The 5 Best Carpet Cleaners for Pet Stains of 2023
Updated: Feb. 14, 2023Pets are messy, but your floors don’t have to be! The best carpet cleaner for pet stains keeps your home looking immaculate.
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Accidents happen with the best trained pets, and cat urine or dog poop leaves smelly stains behind. But how do you choose the best carpet cleaner for pet stains? You don’t treat pet carpet stains the same as other common household stains. It’s important to arm yourself with the best pet owner carpet cleaning tips.
Getting rid of these stains goes beyond covering up doggy odor. You must eliminate the stench, or cats and dogs sniff out the evidence and return to the scene of the crime again and again. Even if you don’t smell the mistake, a pet’s nose can still detect the spot.
The ideal pet stain carpet cleaner does more than cover up stink with perfume. Urine contains sticky urea, yellow-colored urochrome and uric acid. The first two easily wash away, but uric acid resists removal and requires special products to rid urine from carpets. The best pet stain remover neutralizes the stinky chemical components of the waste using enzymes that “eat” it away. Others use high-tech ingredients that encapsulate urine molecules to contain the odor. We found the very best products for combating your furry friend’s inevitable stains and smells.
Overall Best Carpet Cleaner for Pet Stains
Rocco & Roxie Stain & Odor Eliminator
When you look for the best carpet cleaner for pet stains, Rocco & Roxie gets the prize for double duty dynamo, dealing with both stains and odor. It’s an Amazon best-seller in three separate stain remover categories, and boasts 71,000+ five-star reviews praising its effectiveness and versatility. It has also earned our editor’s stamp of approval (check out our Rocco & Roxie review).
This stain and odor eliminator is compatible on carpet and solid surfaces, and can also be used on pet beds, couches or your mattress. It’s chlorine-free, so it rarely affects colors, and is safe to use around pets and children. It banishes stains and odors by using active enzymes that feed on ammonia crystals and organic matter. It not only works on pee and poop stains, but also addresses vomit stains.
Pros
- Versatile for multiple surfaces and fabrics
- Highly effective, even on set-in stains
- Light citrus scent is pleasant and not overpowering
Cons
- Pricey
Product Specs:
- Type: Spray
- Size: 1 gallon
- Surfaces: Carpets, floors, furniture, clothing, litter boxes, kennels, carriers, all pet living and sleeping areas
- Safe for Kids & Pets: Yes
Best Budget Carpet Cleaner for Pet Odors
Anti-Icky-Poo Odor Remover
Sure, we love the fun name, but it’s the endorsement of many cat and dog care professionals that cements Anti-Icky-Poo as our top pick to eradicate pet odors. The solution uses proteins and enzymes to quickly eliminate any organic material left behind by your pets. Cats often love to baptize the laundry, and this also works to get the cat urine smell out of clothes.
Anti-Icky-Poo not only addresses the smell of urine and feces, but also works on vomit, sweat, skunk and more. You can safely apply it to multiple surfaces—like carpet, fabric, wood, leather and plastic—with no scrubbing required. And the “ghost” of the smell won’t return to haunt you, either!
Pros
- Budget-friendly
- Works on multiple odors
- Covers a large area
Cons
- Best for odors only (not stains)
- Requires multiple applications
Product Specs:
- Type: Aerosol
- Size: 1 gallon
- Surfaces: Surface materials including carpet, hardwoods, softwoods, tile, plastic, fabric, drywall, leather and more
- Safe for Kids & Pets: Yes
Top Vet-Recommended Carpet Cleaner
Urine Off
Cats require high-protein diets for ideal nutrition, but that also produces pungent urine—especially in male cats. Ideally we want our furry friends to “go” in the litter box, but you may need professional help to address how to stop cats from peeing on the carpet. In the mean time, use Urine Off. Developed and recommended by veterinarians, Urine Off gets approval from groomers, kennels, catteries, vets and trainers as the best carpet cleaner for pet stains.
This concentrated formula uses a combination of naturally occurring micro-organisms and their enzymes to digest uric acid crystals (which produces urine’s pungent aroma) as well as urea (the sticky substance in urine) and proteins (where germs grow). It nixes odors from nearly any surface, and even carries the Seal of Approval from the Carpet and Rug Institute. For puppy parents, there’s a Urine Off formula for dogs, too.
Pros
- Recommended by vets and pet professionals
- Seal of Approval from U.S. Carpet Authority
- Awarded USDA BioPreferred designation
- Covers large areas
Cons
- For old, dried deposits, repeat applications may be necessary
Product Specs:
- Type: Spray
- Size: 1 gallon
- Surfaces: Litter boxes, walls, carpets, furniture, floors, and more
- Safe for Kids & Pets: Yes
Best Carpet Cleaner for Dog Stains
Nature’s Miracle for Severe Dog Messes
Fore more than 35 years, Nature’s Miracle has been battling stinky animal messes. This Advanced Enzymatic formula is the best carpet cleaner for pet stains, especially when dealing with dog smells and stains from diarrhea, urine and vomit. While you also must put in the time and training to stop dogs from peeing in the house, this pet carpet cleaner helps clear up accidents that inevitably happen.
Nature’s Miracle employs an enzyme that breaks down and neutralizes odors. It comes in foam, spray and pour-on versions in small to large sizes. You also can purchase the 170-ounce “Acu-Shot” bottle, which sprays product deep into carpets to penetrate and lift severe stains.
Pros
- Ideal for tough dog messes
- Safe for use on carpets and also wood floors, furniture, fabrics and more
- Affordable
Cons
- Product has strong scent
Product Specs:
- Type: Spray
- Size: 32 ounces
- Surfaces: Carpets, hard floors, furniture, fabrics, and more
- Safe for Kids & Pets: Yes
Best for Household Pet Odor Control
Zero Odor
Carpets and fabrics hold odor, but sometimes it also sits in the air and drives us crazy! Zero Odor works effortlessly on carpets and surfaces, plus spritzing it in the air takes care of funky smells that migrate to other parts of the house. Instead of enzymes, Zero Odor uses a proprietary blend of anti-odor molecular technology—special molecules bind with stinky ones to change them from smelly to non-offensive.
Zero Odor has no perfume added, so you won’t just cover up the dog smell on the couch, but actually eliminate it. You can also spray it around or directly on cat litter to instantly remove odor there. The non-toxic formula is free of nasty chemicals, making it the one of the best carpet cleaner spray products safe for pets, kids and people with sensitive allergies.
Pros
- Useful as air freshener
- No fragrance added
- Works on many odors (from pets and other household smells)
- Non-toxic and cruelty-free
Cons
- Small bottle
Product Specs:
- Type: Spray
- Size: 16 ounces
- Surfaces: Litter boxes and surfaces
- Safe for Kids & Pets: Yes
What to Consider When Buying Carpet Cleaners for Pet Stains
Different stains and smells require specific cleaning. To best use carpet cleaners for pet stains, know how to find the invisible messes—a black light shined on soiled areas glows to reveal urine stains, which can often be found hiding on walls, baseboards, carpets and furniture.
Products should do more than cover up smells with perfume. Look for enzyme-containing or molecular-technology products that scientifically treat stains and odors. Pay attention to endorsements from pet professionals who deal with stinky messes daily. Finally, look at the cost based on pennies-per-ounce, how much coverage the product provides and whether you must apply as a single or multiple treatment.
How We Chose the Best Carpet Cleaner for Pet Stains
As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.
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