Even after you've completely cleaned any visible dog or cat urine off the top of your carpet, a small but persistent odor may remain. If you don't completely clear both the carpet itself and the pad supporting it of this odor, the smell will always tempt your pet to plant more urine. Before you consider the best way to remove an odor from your particular carpet pad, remember to avoid these three tools.

Steam Cleaner

Steam cleaners are often used to eliminate any stain that's penetrated too far into a carpet to be removed with soap and a towel. While a steam cleaner can be useful for eliminating any discoloration on your carpet pad, it's not the right tool for taking care of a pet odor.

Instead of removing any trace urine particles, the heat from the steam cleaner will only make them bond more closely with your carpet pad. If you use a steam cleaner before completely eliminating pet urine odor, the stench will become almost impossible to remove.

Vacuum

Vacuuming the top of your carpet won't do much to affect urine that's penetrated all the way to your carpet pad. Using a detached vacuum hose to vacuum the underside of your carpet pad also won't be very effective.

What's worse, a very strong vacuum can thin out the fibers on your carpet pad and cause your carpet to move around when someone's stepping on it. So if you insist on airing out your carpet pad, hold it over a household box fan instead.

Upholstery Brush

An upholstery brush is one of the best tools for eliminating a smell coming from the top of your carpet. If you use it together with a homemade mix of vinegar, baking soda, and water, even hardened urine won't stand much of a chance.

But since a carpet pad has so many loose ends that can be damaged by the tough thistles of an upholstery brush, you should stick to using a thick bathroom towel on it instead. A bathroom towel, unlike a washcloth or paper towel, isn't unduly flimsy. As long you don't press on your carpet pad too hard, it also isn't rough enough to dislodge enough fibers to matter.

Even if a faint odor stain on your carpet pad doesn't bother you, for the sake of both your pet and any visitors you may have, it's important to address it. Additionally, even if the urine has already hardened, don't leave your carpet pad exposed to a foreign substance any longer than necessary.

It may be best to rely on the services of a professional such as Chem Dry Springfield for help in eliminating the odor.