How To Clean Dog Poop Off The Carpet

I love my dog as if she were my child, but I do not like cleaning up after she has an accident. There is nothing worse than walking into the house after an exhausting day at work and finding a pile of poop on the carpet waiting to be cleaned. My first instict is to be upset, but then I look at my poor dog who is clearly ashamed of herself, and I clean it up. My dog has a very sensitive stomach and gets diarrhea frequently. Occassionally this happens while I'm not home and I'm left with a stinky mess that could potentially leave a stain on my carpet. Luckily I've learned some tricks over the years that make cleaning the carpet easier, faster, and more effective.

Before I start cleaning dog poop off the carpet I make sure I have all of the carpet cleaning supplies that I'll need. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of a poopy mess and realizing that you are missing something you need.

1. Latex gloves
2. Plastic bags
3. Dry paper towels
4. Moist paper towels
5. Plastic spoons
6. Carpet cleaner
7. Carpet shampooer
8. Vacuum cleaner

Step One

The first thing you need to do is put on your gloves and use a dry paper towel to pick up as much of the dog poop off the carpet as possible. You need to do this without rubbing or scrubbing. You are basically lifting up as much of the loose poop as possible. After that, you obviously place the paper towel into the plastic bag.

I usually use several paper towels for this step because the thought of getting any poop on my hands, even with gloves, really grosses me out. Use as many as you want because the fact is, you're cleaning poop.

I bet you're wondering what the plastic spoon is for

Take out your plastic spoon and gently scoop the poop off of the carpet. Since you've already gotten the big mound and loose parts off the carpet, you should be able to really work on scraping the actual carpet fibers. The spoon helps get as much poop up without grinding it deeper into the fibers and possibly creating a stain.

Since my dog is prone to accidents, I always keep plastic spoons in my house. Without doing this step, it is nearly impossible to get the mess of the carpet without rubbing it deeper into the carpet.

Now it's time for some good old fashioned scrubbing. First, take your moist paper towel and wipe as much excess poop off the carpet as possible. There is probably some loose poop left over from the second step that the plastic spoon could not remove. Again, I use several paper towels. Once you feel like you've pulled up as much of the mess as you can, get out a can of carpet cleaner. Make sure you read and follow the directions because some cleaners can have adverse effects on your carpet. Our goal is to limit stains and discolorations, not create new ones!

This is an optional step, but I never skip it. I always use my carpet shampooer to make sure I've gotten as much dog poop cleaned off my carpet as possible. I have used my Bissel carpet shampooer so many times that it has definately been worth the investment! Once again, you'll have to read the directions for the shampooer and the cleaning solution you use. I usually just shampoo the small are where the initial mess was, but sometimes I am inspired to shampoo the entire carpet!

After the carpet has been completely cleaned and I am satisfied with the results, I do a good vacuuming. All the scrubbing lifted dirt, and dust and it just looks better after it's been vacuumed. After all the work you put into cleaning the carpet, you may as well have it looking as good as you can.