Do you have a dog that likes to pee on your patio? If so, you’re not alone. Many homeowners and apartment renters face this problem.
Luckily, there are a few ways to get rid of the smell and prevent it from happening in the future.
In this article, we will discuss some of the best methods for getting rid of dog pee smell on your patio. We’ll also provide some tips for taking care of your furry friend!
What Causes Dog Pee Smell?
If you have a dog that likes to relieve itself in your backyard or on your patio often, there’s a good chance that your patio will start to smell like dog pee. Even if you rinse it away every time or use a cleaner, sometimes it builds up to the point where you can smell a constant lingering odor of urine.
This isn’t exactly pleasant to most people, and if you’ve just moved into a new place and the patio smells like pee, there’s a good chance the previous owners had a dog.
Unfortunately, the smell never just goes away, and if you’re planning to have guests over for a backyard barbecue, you probably want to make sure they don’t smell it too. That can ruin anyone’s appetite!
Don’t worry too much though—there’s always a solution, and with a little effort, your patio will smell fresh and clean once again.
How to Get Rid of Dog Pee Smell
There are several ways that you can get rid of the dog pee smell on your patio. You can use a specialized cleaner, soda, vinegar, or even salt!
The easiest way is obviously to just use water, but that typically needs to be done immediately after your dog has relieved itself on the patio. Otherwise the pee will dry and stick to the concrete, along with the smell.
1 – Use Water First
Before you break out any cleaner, powder, or any other type of chemical, try using water first. Don’t just pour a little bit of water over the surface area though. If you have a garden hose with a nozzle, turn your water on and spray your patio off.
Tighten the nozzle so that the water pressure is as high as it will go, and spray the surface of your patio. If you have an enclosed patio with carpet or something similar, obviously it’s not a good idea to soak your floors with a garden hose. We’ll cover what to do for those situations a little later.
2 – Apply Cleaner
Not all cleaners will be suitable for outdoor use. This is important especially if you have a garden or grass that you want to avoid killing. Even if not, using chemical cleaners outdoors is simply bad for the environment as chemicals leach into the soil.
That being said, you still need to use something stronger than water if you want to get rid of the dog pee smell on your patio. Look for eco-friendly or natural cleaners that are specifically designed for outdoor use. These will be much safer for you, your family, and the environment.
If you can’t find anything like that, white vinegar is a good alternative as it’s all-natural and won’t harm your plants. Simply mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and apply it to the surface of your patio.
Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it away with water from your hose.
3 – Use Baking Soda
Another option is to use baking soda. This is a great choice if you have grass or plants near your patio as it’s completely safe for them. Baking soda is also great at absorbing odors, so it will help to eliminate the dog pee smell from your patio.
Simply drizzle a mixture of baking soda and water over the surface of your patio and let it sit for a few minutes before giving it a scrub and wiping it up. Finish it off by hosing down your patio, and you should be good to go!
4 – Use Salt
If you want to try something a little different, salt is another option that you can use. This works in a similar way to baking soda as it helps to absorb odors. It’s also super inexpensive and easy to find!
It’s important to note though that salt will only work if you’re cleaning up immediately after your dog has relieved itself on the patio.
Just pour salt directly over the spot where your dog peed, and the salt will absorb everything! Then all you have to do is sweep it up and toss it out. You can always polish things off with a quick hosing down of the patio with your garden hose (we can’t emphasize enough how useful that garden hose is).
5 – Use Special Urine Deodorizer
This should be a household staple for all dog owners. Urine deodorizer is specifically designed to eliminate the odor of dog pee, and it’s super easy to use.
You can find this at most pet stores, or even online. Just look for something that’s safe for both indoor and outdoor use. All you have to do is apply it according to the instructions on the bottle, typically by spraying it on the surface of your patio.
Let it sit for a few minutes before giving it a scrub and wiping everything up. Finish things off with a quick rinse from your garden hose, and your patio should be as good as new! This is great for both old and new stains, so make sure to keep some on hand at all times.
How to Get Rid of Dog Pee Smell on Enclosed Patio
If you have a screened-in porch or an enclosed patio, you obviously can’t just go spraying everything down with a hose. For those situations, you’ll need to be a little more careful.
Oftentimes, these areas have wood, tile, or even carpet floors, so special care needs to be taken to ensure no damage is done while removing the smell of dog pee.
Find the Source
The first thing you should do in an enclosed space is find the source. The last thing you probably want to do is to smell even more dog pee, but you’re going to have to use your nose to locate the spot where it smells the worst so that you can start your cleaning process there.
Create a Cleaning Mixture
The best cleaning mixture for removing dog pee odor is a water, vinegar, and baking soda mix. To make it, get a clean spray bottle and add one cup of water, one cup of white vinegar, and two teaspoons of baking soda.
Close the lid to the bottle and shake well to mix the ingredients together. Once you’ve got your cleaner, simply spray the affected area thoroughly.
Grab a scrub brush if you are spraying carpet, and scrub the cleaning solution into the carpet. This will help the solution penetrate more deeply into the stain.
Allow the cleaning solution to sit for at least five minutes, and then use a towel or paper towels to dry the area. For hard surfaces, wipe to dry, and for carpet surfaces, blot dry.
Apply a Urine Deodorizer
Remember that handy urine deodorizer? If your homemade cleaning mixture doesn’t do the trick, then it’s time to break out the big guns. A urine deodorizer will almost always eliminate odors after you’ve already tried to clean them up with other means.
Just make sure you use one with active enzymes. These will target and get rid of anything that smells, leaving your patio smelling fresh and new.
Make sure that you follow the instructions carefully on the packaging.
Use Fans
Once you’ve cleaned the source of the smell up, you’re going to want to eliminate any lingering smells from the area. An easy way to do this is with fans. This will help to dissipate the odor and make it less concentrated.
If you have any fans, set them up so that they’re blowing outward and turn them on to the highest setting. If you don’t have any fans, open all of the doors and windows in your enclosed patio so that fresh air can come in.
How to Prevent Your Dog From Peeing on the Patio
There are a few things that you can do to try and prevent your dog from peeing on your patio in the first place. Of course, this isn’t always possible, but it’s worth a shot!
Clean it up Immediately
The first and most obvious thing that you can do is to clean it up immediately after they go. This will help to remove any traces of urine that might attract them back to the same spot.
If you have an enclosed patio, make sure to open up the doors or windows so that the area can air out.
You might also want to consider using a fan if it’s particularly hot outside as the heat can amplify smells. In any case, cleaning up the accident immediately after it happens is the best way to ensure the spot doesn’t smell later on, as the pee won’t have any time to set and leave an odor or a stain.
Use a Dog Pee Repellent
There are a number of dog pee repellents on the market that you can use to try and deter your dog from urinating on your patio. These usually come in the form of a spray or granules that you can sprinkle around the perimeter of your patio.
Be sure to follow the instructions carefully when using these products, as each one is a little bit different.
Use a Doggie Door
If you have an enclosed patio, one of the best things that you can do is to install a doggie door. This will give your dog easy access to the outdoors without having to go through the main door of your house, and it will also give them a designated spot to relieve themselves.
If you don’t want to install a doggie door, you can try training your dog to use a specific spot in your yard instead of your patio. Sometimes going outside isn’t always an option though.
For those who live in big cities with apartments, it’s not always possible to take your dog down 15 floors to go pee. In these cases, you should try using training pads either on the floor of your bathroom or on your balcony.
You’ll have to change them out regularly, but it’s much easier than cleaning up pee every time your dog has to go if it can’t make it outside in time! It’s an extra expense, but it gives your dog a place to go, which also helps them feel more secure and at home.
Consider Training
If all else fails, you might want to consider taking your dog to obedience school or training it yourself. This way, you can work on teaching your dog not to go to the bathroom in certain areas of your home, such as the patio.
Although this takes some time and patience, it’s often the best way to get your dog to stop going to the bathroom inside.
The most important thing to remember is that you should never scold or discourage your dog whenever it goes to the bathroom somewhere it shouldn’t have. To your dog, it doesn’t know the difference between going inside or outside.
By discouraging your dog when it goes in the wrong place, you’re teaching your dog that it’s bad to go to the bathroom because they don’t know the difference.
Instead, use positive reinforcement. Every time your dog goes outside, give it extra positive reinforcement, whether it’s pets and scratches or a small treat.
Over time, your dog will learn that it gets treats when it goes outside, so your dog will end up waiting until it can go outside! Try to be more attentive to when your dog has to go, and get it outside as often as possible.
Final Thoughts
No one likes dealing with dog pee smell, but it’s an inevitable part of being a pet owner. By taking some proactive steps and using the right products, you can get rid of the dog pee smell on the patio for good!
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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