Pristine in abstract, but vulnerable in practice: rugs are easily stained and sullied when exposed to the hustle and bustle of real life. This is particularly the case if you own pets: it's obviously far more difficult to control their behaviour, and, particularly if you own dogs and outside cats, your rugs can absorb all kinds of interesting but not especially pleasing smells.
But animal accidents and use do not have to be death sentences for your carpets, and neither, in many cases, do you have to fork out for expensive chemicals to fight against the small disasters of spilt fluids or strange odors (the latter issue is particularly important in terms of potential animal toxicity).
There are plenty of natural ingredients that fight stains and smells out there: we've put together a short list of some of the most tried and tested methods for getting rid of any pet stain or pet odor that your rug might suffer.
To get rid of smells, use baking soda and essential oils.
This combination is a great way for freshening up your rugs. As well as choosing a scent that you enjoy personally, it's important to check whether the essential oil you're using is safe for your pet: lavender oil is okay for both cats and dogs, but, for example, tea tree oil is very toxic to cats.
Do your own research, and if particularly worried, it's worth speaking to your vet. Once you've found a good essential oil, the process is pretty easy: mix in half a cup of baking soda with 30 drops of your essential oil, and pour it into a small container, preferably one with holes in the lid (for instance, a spice container, or a baking-sprinkles container). Allow the mixture to sit for a day or so, and then shake it over the carpet. Let it soak in for quarter of an hour, and then vacuum your rug as normal.
When clearing up pet urine, use vinegar and baking soda.
Regardless of method, it's important to act as fast as possible when clearing up your pet's pee: it's definitely worth having these ingredients to hand: as you have probably noticed, baking soda in particular comes up a lot in natural stain and odor removal methods! It may even be worth pre-making the vinegar solution that we're going to recommend.
In a bucket or spray bottle, mix up a solution of 1 part tap water to 1 part white wine vinegar. (While in theory you could use any kind of vinegar to get rid of the smell, white wine vinegar strong-smelling, less reminiscent of an English chip-shop, and also has the crucial advantage of being colourless). Apply the solution to the affected area, and then scrub intensely with a clean cloth, making sure the solution gets into the deepest fibres of the carpet.
Next, apply a small amount of baking soda to the carpet, with a little more of the vinegar solution: you'll hear and see a small amount of fizzing as the smell is lifted out of the rug's pile. Leave this until completely dry, and then vacuum the carpet as normal.
For poop stains, develop the vinegar and baking soda strategy.
If your pet has done a number two on your rug, your strategy can remain much the same as for pee, but with a couple of alterations.
Obviously, you'll need to scoop up the offending solids as quickly as possible, so as to make sure the stain is as weak as possible. But you can also strengthen the vinegar solution, too: it might be worth putting pure white wine vinegar on the offending area instead. If your carpet is pale, it might be worth sprinkling some lemon juice over the stain, too: not only will this help break down the smelly compounds in the pet poop, but it has the added bonus of being a natural bleach.
With these methods, your rugs should live to see another day. But especially with accidents discovered later, it's worth keeping the option of professional help in mind: these services are likely still cheaper than buying a new rug. However, these home remedies are pretty good regardless - best of luck!
