Liquid dog poo, meet new clear fitted carpet.

June 5, 2006 5:00 AM

Liquid dog poo, meet new clear fitted carpet.

Don't read any further if you're have a snack. Thank you for clicking anyway.

My parent's dog is end-of-life sick - she has bone cancer in one leg, and maybe elsewhere. Parents left for a few days, let us (brothers and I) watch the dog.

Sunday morning, my brother woke up in my parent's house, to find brown puddles in front of the TV, and vomit too. He could get rid of the vomit, but the brown (and red in small amounts) is staying, dryly incrusted as it is in the clear-grey fitted carpet, that my parents had had installed six months ago - well, they redid the whole floor, even.

The dog is being taken to the vet today - poor thing doesn't even seem to hurt, even if she drinks a hell of a lot water, she's as happy and jumpy as ever, which is a relief.

My parent's plane is landing tomorrow, and I'd like to gather some tips for getting rid of both the stains and the stench, and help them make their living-room habitable again.

Any idea, please go ahead. Thanks.

(please note we are in France, so your miracle brands might not be available in the cornershop - but say it anyway, we might be able to find a clone around here)

posted by XiBe to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

The people who installed the rug should be able to cut the offending patch out and almost seamlessly replace it. This is so much easier to do if it brand new because you can actually find a patch to match the carpet. I'd leave this to the professionals rather than try it yourself though. No matter what cleaning solution you try, the chances are that the feces have leaked through to the underlayment which is next to impossible to clean through the carpet.
posted by JJ86 at 5:32 AM on June 5, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks. I'm pretty sure they will eventually settle for professionnal help, but until that appointment is scheduled, they pretty much can't use their main room. That's my aim.
posted by XiBe at 5:36 AM on June 5, 2006

Can you get Nature's Miracle there? If so, try that.
posted by scrump at 6:44 AM on June 5, 2006

What about plain white vinegar?
posted by onhazier at 8:11 AM on June 5, 2006

Sorry, hit Post too soon.

Tip 7 from Frugal Living says: "As a carpet spot and stain remover - take a trigger spray bottle and fill with one part white vinegar to seven parts water. Take a second spray bottle and fill with one part white, non sudsy amonnia and seven parts water. Saturate stain with vinegar solution. Let dwell for a few minutes and blot thoroughly with a clean, white cloth. Then go over the area with the ammonia solution, let dwell and blot again. Repeat until the stain is gone. "
posted by onhazier at 8:13 AM on June 5, 2006 [1 favorite]

Brown (and red) implies blood or protein. My suggestion is to get a wetvac. Alternately pour a cup of cold water on the stain and quickly suck up all the water with the wetvac. Repeating this should dissolve the mess and suck it out. If you use hot water, or harsh cleaners, you may polymerize the protein and make it harder to remove, so start with cold water. (I'd be concerned about vinegar and protein also, but that's just based on cooking experience, not cleaning.)
posted by mediaddict at 12:11 PM on June 5, 2006

Any spray cleaner with the word "Oxy" in it should work.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:42 PM on June 5, 2006

Try a cleaning product that's enzyme-based. (In the US, "Shout!" spray is one product.) It'll help break up proteins. Meat tenderizer might also work.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:02 PM on June 6, 2006