How to Clean Children's Urine in the Carpet
Potty training is a challenging time for both parents and children. If your child doesn't make it to the toilet and pees in the carpet as an accident, it may make him feel embarrassed. There are easy ways to clean urine from carpet that will help you not only remove the bad odor but also feel less stressed about the situation and more apt to support your child during his learning process.
Fill a cup with lukewarm water and spill it on the area that has your child’s urine. This will dilute the urine and also make it easier to soak it up if it is already dry.
Health Problems to Humans from Breathing Animal Urine on Rugs
Learn More
Place a thick towel over the wet carpet and apply pressure by stepping firmly on it or using your hands while applying most of your body weight as you do so. This will help absorb the water and urine. You can later wash your towel with laundry detergent and bleach if the towel is white. Paper towels can work as an alternative although they will not soak up as much liquid as a towel will, and you may end up wasting a lot of paper towels in the process.
Apply a pet urine cleaning detergent to the area to wash out the urine. Detergents made to clean pet urine have enzymes that break down pet urine odors and work just as well on human urine. You can find them at any pet store in your area.
How to Freshen Sweaters
Learn More
Rinse out the detergent with lukewarm water and repeat the process of soaking up the liquid with a clean towel.
Mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar with 1/2 cup of water and sprinkle it along with a pinch of baking soda to the area you have treated to help remove any remaining smells and remove detergent residues, suggests the website Good Housekeeping 1.
Use another clean and dry towel to soak up any remaining liquid to speed up the drying process of your carpet.
Place a fan directly on the area treated to dry it completely. Alternately you can use a blow dryer if you have time to hold it while the carpet dries, or leave a window open.
Wash all your towels immediately so they don’t retain any urine smells.
Tips
Keep your urine cleaning supplies handy in case this happens again.
You can use this same method for cleaning mattresses if your child had a bed-wetting occurrence.
Warnings
Keep the pet urine detergent away from your child's reach as it may be toxic to his skin and poisonous if swallowed.
Related Articles
References
- Good Housekeeping: Heloise's Pet Clean Up Tips
- Nature's Miracle: Stain and Odor Removers
- American Urological Association. Diagnosis, Evaluation and Follow-up of Asymptomatic Microhematuria (AMH) in Adults. 2016.
- Urinalysis. Visual Examination. Lab Tests Online. https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/urinalysis/ui-exams
- Perrier ET, Johnson EC, McKenzie AL, Ellis LA, Armstrong LE. Urine colour change as an indicator of change in daily water intake: a quantitative analysis. Eur J Nutr. 2016;55(5):1943–1949. doi:10.1007/s00394-015-1010-2
- Cortes-Penfield NW, Trautner BW, Jump RLP. Urinary Tract Infection and Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Older Adults. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):673–688. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.002
- Dreger NM, Degener S, Ahmad-Nejad P, Wöbker G, Roth S. Urosepsis--Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2015;112(49):837–848. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2015.0837
- Jump RL, Crnich CJ, Nace DA. Cloudy, Foul-Smelling Urine Not a Criteria for Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in Older Adults. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2016;17(8):754. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2016.04.009
- Kang KK, Choi JR, Song JY, et al. Clinical significance of subjective foamy urine. Chonnam Med J. 2012;48(3):164–168. doi:10.4068/cmj.2012.48.3.164
- Blackburn PR, Gass JM, Vairo FPE, et al. Maple syrup urine disease: mechanisms and management. Appl Clin Genet. 2017;10:57–66. Published 2017 Sep 6. doi:10.2147/TACG.S125962
- Prakash S, Saini S, Mullick P, Pawar M. Green urine: A cause for concern?. J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2017;33(1):128–130. doi:10.4103/0970-9185.202190
- Torres PA, Helmstetter JA, Kaye AM, Kaye AD. Rhabdomyolysis: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Ochsner J. 2015;15(1):58–69. PMID: 25829882
- Rehfuss A, Mahon J, Sorokin I, Smith C, Stein BS. Phenazopyridine: A Preoperative Way to Identify Ureteral Orifices. Urology. 2018;115:36-38. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2018.02.023
- American Urological Association. Diagnosis, Evaluation and Follow-up of Asymptomatic Microhematuria (AMH) in Adults. 2016.
- Worku DA. Purple urine bag syndrome: An unusual but important manifestation of urinary tract infection. Case report and literature review. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2019;7:2050313X18823105. Published 2019 Jan 12. doi:10.1177/2050313X18823105
- Alkaptonuria. National Institutes of Health. Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center. 3/18/2016
- Seo JW, Lee JH, Son IS, et al. Acute oxalate nephropathy caused by ethylene glycol poisoning. Kidney Res Clin Pract. 2012;31(4):249–252. doi:10.1016/j.krcp.2012.09.007
- Urinalysis. Visual Examination. Lab Tests Online.
Writer Bio
Ana Cassis began writing professionally in 1995. She has been published in the magazines "Cancunissimo," "Mesa Visions" and in online heath publications. Cassis is a nutrition counselor and herbalist with experience in fitness, nutrition and yoga. She holds an Associate of Arts in architecture from San Diego Mesa College.