How To Remove Cat Vomit Stains From Carpet

Cat puke can be a mess. Cats always seem to throw up in the most visible places. Their vomit can be quite troublesome to clean. In addition to stomach bile, there can also be dyes from their food. If not caught in the act, the stain can easily set into your carpet, rugs or furniture and as a result be more difficult to clean.

There are many ways to clean cat vomit, however not all of them are helpful. Two of the most recommended cleaners are vinegar and ammonia. They are recommended for a number of reasons. They are inexpensive, they are organic and they are usually readily available. Both have an acidic level which helps them break down stains without chemicals. They are unarguably good cleaners. However problems arise when using them in a home with cats. Cat urine, like ammonia and vinegar, is acidic. It also contains some of the same compounds found in the two cleaning agents. This causes a problem because cats urinate based on scent. They are drawn to pee in the same spot. What draws them to the spot is the scent. Because vinegar and ammonia have some of the same odors found in cat urine, you might find your cat sniffing out the spot and going to the bathroom there. Now, in addition to having to deal with a vomit stain, you are also struggling with cat urine stains.

Everyday household cleaning agents are also recommended. Some of them claim to resolve the issue or shout out the spot. However these cleaners can present several problems. The first is the chemical level in such cleaners. They can react to other chemicals used or even to the actual carpet composition. This holds particularly true with cleaners that have oxidizing agents. Oxidization is a chemical process. Often, the chemicals used in carpets react to these oxidizers and can cause discoloration to the carpet. Discoloration can also come from any cleaner that contains bleach. Another issue with these cleaners is that many are soap based. Soap based cleaners can clog the pores of the carpet and trap the stain in it. The soap can also attract dirt. When this happens, it makes the stain look worse than before.

This photo shows cat vomit stains that were cleaned with  a typical household cleaner that is designed to remove stains. You can clearly see that the stain is much larger than a vomit stain. The cleaner actually left marks of it's own all around the stain. It made the carpet look much worse than before the cleaning. Household spray stain removers might be idea in some situations, but they should not be used on carpet for this reason.  

To properly remove stains from cat vomit, or any other types of stain for that matter, Genesis 950 works better than other cleaners. It is a surfactant based cleaner. This means that rather treating a stain with bleach, soap or harmful chemicals, it works with water to be absorbed by the stain. Once absorbed, the 950 alters the structural bonds of the stain. This in turn causes them to break apart from the surface and be rinsed away.

Genesis 950 is sold in concentrate form. To properly use it, mix it with water at a ratio of 1 part Genesis 950 to 7 parts water. This can be increased all the way up to a 50/50 mix depending on the severity of the stain.

Step by Step Directions 

1. Locate the stain and remove any excess particles. In this photo, the hairball was removed and the area was blotted with a paper towel.

2. A closer view shows the stain. Bile and liquid from the digested food can be seen. This stain is on a wool rug, and not the least bit attractive.

3. To clean the area, spray with a mixture of Genesis 950 & water. For this stain, 1/3 of the bottle was filled with Genesis 950 and the remaining 2/3 with water. Spray the area until fully saturated.

4. Allow the mixture to sit on the area for a few minutes. Even without any scrubbing, you can see the difference between this photo and the photo in step 2. The mixture of Genesis 950 and water begins working once it comes in contact with the stain.

5. Using a scrub brush, towel or sponge (as seen here), gently massage the area allowing the mixture to get deep into the carpet and the stained fibers.











6. The effect using Genesis 950 on a stain is visible very quickly and with little effort.












7. Next, rinse the area. Here, a sponge was used to
release fresh water on the area. The 950 will not damage your carpet in any way, but if left in the carpet, it will continue to pull any dirt from the carpet out and upward. Rinsing allows you to get anything flushed out that the 950 has broken down below the surface.






8. The stain is removed and the carpet is cleaned. The spot that is visible in the photo is not a stain, nor is it discoloration. This is simply the wet area on the rug.









9. Allow the area to dry. Use a fan (as seen in the photo), dehumidifier or wet vac to speed up the drying process.

10. After the carpet has dried, you will be able to see the stain is gone. In fact you would never even have known it was there.

On a side note, the stain occurred in them morning. At that time, natural light filled the room and no flash was needed for the photos. The carpet dried throughout the day and by evening when this photo was taken, a flash was needed. As a result, it changed the way the color of the rug appeared on camera.


With Genesis 950 you don't have to live with unsightly stains. You don't have to throw away perfectly good rugs, or replace carpet. Genesis 950 is also safe to use in carpet cleaning machines. Cleaning an entire room can be easy!

In addition to removing pet stains, it can also remove stains caused by other cleaners. Remember the picture from above showing how household cleaners stained a carpet?  Genesis 950 ended up cleaning that as well!

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