How to Clean up Dog Diarrhea
Oh no! Your dog has an upset stomach, and now there is loose stool all over your floor. It is never fun to find this surprise, but you have to take care of it.
Learning how to clean up dog diarrhea will ensure it doesn’t stain, leave a smell, or make other family members sick.
You will discover the best ways to clean up the mess, see what materials can help, and know why your puppy might be having bathroom issues.
Cleaning up Diarrhea
You will want to get some helpful cleaning supplies to clean up the mess. Gloves, rags, paper towels, a scraping tool, bristol brush (a toothbrush or hand brush), and cleaning solutions will make the clean-up easier.
Plastic bags are essential, either trash bags or grocery bags. You can use them to throw out the waste. Make sure they don’t have holes.
For all styles of flooring, you want to wear gloves to protect your hands. You may also want plastic bags on your shoes, depending on how covered the floor is with the mess.
On Tile and Hardwood Floors
Out of all styles of floor, hard surfaces tend to be easier to clean. Start by putting on your gloves and attempt to pick up as much of the feces as possible with a paper towel or poop bags.
After you get as much as you can, spray the cleaning solution of your choice on the area. If the waste is fresh, you can start wiping the site right away. If the excrement is older, you may want to let the solution sit on the spot for about ten minutes.
Wipe the spot down entirely until you have gotten rid of the stain. It also helps to see the rag or paper towel stop changing color when wiping the area. If the mess has spread to cracks in the floor, the bristol brush can be helpful.
On Carpets
Messes on carpets can be tough to clean. You’re going to start with putting on your gloves again, and then you want to pick up as much as you can with your paper towel. On carpet, you want to ensure that you don’t press the waste into the mat more on this step.
After getting as much as you can out, you may want to attempt to scrape up even more with a scraping tool. If the mess is still wet, it’s best to skip this step. If it has dried, this will be much easier.
Next, spray your cleaner on the carpet. If it is fresh, you can start right away. If it is older, you want to let the spray work on the spot for at least 10 minutes. Then take your rag or paper towel and dab at the location. Don’t rub.
Dab at the spot until the stain is entirely out and the towel is clear when you pick it up off the mark. Once that is done, dry the area and make sure the stain doesn’t return when dried. If it does, repeat the process until you can’t see the stain.
Store-Bought Cleaners
If you buy your cleaner, make sure that the product is safe from harsh chemicals. Often the mess will be in a place that your dog frequents; If you use regular chemicals, it can make your dog sick. Using natural cleaning solutions is better.
There are many dog- and kid-safe cleaners on the market that do a great job. You may want to test a few out to find the best. If you have never used the cleaner on the surface, try a little of it in a corner to ensure it doesn’t stain.
Make Your Own Cleaner
There are plenty of DIY cleaners you can make that will take care of the mess. Vinegar is a favorite home clean. Using one cup of vinegar with one cup of hot water can make an excellent cleaning solution.
You can also use a few drops of your dish soap with a gallon of hot water to make a cleaning solution. Dawn dish soap is so safe that it is used directly on wildlife during oil spill clean-ups. You can also use hydrogen peroxide as a safe and gentle cleaning option.
If you are looking for cleaners for the stain itself, shaving cream, baking soda, and soda water can help clean the mess, but they won’t help with the smell or bacteria.
Sanitize for Safety!
Removing the stain and smell is great, but you also want to ensure that you sanitize the spot. Excrement is covered in bacteria and other harmful substances. If you don’t have some kind of disinfectant, nasty things can grow on surfaces exposed to waste.
Make sure that your store-bought cleaner says it kills germs. For home cleaners, you will know if you added something that kills germs. If not, you may want to add one more part to your clean-up.
For carpet and most tiles, you will want to add some alcohol to a rag and rub the area down. You don’t want to use too much alcohol for it; a little will do fine.
If you have a hardwood floor, you will want to get a solution to disinfect wood while not destroying the varnish. Alcohol and bleach may be too harsh for the finish, and you could make a mess of the floor.
Cleaning Your Equipment
After the clean-up, you still have the things you used to clean the spot. Some people suggest throwing the brushes and rags away. This method is an acceptable option, but if you want to reuse the tools, that shouldn’t be a problem if you take care of them right.
Wash the brushes in a chlorine solution. Use about a half cup of bleach for a gallon of hot water. Let the brush sit in this mixture for about ten minutes. Make sure you move the bristles around so that the liquid gets everywhere. Then take the brush out and let it fully dry. Rinse it well before the subsequent use.
For the rag, you can hand wash it to get the waste off of it, then put it in your washing machine on a cycle with hot water. It would be best to clean all buckets to make sure you remove all the waste before you put them away.
What’s Wrong with the Pup?
Dog’s stomachs can be pretty fickle. Sometimes you will know pretty quickly what you gave your dog that made them sick. Other times it might be more of a mystery. Try to avoid giving your dog foods with spices or preservatives, both of these can have detrimental effects on pet digestion.
If you don’t know what’s wrong with your dog, you should take them to the veterinarian. They may be able to help you figure out the cause of diarrhea and help prevent future problems. Sometimes it might be through medication, but often it’s through diet changes.
As a dog gets older, they may have more trouble controlling their bowels. Sometimes they will defecate when they stand up because they have to push muscles harder to move around.
The extra strain can cause cases of diarrhea that you may not be able to stop. Putting down pads where your dog likes to lay down can help with these clean-ups.
Chronically Sick Dogs
Unfortunately, some dogs just have weaker stomachs than others. I once had a puppy that would experience diarrhea anytime he ate even a little people food. We tried to ensure he didn’t get things, but it didn’t always work.
Eventually, we figured out that our buddy had to stay in specific rooms when we left, we could put out mats that he could use if he found himself in an emergency, and the clean-up became much more manageable.
Mat training your dog isn’t ideal, but if your dog is constantly having stomach problems, it may be a way to help both of you avoid the messy issues.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to clean up dog diarrhea is never fun, but it is necessary sometimes. When you use these tips and tricks, you may find the clean-up a little easier and more manageable. Hopefully, your dog’s stomach gets better, and you won’t have to perform the task too often.
Remember that your dog probably didn’t have much choice in this matter, and try not to get too mad at them. However, if it starts to become a habit, there may be other training issues you have to address. Good luck with the mess.
