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“Miracle” is a pretty strong word for a cleaning product, but in this case, there’s some truth in it. Nature’s Miracle has removed stains I thought we’d have to live with until we replaced the carpet.
Eventually, all dogs will vomit or have an accident that leaves urine or feces on your floor. If you have male dogs, neutered or not, they may deliberately mark an area when you’re not looking. Our long-haired cats have always unloaded hairballs at least a couple times a year, even with an anti-hairball diet. None of our beloved pets ever seem to pick a hard-surfaced floor that doesn’t stain. It’s always the carpet or a favorite rug. Sometimes, it’s the furniture.
I’ve used a couple of products to remove pet stains, but the best one for us has been Nature’s Miracle. The trick is to use enough of it to saturate the stain and be patient. Start by lifting or absorbing as much of the liquid or solid material with paper towels. Then give the stained area a thorough spray with Nature’s Miracle. I recommend keeping a filled plastic bottle with a sturdy sprayer under the sink as preparation for the inevitable.
Wait 5 or 10 minutes for the solution to work. Scrub and lift the residue with paper towels. Then really saturate the rug or carpet with the stain remover. Pour it on from your opened spray bottle. It has to penetrate the fibers and get all the way to the bottom of the stain to completely remove every trace of stain and odor. If you don’t do this, the stain and odor will seem to come back. Truth is, you just didn’t get it all.
Now, be patient. Leave it for several hours or overnight. Then, take a brush with long, semi-stiff bristles and work it down into the carpet fibers. I have found that a largish stencil brush is absolutely perfect for this task.
Finally, I wring out a clean, large microfiber towel in hot water and scrub the area, rotating the towel surface several times to scrub and lift off the dissolved stain residue. Wait until the area has thoroughly dried and re-evaluate. If you can still see the stain, be confident that it will keep fading until it’s either gone or barely discernible. Give the solution time to completely dry and do it’s job. Some very stubborn stains, such as regurgitated dog food that has a strong color, or the dreaded bile heave that follows the ingestion of grass, may take one more application. I’ve also learned from experience that stains keep fading over a period of time, and even the most hopeless-looking stain, discovered long after the fact, can disappear for good.
The biggest drawback of pet-stain removal products is their cost and the amount of product required to attack a deeply-embedded stain. The price can vary wildly, depending on where you purchase it. The best price I’ve ever gotten on Nature’s Miracle is this morning (yes, disaster struck during the night in the living room, next to a tiled hearth that remained pristine). I picked up a gallon jug at PetSmart for $19.00 with my saver card and a $5-off special. The last time I bought a jug of NM, it was $30 “on sale” at a Mom and Pop pet supply store in our neighborhood.
If you see an “original” price of $59 or more, be skeptical and don’t pay it. You can find Nature’s Miracle at lower prices if you shop around. If you live in the boonies, Amazon carries gallon jugs for about $50, with free Amazon Prime shipping. If you plan ahead, there are occasional special deals on Nature’s Miracle at the big box stores. Stock up, because eventually, you’ll need it if you have dogs. It also works great with hairball stains, although there is a special “cat” version of the product.
Other pluses for Nature’s Miracle are that it’s safe to use, evaporates without residue of its own, and smells pretty decent. You don’t need rubber gloves to use it, and it won’t poison your pets. It does not smell like something to eat, so pets avoid licking it, especially if they get a good whiff.
If you have a Bissell or other small carpet cleaning machine, you can, theoretically, fill it 50/50 with Nature’s Miracle and use it to scrub a larger area. We’ve never done this, but eventually follow up with a good deep cleaning of the surrounding and stained area with regular carpet cleaner.
The best part of using this product is that it takes the stress out of discovering accidents, and even at $19 or $30 a gallon, it’s a lot cheaper than replacing carpet that is otherwise in good condition. A gallon jug with occasional use can last a couple of years. If you have several big disasters, such as a large dog with 3 a.m. diarrhea and a closed door, it could take a quart or more of cleaner and some significant elbow grease to remove the stain completely. We have 3 dogs and a cat, so Nature’s Miracle is always ready in a sturdy spray bottle under the sink.
We’ve always made a practice of being calm and matter-of-fact when cleaning up a “toxic dump” because your pet may need to be cleaned up, too. You don’t want them to fear or dread the bathtub. It’s a lot easier if you can shower them off without a big fuss, before any stuck-on residue has a chance to cause irritation or stain your furniture.
