If there’s been an accident of diarrhea, you will want to get it out as fast as possible. We won’t waste any time explaining how to get it out!
But first, please be aware that this is a biological substance that can make you ill no matter who it came from. After all, the point of diarrhea is to flush out anything bad within our systems as fast as possible.
For that reason, always wear PPE;
Rubber gloves
Mask
Eye protection
Aprons or longer sleeved tops
What you need
Kitchen rolls
Plenty of disposable cloths
Enzyme cleaner
White vinegar
Baking soda
Spray bottle
Chemical waste bags
Vacuum cleaner
Good To Have
Steam Cleaner
Having a steam cleaner is the best way to remove biohazardous contaminants such as feces. It not only cleans the contaminant from your carpet but also disinfects it, which is essential for this kind of stain.
Karcher SC3 Steam Cleaner - £134.00 (£27.00 per month for 5 months)
This machine (or the one American equivalent linked) is an excellent machine for all kinds of stains on carpet and upholstery.
The heat produced is enough to kill dangerous pathogens without the need for chemicals and without damaging your carpets in the process.
Every household which has fabric to maintain should get one, it will save you thousands in the long run.
Make a cleaning solution
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of baking soda
One cap full of liquid detergent
2 cups of water
*please be aware you will still need an enzyme cleaner to fully remove the bacteria. If you don’t have one yet, you can use this solution to start the process and then apply the enzyme cleaner later on.
Steps for removing diarrhea from your carpet
Start by blotting as much diarrhea out with a kitchen roll. Put it straight into your waste bag
Next, spray your homemade solution onto the carpets. Don’t worry about overuse
Let sit for 15 minutes and then use your disposable cloths to blot some out
Apply more solution but this time immediately followed by applying baking soda across the area
Let it sit for 20 minutes at least before vacuuming it up
Finally, apply enzyme cleaner for good measure. Saturate the area and lightly scrub it deep into the fibers
Let it air dry. Enzyme cleaner carries on working for hours after application
How to get really dried-in diarrhea off your carpets?
If this has happened then you will need to do a little more scrubbing than you would probably like to lift those diarrhea stains out of your carpet.
Start by applying a white vinegar solution but not too much, just enough to loosen the stain. Get a soft-bristled brush and agitate it in small sections, agitating it slowly and in small sections prevents splashback.
Once the stain has been loosened, you can carry on with the methods as explained above.
How to get rid of the diarrhea smell from your carpet?
While a lot of that Foul odor will have been removed through the cleaning process, you can help it along by further adding baking soda mixed in with zoflora or a similar deodorizer.
Remember though, the smell might just be in the air if you’ve cleaned the carpets thoroughly so open a window and use a fan to air the area out some more.
Should I let diarrhea dry on carpet before cleaning it?
Depending on where the diarrhea is, you could let it dry out to prevent it from smudging into a larger area of your carpets. This is particularly useful if it is sloppy dog poop!
However, the practicality of actually doing this may not be so easy. If you have young children then having diarrhea on your carpets is not a good idea as it could make them sick.
Likewise, if the diarrhea is in a cool dark place then it’s never going to fully dry out anyway so you may as well get stuck in from the get-go!
Is there a difference between pet and human diarrhea?
When it comes to cleaning up the mess, the only difference is how much there actually is to clean up. Human diarrhea tends to be a bit more watery whereas dog diarrhea is a bit thicker.
What many of us don’t tend to think about is that pet accidents can be more harmful to you. They tend to carry more diseases than humans since they’re not vaccinated but they also have a habit of eating things that they really shouldn’t!
For this reason, take extra care when cleaning up your pet's poop and if you suspect that they have a serious illness, then it’s better to get a professional to come and do the job for you.
How do you get diarrhea out of carpet without vinegar?
If you don’t have any white vinegar on hand, then you can try a mixture of salt and lemon juice. The salt will act as a drying aid while the lemon juice has a similar odor neutralizing effect as white vinegar.
To make this solution;
Add 1 tablespoon of salt
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
One cap liquid detergent
2 cups water
Regardless of whether you use white vinegar or lemon juice, always follow up with an enzyme cleaner when it’s a diarrhea stain, this will ensure a bacteria-free zone.
How do you get diarrhea out of wool carpet?
A slightly different approach is needed with wool when dealing with diarrhea stains. You can use the same products such as white vinegar and baking soda but you need to use them with cold water. This makes it a bit more difficult to remove the diarrhea, but it’s not impossible.
Personally, if I were a customer then I’d much prefer to let a professional tackle this one for me. Wool carpet can be easy to damage and when you are dealing with diarrhea, you might be tempted to throw everything at it to get rid of the problem, but with wool, you can’t do that.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our blog post on how to get diarrhea out of your carpets. We appreciate that this particular stain is an emergency situation in most cases and should be treated as such.
If for whatever reason you are uncomfortable with cleaning up diarrhea on your own, gey the professionals in! They will be able to safely and fully remove the biological stain.