Many people are against the whole concept of having pets freely roam around the house. The main reason is that pets will sometimes vomit involuntarily once in awhile and no amount of training will help them avoid doing the deed on your sofa, cushion, bed, or carpet. Cleaning up after you pet can be a chore that no one really wants to do. Nevertheless, since you don’t want your fabric surface stained and smelling like his meal last Tuesday, you will need to clean the vomit. Here are some steps on how you can effectively clean your pet’s vomit.
- Determine the surface type. If your pet vomits on a hard and solid surface like hardwood, marble, or concrete, then cleaning it up will be a breeze. However, if your pet vomits on fabric based surfaces such as the sofa, a pillow, your bed, or the carpet, then the first thing to do is to determine if the fabric can be treated with a cleaning solution consisting of water. Some fabrics like wool and leather will not react well to water. Now, for these steps to work, let us assume that your pet has vomited on your sofa that uses synthetic cotton upholstery.
- Act quickly. As soon as the vomit touches the upholstery, make a run for your bathroom or kitchen or wherever you keep your paper towels in. Grab several sheets and get back to the area of the vomit. Start by picking up the chunks of food on the bed. Remove these with a paper towel. Throw that in the trash can. Get back in there and start dabbing and blotting the area with another clean towel. Keep discarding drenched towels and using new and dry ones until you have successfully removed all the excess liquid from the bed sheet. Never ever wipe the vomit or press on it too firmly. This will only spread it around and make the affected area larger than it already is.
- Apply a cleaning solution. Now there are two solutions you can use and both can be created using common household items. The first option is to mix white vinegar and warm water. This diluted cleanser is effective in disinfecting, deodorizing, and preventing stains. To apply the cleanser, get a sponge and dampen it with the solution. Cover the affected area with the sponge and scrub it gently. Leave the sponge there to set for a few minutes. Once that is done, sprinkle a layer of baking soda on the area and allow it to soak all the moisture out. The second option is to use a solution consisting of warm water and liquid detergent. This soap-based solution should be applied the same way as the vinegar. However, when it comes to drying, you will need to blot the suds away with paper towels before sprinkling the baking soda on. These solutions can be applied to wet or dried up vomit.
After several minutes of the baking soda soaking all the moisture up, use your vacuum cleaner to remove the baking soda. At this time, the area should be dry and odor-free with no sign of stains or residue.