Six Homemade Remedies for Dog Stains and Odors

If you're strapped for cash and can't pick up your favorite professional cleaning products, fret not. There are a multitude of stain and odor remedies you can make at home with ingredients you may already have. There are many pluses to using...

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If you’re strapped for cash and can’t pick up your favorite professional cleaning products, fret not. There are a multitude of stain and odor remedies you can make at home with ingredients you may already have.

There are many pluses to using homemade pet cleaning remedies. It is cost effective for one, simple to put together, and as environmentally and pet-friendly as one could want. For some jobs that require extra strength, you may want to use ingredients that are best kept away from your pets. But you’ll also find many non-toxic homemade pet cleaning remedies.

There are a few downsides to using homemade pet cleaning remedies but they can be worked with. Homemade supplies do not usually pack the punch that those we find in stores do, whether toxic or non-toxic. This is because you would need a laboratory to mimic some of their ingredients. But what a homemade pet cleaning remedy lacks in strength, you can make up for with elbow grease. Another downside is that homemade remedies do not retain their cleaning power as long as commercial ones. This just means mixing more often and, if you keep the ingredients on hand, this is easy to do.

The main non-toxic ingredients in homemade pet cleaning remedies include vinegar, water, baking soda and lemon juice, while the most common toxic ingredients include bleach and boric acid (neither of which is included in the recipes below). It is best to remove your pet before you clean an area whether using toxic or non-toxic homemade cleaners — it makes the cleaning up much quicker, too.

Here are six simple non-toxic homemade pet cleaning remedies that are tried and true:

1. All Purpose Cleaner – Perhaps the simplest homemade pet cleaning remedy, this will save you lots of money since it can used on everything from the kitchen sink to the deck. Mix equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle. To get sticky substances off, let the mixture sit for about three minutes before wiping.

2. Disinfectant – Put 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. After your pet is removed from his eating, sleeping or eliminating area, spray judiciously. Both the alcohol and vinegar act as disinfectants and, because the alcohol evaporates very quickly, it is a non-toxic cleaner.

3. Bathroom Cleaner – Baking soda has many uses. In cleaning, it can replace the sometimes toxic commercial abrasives such as Ajax. Sprinkle baking soda on the tub and, using a good wet sponge with some abrasion to it, scrub away. Use it also in the toilet and sink. Add a touch of vinegar and you’ll be disinfecting, too.

4. Clothes and Furniture – If your coworkers think you own a mink coat because of all the pet hair on your jacket, it’s time to pull out the homemade pet hair remover remedy! As any good Yankee knows, life is impossible without duct tape. Roll a piece of duct tape around your hand, sticky side out and manhandle yourself before you head out the door. You can also use long strips of duct tape on the furniture. Or you can run a damp towel over clothing and furniture to get up hair. Another thing to keep in mind – fabric made of natural fibers is less prone to static cling which means less pet hair on it.

5. Carpet – This is where it’s toughest to get out a pet urine smell or just that doggy odor because it seeps into not only the fibers but the padding as well. Begin by dabbing the area of the stain with a mild, non-toxic dish detergent. After dabbing, put a solution of one part vinegar and two parts water is a spray bottle and spray lightly. Repeat and, if your knees begin to get bruised from all that dabbing, sprinkle the rug with baking soda, vacuum and go get yourself an ice cream.

6. Laundry – Whether washing dog slobber from delicates or some unidentifiable substance from dog blankets, you can use your own powerful laundry detergent. Simply mix one cup grated Fels Naptha soap, 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup washing soda. All of these items should be available in the laundry detergent section of your store. Use between one and two tablespoons. This is a non-toxic mixture.

These six simple homemade pet cleaning remedies are easy to make, non-toxic and effective on many stains. For really tough stains, you may want to graduate up to using bleach, keeping in mind that bleach does change a substance’s color so it must be used carefully. For everyday cleaning, you’ll find these remedies are very successful. And don’t worry about your house smelling like vinegar – the smell dissipates when it dries.

4 thoughts on “Six Homemade Remedies for Dog Stains and Odors”

  1. I like that you mentioned the importance of doing laundry. This is a great way to make sure that you are getting enough done for your home and its smell. My sister would love knowing this as she researches pet odor removal.

  2. It seems like every time, pretty much daily that I will read something like for instance an example taking and rolling your hand and duct tape and removing lint that way or using a damp cloth I’ve done these things for years and then I’m seeing them now posted so I just makes me feel good it makes me feel like yes there are very many very very very many unseen things that I do in life that I’m on the right track so if anyone out there has an idea and it works for you you just worked out idea and just be you!

  3. It never fails to amaze me how useful vinegar is when it comes to cleaning… who would’ve thought something so stinky could get rid of other stinky smells? Especially one as tenacious as pet urine…

    It’s also good to see someone recommending duct tape for removing pet hair instead of those overpriced pet hair rollers!

  4. My 2 dogs and I have recently moved into a house with 2 other dogs (2 females and 2 males and they have all been fixed). The dogs know each other, but unfortunately accidents have occurred and we are worried about the house starting to smell like pee. I have read about using vinegar to clean the stains, but what do you recommend to prevent this from happening again or the other dogs from peeing on the same spot? We take them out at least 3x/day to use the bathroom.

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