How To Get Poop Smell Out Of Carpet

If you have a puppy or a baby, you know the joys that come with them; however, you probably also know some difficulties with puppies and babies.

One of the most unpleasant is toilet training.

Although they don’t mean to be gross, puppies and babies sometimes have accidents, and when those accidents are on your carpet, the smell can linger for months.

Luckily, you don’t have to live with a poop smell in your carpet.

We’ve done the research, and learning how to get poop smell out of carpet is easy with a few essential household cleaning items.

Get ready to get back to playing with your puppy or your baby without the nasty poop smell in your carpet leftover from an accident.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need a few things to remove the poop smell from your carpet correctly.

Now that you have everything you need to get the poop smell out of your carpet, read below for step-by-step instructions.

1. Get it off the carpet

When you realize a poop mess to clean up, put on some gloves and grab some paper towels or baby wipes as quickly as you can.

The gloves will help protect you from touching anything with your bare skin, and the paper towels or baby wipes will help you remove the poop from the carpet.

You can even use a spatula or shovel if the poop is hard enough.

Although it is gross, it is essential to do this as soon as possible.

The longer it sits, the more it will stain and the more the smell will sink in, making both more difficult to remove.

Be as thorough as possible to remove everything; this will make the next steps easier.

You can even pinch the carpet fibers with your paper towel or baby wipe to ensure you get everything.

2. Mix Cleaning Solution Together

In a spray bottle, mix one and a third cup of warm water, about a third of a scoop of Oxiclean, two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide, and a couple of drops of dish soap.

These ingredients will work together to get any poop stain out of the carpet, which will go a long way in getting rid of the poop smell for good.

Pro Tip: When adding the OxiClean, it helps to use a funnel. (See image above) You will simply have fewer spills to clean up if you do.

3. Apply solution To the stain Thoroughly

Apply your cleaning mixture using either the spray bottle or a fresh cleaning cloth.

Blot the area thoroughly.

Once the site is sufficiently saturated, allow the mixture to sit on the affected area of the carpet for 5-10 minutes. 

Blot the affected area now to soak up the stain and as much moisture as possible.

It’s crucial that you do not rub; that could work the stain deeper into the carpet, which will make your carpet smell awful.

Instead, blot the area to remove the stain.

It may be necessary to do this step several times on particularly difficult stains in order to ensure that it has been completely removed.

4. Rinse Area With Clean Warm Water

Next, pour clean, warm water onto the affected area to thoroughly remove the cleaning solution from your carpet.

5. Dry the affected area of the carpet

Dry the area entirely with towels.

Then, check the affected area.

If the stain is still present, apply more cleaning solution and blot the site again.

You may have to do this several times before the stain is completely gone.

If your goal is to get rid of the poop smell, though, cleaning the area multiple times is worth the effort.

6. Mix vinegar and water and spray the affected area

Once the stain is completely gone, you need to eliminate any lingering odors in your carpet—mix vinegar and water in a 1 to 1 ratio.

I recommend using Lucy’s Family Owned – Natural Distilled White Vinegar.

I’ve had great luck with it, and it gets terrific reviews on Amazon.

Spray the area until it is thoroughly wet, and allow the vinegar to sit on the carpet for about five minutes.

Vinegar is a natural deodorizer, so it will take care of most compounds that create a poop smell in your carpet.

After about 5 minutes, blot the area dry.

7. Once dry, sprinkle with baking soda

The last step to getting rid of the poop smell in your carpet is to sprinkle the area with baking soda.

Baking soda is also a natural deodorizer, removing any lingering smell that the vinegar may have missed.

Allow the baking soda to sit for as little as 10 minutes or as long as overnight.

Then, vacuum it up and enjoy your fresh smelling carpet.

The following video demonstrates how to get poop stains and smells out of carpet.

0:49—Combine 1 1/3 cups of warm water, half a scoop of Oxiclean, two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide, and a few drops of dish soap in a spray bottle.

1:55—Mix well.

2:01—Spray the affected area to soak it thoroughly.

2:10—Scrub the solution in and wipe the area with paper towels.

2:26—Apply more solution and then scrub the affected area of carpet again.

2:37—Rinse the area with warm water and dry the area with towels.

3:16—Spray the affected area with vinegar and dry the area.

3:27—Sprinkle baking soda on the dry carpet. Allow the baking soda to sit, and then vacuum up the baking soda.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a store-bought enzyme remover To Remove Poop Smell From My Carpet?

Yes, there are several good enzyme removers on the market.

They are usually marketed towards helping pet owners clean up messes.

If you decide to go this route, I recommend using Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator.

I found this enzyme remover on Amazon, and it’s a best-seller with excellent reviews.

Plus, it’s safe for use around children and pets because it’s chlorine-free and uses no hazardous propellants.

If your puppy or cat favors a particular carpet area, clean the area with the enzyme remover.

Make sure to use the instructions on the package.

Doing this will help eliminate the odors that we can’t smell, but your pets still can.

Can I use hydrogen peroxide?

Hydrogen peroxide helps remove stains, so you can replace the vinegar in the steps above with hydrogen peroxide if you would like to.

If you choose to make your cleaning solution with hydrogen peroxide instead, mix 1 1/3 cups of warm water, half a scoop of Oxiclean, two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide, and a few drops of dish soap.

This solution will help you remove the stain and poop smell from your carpet.

How Does Vinegar Remove Pet Odor From Carpet?

White distilled vinegar is very acidic.

The acid in the vinegar will neutralize the bacteria in the dog’s urine or poop, thus eliminating the odor.

White distilled vinegar is one of the cheapest and safest cleaning options for most cleaning tasks.

It’s also one of the best ways to get poop smell out of carpet.