Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
rachelrachel_gw

Cat Throw-up on New Carpet

rachelrachel
17 years ago

I have new beige wall-to-wall carpet. One of the cats threw up a large amount of fishy smelling wet cat food. I think I made a mistake in cleaning it. I used a wet cloth, water only, and scrubbed back and forth. I kept rinsing and wringing the cloth and scrubbing it over the fibers. I should have wrung it out better. I think I over soaked the area and drove the mess futher into the depths of the carpet. Now the room smells fishy.

What is the best cleaner which will not leave a soapy area which becomes a future sticky dirt magnet? Do I need to hire a professional carpet cleaner guy?

Thanks cleaning experts!

Comments (6)

  • socks
    17 years ago

    Folex is good. Got mine at Savon Drugstore, which is now CVS here in CA.

    It's important, once you get the stain out as best you can, to get the moisture out of the carpet. Take a stack of white paper towels (no printed images) and put it over the spot. Put something heavy on it for several hours, remove and change towels until they are no longer absorbing.

    I've also found the website below very helpful. They have an 800 number you can call for further help. They helped me remove awful tape residue from my carpet.

    Here is a link that might be useful: carpet cleaning

  • lisad71
    17 years ago

    First, let me say that I am a cat vomit cleaning expert. We have two cats and if one isn't throwing up the other is!

    I would strongly recommend investing in a Bissel cleaner. Even if you just get the Little Green Clean Machine.

    On to the problem...depending on how long it sits and what came out of kitty will determine what you need to do.

    If you can get to the accident right away and its not liquidy, simply scooping it up and using some Bissel Fabric & Upholstery cleaner (found in most grocery stores in a blue can with a little brush on top) will do the trick.

    For more heavy duty situations, scoop up the chunks and pour a little of the Bissel machine cleaning solution on the spot and gently massage in with your fingers. Let that sit for about 10 minutes, then use the Bissel machine on the spot, preferably with the heat option if it has it. The Bissel solution smells nice and clean and should remove the fishy smell ASAP.

    The condo we use to live had white W2W carpet and you would have never known we had an incontinent dog and a bulimic cat.

    Good Luck!

  • peppermill
    17 years ago

    I've used Resolve with good results--just scrape up the hard stuff, spray the Resolve, and use a white paper towel on it. Then let it dry.

  • RSH_Fl
    17 years ago

    Nature's Miracle will get rid of the odor. I have 3 dogs and a steam vac. which I used with Nature's Miracle. On anything which I feel will be super difficult to remove, I pretreat with Krud Kutter, then follow up with a solution of Nature's Miracle in the steam vac. So far, this has worked every time.

  • kitchendetective
    17 years ago

    Scrape up chunks carefully so that you don't rub them into the carpet. Then use Tuff Stuff according to directions. Always rub brush toward center of spot to avoid spreading the mess. I got these directions from DH who has become an expert at cleaning Little Miss Hairball's creations, especially the ones that land on the pale cream, deep plush carpet. He dislikes the smell of Resolve.

  • americanwit
    17 years ago

    Some basic carpet cleaning tips is always try water first. You don't want to use too much soap because then soap is sticky and as walk over it, it will then attract more dirt and become a bigger stain. But if the water does not work, spray your cleaning solution and then, you don't want to rub, you just want to dab and work from the outside in. and if you did have to use a cleaning solution, make sure you rinse off very well with water afterwards.

    For greasy stains on carpet, you can just sprinkle a little bit of baking soda or corn starch, talcum powder- anything that's absorbent. Leave on for at least six hours and then vacuum over and that will pull up the grease from the carpet.

    Before you use any carpet cleaning agent, you may want to test a hidden spot of your carpet just to make sure that it doesn't bleach it or cause any damage to the carpet.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Carpet cleaning tips