When you have a furry friend living with you, accidents can happen. If you’re dealing with a pet stain on your carpet—urine, poop, or vomit—a combination of immediate action and deep cleansing can typically restore the carpet to pristine condition. Even if you don’t notice a stain until it has dried and set into the carpet, there are still ways to clean the area.

The following tips will help you to neutralize the odor and remove the stain. All of these carpet-cleaning processes can be repeated as many times as necessary to get the job done.

The site of an accident often will be fairly apparent visually. If not, you can typically locate the affected area by smell. It’s important to remove all traces of the stain, or your pet might continue to use that spot to relieve itself.

1. Remove Solids and Soak Up Liquids

As quickly as possible, remove solids with a dull knife or spatula and soak up urine stains with white paper towels or an old cloth. If using a cloth, press it firmly into the stain using an old shoe and keep moving to a dry area or new paper towel to absorb as much liquid as possible.

2. Clean The Stain

For synthetic carpets (Rhino Carpet, Nylon, Polyester), mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid dish soap with one cup of warm warm water. Apply the cleaning solution to the stain area and work from the outside of the stain toward the centre to avoid spreading the stain. Allow the cleaning solution to remain on the spill for at least five minutes and then blot with a clean white cloth until no more stain transfers to the cloth. Do not rub the stain area or you might damage the carpet fibres. Rinse with cold water and be sure to remove all cleaning solution from the carpet.

For wool carpet, rinse the area carefully with cold water and then mix one teaspoon of mild laundry detergent (ideally one approved for wool) and one teaspoon of white vinegar in one litre of warm water, this is your cleaning solution. Apply this solution to the area and rinse, soaking up all liquid excess with paper towels or an absorbent cloth. Continue wetting and rinsing, until you’ve lifted all the nasty colour out of the carpet. What you’re doing is essentially ‘flushing’ the carpet to continually dilute the stain and eventually lift it out completely.

Sometimes you’ll have to complete the process to completely get the stain out. When your carpet has dried vacuum the area to restore the texture.

If a stain has been left for some time and become too stubborn for the above methods, a professional carpet cleaner may be required.

We recommend getting your carpet professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months.

Just put down hard flooring in your home and not too sure how to maintain it? Or had your hard flooring for years but you’ve never been quite sure if you’re caring for it right?

Here are our top tips to best care for your hard floors.

Prevent Damage To Your Hard Flooring

• If your floor has just been laid, remove any loose dirt or debris with a broom or vacuum. Follow this by mopping the surface with a well-wrung damp cloth.

• Use door mats at all entrances to reduce the amount of debris walked into the house.

• Regularly clean mats and rugs placed on hard flooring.

• Do not use a vacuum with a beater bar or be sure to turn the beater bar off.

• Rubber can leave stubborn marks on hard flooring, so don’t leave waxed or rubber products in prolonged contact with your hard floor. Furniture legs often have rubber castors, these can be replaced with plastic or nylon ends or use felt pads to protect the floor.

• Use furniture coasters to distribute the weight of heavy items such as couches.

• Don’t use high abrasive pads or scourers as they could scratch the floor.

• Never use a solvent-based waxed, seals, polishes or varnish particularly those containing acetone and they can destroy the wear layer that protects the floor.

• Lift heavy objects when moving furniture or appliances. Do not roll or slide them across the floor.

Cleaning Your Hard Floor

Day to Day Cleaning

To remove loose dirt and for daily protection, use a soft broom or vacuum cleaner to remove hard particle debris from the floor. Use a micro-fibre mop with water or a neutral detergent to clean floors. If a neutral detergent is used, ensure it is wiped away after clean. Be sure not to over wet the floor, a damp mop is sufficient.

Please refer to product maintenance guides provided with laminate or wood based products when it comes to mopping.

Please note: not all products resist the very high heat steam mops produce, please refer to the individual products care and maintenance guide regarding steam mops.

Stubborn Dirt and Stains

If a spill occurs it is best practice to clean it up ASAP to avoid staining. Try to remove a stain with a damp cloth or with eucalyptus oil. If the stain won’t disappear it is recommended to use a professional cleaner as outlined by the manufacturer. Please refer to the instructions for the manufactures cleaning guide and ask your Carpet Court consultant if you require any further information.

Please note: do not use abrasive cleaning pads, sponges and cloths, or scourers, etc. Do not sand, varnish, or wax your floor. Solvents and ammonia based cleaners will also damage your floor, so do not use these products. See our hardfloor cleaning products.

Remarks

The care advice provided here is in addition to the cleaning and care recommendations of the manufacturers. It serves as a guideline; is not binding, and does not claim to be complete.