What should I use to get rid of dog smell in my house?

Hi everyone,

For the last six months my cousin's dog has been staying at my house during the day with my partner.

However, my partner and I are getting our own puppy a week on Saturday. Thus, I told my cousin that her dog can't stay at my place after this Saturday to give me time to clean my house thoroughly.

My cousin's dog has only ever been allowed in the sitting room, kitchen and dining room. Her dog has never been upstairs. Every night after I've finished work I've cleaned my backyard with a small amount of bleach and hot water, waited about 10-15 minutes and then thoroughly rinsed my backyard.

But, how do I go about cleaning the carpet in my sitting room and dining room? Similarly, what about lino in my kitchen?

My cousin's dog was about 4-5 months old when she first started staying at my house and has only ever peed on the carpet a few times and I used hot water and vinegar to get rid of it. My house doesn't smell of pee or anything like that, but I don't want my puppy to smell the dog.

Is there a shampoo or some sort of cleaner I can use to get rid of everything? On Saturday I'm going to be cleaning all of my sofas (even though the dog has never been on the sofas), my cousin is taking the dog bed to her house. So it's really just a matter of cleaning the carpet and lino properly.

My cousin took the puppy off her friend and the dog has not been socialised so she is not very good with other dogs which is a shame because she's a lovely dog with people so I am not allowing my cousin's dog and my dog to meet each other which is why I'm wanting to erase the trace of a dog being in my house otherwise I would have allowed the two of them to be with each other, but it is what it is.

I clean my carpet and lino every day, I'm sure some people would think I have an OCD when it comes to cleaning so I want the best stuff to make my house thoroughly free from my cousin's dog's scent.

Can anyone help me? Thanks.

An enzymatic cleaner would likely be your best bet, but make sure you leave it down for 10 minutes to let the enzymes work before you wipe it up.

JoanneF said:

An enzymatic cleaner would likely be your best bet, but make sure you leave it down for 10 minutes to let the enzymes work before you wipe it up.

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Am I able to use it on carpets and then just use my vacuum cleaner as normal?

It depends what brand you use i suppose, and what your carpets are made of - check the usage instructions and test an inconspicuous area first.

Your new dog will be much happier smelling dog scent than smelling cleaning products. Deep cleaning does not present a smell-free home to something with the scenting powers of dogs, but instead a variety of chemical smells. It would be far better to leave the house scent as it is.

I would be more concerned with any areas that have been peed upon and if there was any wee that had soaked down into the carpet before you managed to quickly wash it out, therefor leaving a wee scent for your new puppy to detect and pee upon.

I totally agree and I love your way of thinking!

excuseme said:

I would be more concerned with any areas that have been peed upon and if there was any wee that had soaked down into the carpet before you managed to quickly wash it out, therefor leaving a wee scent for your new puppy to detect and pee upon.

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That’s why I want to make sure the carpet is nice and fresh.

As far as I know there hasn’t been any pee that has been soaked into the carpet. After every accident a mixture of hot water and vinegar was used and then my partner or I waited for about ten minutes and then cleaned the area with a dry cloth and then used the vacuum cleaner.

You've been cleaning your backyard with bleach every night? Is that because of your cousin's dog or something else?

I use a lot of bleach washdowns, it certainly removes the pissy smell outside.
If we get a carpet weed upon a hot bleachy wash is used straight away. I always get down to the carpet level and have a good close sniff to make sure I have washed out as much smell as possible, if not it will get done again! If I can smell it you can be sure a dogs sensitive nose can detect the smell.

Just remember that bleach isn't at all good for the environment and kills a lot of wildlife - we need the tiny little bugs if we want a good population of birds, bees, pollinators, etc. So it should only be used when necessary. And it absolutely isn't necessary to get rid of the smell of the previous dog.

JudyN said:

Just remember that bleach isn't at all good for the environment and kills a lot of wildlife - we need the tiny little bugs if we want a good population of birds, bees, pollinators, etc. So it should only be used when necessary. And it absolutely isn't necessary to get rid of the smell of the previous dog.

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What would you use?

Jodie Rangers said:

What would you use?

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My dog doesn't toilet on the patio, only on the grass or in the borders, so I don't wash anything down - I just pick up the poos. If he did toilet on a hard surface, I'd pick up the solids and then probably just shoot a pressurised hose to wash anything else away.

If I had a lot of dogs, like excuseme, and if there was a smell, I'd rethink, though!