How To Clean Up Runny Dog Poop On Carpet

Oh no. 

You get up one morning to make your way to the kitchen for your morning coffee when suddenly your nostrils are assailed by a foul odor.

You know that smell – DOG POOP.

You gingerly tiptoe around the house, looking for the surprise parcel your dog has left you in the night. Ah, there it is, you found it. 

Just your luck. Not only is the poop RUNNY, your dog did it ON THE CARPET. Oh, the joys of pet ownership!

We feel your pain. Read on to find out how to clean up runny dog poop on carpet.

Dogs and Diarrhea

Before we get into the cleaning tips, just a quick word on dogs and diarrhea. Dogs, like us, have the occasional bout of ‘the trots’.

Wet (canned) dog food makes for runny poo.

• If your dog has an ongoing case of diarrhea, try switching your dog’s diet to only dry food (kibble), to see if that firms up their stools.
• Get them up-to-date with their worming treatment.
• And NO TABLE SCRAPS!

If the problem persists then take your dog to the vet.

Now back to the topic at hand – how to clean dog up diarrhea on carpet. 

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How To Clean Up Runny Dog Poop On Carpet

Hopefully, you will have all of these household items on hand when disaster strikes. If not, get them on your shopping list pronto so that you have an emergency clean-up kit on hand next time a dog diarrhea disaster happens at your house!

For The Dog

• Disposable plastic gloves
• Baby wipes or disposable cleaning cloths
• A plastic bag

For The Carpet

• Plastic bags
• Long rubber gloves
• Disinfectant wipes
• Paper towel
• Plastic bucket
• Disinfectant and hot water
• Carpet stain remover spray
• A sponge
• Old towels

And this stuff is for a few days after to catastrophe:

• Fabric deodorizer (spray) or talcum powder 
• Your vacuum cleaner (and a new bag, if you have a vacuum cleaner that uses bags)

Step 1:

STAY CALM! Put your dog outside. Do not growl at them, they can’t help it that they had an accident, and it is too late anyway, they won’t know what you are yelling about.

If they need to be cleaned up themselves, a proper wash can wait. Just pop on the disposable gloves, then give them a quick wipe-down with baby wipes or a disposable cloth, then bag and bin the gloves and the wipes.

Then wash your hands with disinfectant soap and hot water, and use a nail brush. Just in case.

Step 2:

Cordon off the area so that people and pets cannot walk through the poop zone and potentially spread it further.

Step 3:

Fill up your plastic bucket with hot water about three-quarters full and pour in a good slug of disinfectant. 

Step 4:

Take your emergency poop kit to the affected area.

Put on your long rubber gloves.

Use your hands to scoop and scrape as much of the liquid poo and you can into the plastic bags. As gross as this sounds, you do not want to be washing it into your carpet, so you need to remove as much as you can this way.

Use the disinfectant wipes to wipe your gloved hands, then chuck these in the poop bag. 

Take this outside and bin it – get someone to open the door for you or use your elbow to open the door!

Step 5:

Use the paper towel to absorb as much of the poop out of the carpet pile and bag it in one of your plastic bags. 

This may take several times. Try and blot rather than wipe to avoid spreading the muck. 

Step 6: 

Once you are satisfied you have removed as much of the poop as you can, then you can set to actually cleaning the carpet.

Spray the affected area with the carpet stain remover formulated for pet stains.

Use the sponge to gently and mop up the stain.

Repeat until the carpet looks like its original color.

Wring out the sponge in the bucket of hot water and disinfectant. You may need to refill this with fresh water and disinfectant if it gets mucky.

Step 7: 

Use the old towels to blot dry the carpet – DO NOT RUB!

Step 8:

Chuck the sponge in the bags with the other muck then bin it.

Disinfect the bucket, the gloves, and wash the towel in hot water and disinfectant. Put them aside as dog poop items, not to be used again for any other purpose! (You can always label them later.)

WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN!

Step 9:

Once you are satisfied you have cleaned the area then leave it cordoned off and open up windows or turn on ceiling fans to speed up the drying process.

Step 10: 

In a few days, once the carpet is dry, spray some deodorizer on the area and air again, or shake talcum powder onto the affected area and let it sit for a little while. This will help absorb the smells. Then vacuum it off. You will need to change the vacuum bag if your vacuum has bags, as the smell will travel!

The above steps can be used not only to clean dog poop stains out of carpet but it will work for other pet poop stains too. 

An End Note…

Make sure that you give your pets ample opportunity to go outside to relieve themselves if you do not have a doggy door. It can be easy to forget sometimes!

Accidents happen, and this is never more true than when your dog is a puppy, a senior dog, or is unwell.

NEVER rub your dog’s nose in its mess in an attempt to punish them or get them to stop doing it – this will just make the animal anxious and potentially make the problem worse.

Pet owners can agree that to live with pets indoors means that sometimes you have to accept that your home will never be perfect, and that stains are just a part of life.

Oh, and don’t forget to give your dog a bath if they need one!

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