The moisture inside you cat litter will evaporate over time normally, but if you have spilt it on your carpets, then that moisture will get trapped inside the fibres of the carpet and so will the smell.
That Foul odour may disappear on occasions but as soon as you get a hot day, or that area of the carpet gets wet, the bacteria will become active again making your carpets stink.
How to get rid of bad smells after a cat litter spillage
To get rid of that nasty cat litter smell, follow these steps:
Create a homemade carpet cleaner: Get a spray bottle and fill it with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, one cap of zoflora and 1-2 cups of warm water
Spray this mixture onto the carpets generously, not missing any affected part of the carpet
Sprinkle baking soda on the area to help dry but also further deodorise the bad smell
Agitate the baking soda in with a soft brush and let sit for at least 30 minutes
Blot with a clean towel to remove the cleaning solution along with the bacteria
How do you remove really dried cat litter?
If cat litter has been left on a carpet for a long period of time and has dried into the carpets, you will need to loosen it with hot water and a degreaser to loosen it up ready for removal.
Once you’ve done this, it’s just a case of extracting the cat litter out. If you have a wet and dry vacuum, you can do this instantly. If not, then the best thing to do is to use a squeegee to scrape some up, dry it out with baking soda and them vacuum once dried.
What if the cat litter gets wet on your carpets?
If the cat litter gets so wet that vacuuming simply is not an option then you will need to do things a little differently.
Rather than vacuuming up the cat litter, more moisture is the answer but not the same kind. Drench the stain in white vinegar to neutralise the bad odour. Then blot with a cloth and repeat again, only this time apply corn-starch or baking soda to it to help soak up those nasty smells.
You could use cat litter again at a push to dissolve some of the water but this will still leave a smell that needs removing.
What’s the best vacuum to pick up cat litter?
We are big fans of the Shark vacuum cleaner brand. Not only are they lightweight and easy to use, but they also have enough power to make even the toughest job a breeze.
In regards to cat litter, the shark vacuum is the right type to capture those little stone-like materials and dispose of them in their empty bags.
What’s the best carpet cleaner for litter spills?
If you want to do the best job at cleaning up those smelly cat litter spillages, then you might want to invest in an enzyme cleaner.
This product is specifically designed to break down and eliminate biological odours such as urine or poop stains. Since that is what’s in the litter making it smell, your best bet is to soak the stain in a pet enzyme cleaner.
You can make your own enzyme cleaners like the ones mentioned above with white vinegar but it doesn’t work half as well as an enzyme cleaning solution.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our blog post on how to remove cat litter and the odour it leaves behind on your carpet. This task is not as easy as you may have thought but leaving it is not an option.
White vinegar is the cheapest way to neutralise cat litter odour but not the best. Using an enzyme cleaner is the ideal cleaning solution for this particular job, among others.
