How to detect pet urine stains on the floors or carpet

Sometimes your best efforts to potty train your pet may not always go to plan. Your dog can fail to go outside to pee and instead do it on the carpet. When that happens, odors and stains will lurk on the floors.

In some instances, you may not even know that your dog is doing it in the house until you smell a hint of urine.

As a homeowner, if you suspect that this is going on, you need to know how to detect pet urine on carpet so that you can clean it immediately and avoid health issues.

The problem with pet pee is that you cannot always see where the accident occurred. You can only see it if it happened a few minutes ago on a bright rag.

While you can smell the stench in a room, determining the exact location can be a challenge.

4 ways to detect pet urine stains in your house

There are several methods you can use to detect dog urine in carpets and on floors. They use:

1. Use a Black Light

A blacklight for urine stains is the best device to use at home if your potty-training efforts are fruitless. It is a simple tool that will help you to find every urine stain in your house.

Here is how to use a black light to find pet urine:

  • Vacuum your carpet or floor thoroughly
  • Turn off the lights. You should shut the door and close the shades if you are doing it during the day.
  • Make sure the room is dark enough
  • Turn the black light on
  • Scan your carpet or the floors by holding the light at least two feet above the floor

The black light produces a UV light that will illuminate urine stains. They will appear as crystals and will be dull in color, mostly brownish-yellow or pea-soup green. Smell the area to confirm and then mark it for cleaning.

If you are considering using a black light to detect pet urine stains, we recommend these 3 devices:

2. Use baking soda and hydrogen Peroxide

A mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide can help you to find dog urine without a blacklight.

  • Mix the two compounds in a spray bottle
  • Spray the solution on spots where your dog pees or on the whole carpet or floor

If there is a pet accident, the area will turn white.

3. Check changes in carpet color

It is sometimes difficult to see pet urine on a carpet. But when dog pee dries, it leaves a yellow hue on the floor. If you have a white rug, the spot will look like neon.

On a darker carpet, the area can manifest itself as a spot with an odd glow or discoloration.

Even if your pet’s pee is 100% clear, the ammonia contained in it will cause a yellow discoloration once it dries.

If you’ve detected a change in carpet color, it helps to get a good carpet cleaner spray for pet stains to eliminate the stains as well as odors.

4. Check your pet’s behaviour

Your pet’s behavior can also be a hint that he or she pees on floors or carpets. Generally, dogs have a greater sense of smell than humans. They can smell the odor of pee around them.

That smell tends to draw the puppy back to the same area more frequently. As a result, it will signal to them that it is the spot where they pee.

In conclusion

The most effective way of detecting cat urine on floors is to use a black light. If you do not have the UV light, look for any discoloration or staining of your carpet fibers.

You can also smell the affected area or look for any physical damage to the floors or carpet fibers.