Dear Home Ec 101,
My two year old has started potty training. She’s very good at taking off her clothes and getting naked, not so good yet at actually making it to the potty on time. So, I was wondering if you had any brilliant tips for cleaning toddler poop out of carpet? I do not have a wet/dry vacuum or steam cleaner or anything else fancy. Do I need to get some special cleaning product for this job?
Thanks,
Na-Na-Na-Na-Poo-Poo-Head
Ivy says:
I have three cats, a dog, and three kids. If there’s anything I know better than cleaning poo off the floor, I don’t know what it is. Now, if it’s of the solid variety, no problem. Pick up the solid stuff and spray a little Nature’s Miracle
(expensive, but the best) or Kids N Pets
(less expensive, pretty good, but not as fabulous as Nature’s Miracle) on the area, go on with day.
It’s when it’s the not-so-solid variety that it’s kind of a problem. This is the very reason I have mostly laminate floors, I despise cleaning up this kind of poo. Anyway, get a couple of paper towels. Scrape up as much poo as you can. Then get out the Nature’s Miracle or Kids N Pets and SOAK the area. Then take either a nice thick rag (This is why I cloth diapered my kids. I have the best rags in town.) or else some paper towels and BLOT the area up. If it doesn’t all come out at first, repeat the process.
Have..er…fun.
Submit your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com
Ah man, do I remember those days. One of the things we have to work on is 1) not undressing 2) redressing if we do. Of course, toddlers have a mind of their own…
One thing that helped me was we planned on moving after we were done potty training. We had two kids potty training at once. Once they were done, we put the house on the market, and agreed to have the carpets professionally cleaned, or that much could go into escrow for the new owner to purchase new rugs.
Of course not everyone can afford to move after potty training.
I don’t have any advise other than try pullups. My kids would wear those. It does take longer to potty train with pullups though. If you can wait until summer, do like my cousin did. Her boys wore her t’shirts and nothing else. They trained in a week and because they could stay outside, the accidents were in the yard.
This is a really hard time to train, because of the amount of clothes we have to wear to stay warm.
I kept handy: a bottle of bleach (already tested my carpet to make sure it wouldn’t harm it), paper towels, a small cheap carpet cleaner (under a hundred at walmart/lowes), and some fabrezee.
and warning cleaning up this kind of mess doesn’t stop at potty training as in this scenario:
3 am, sleep walking 10 year old with an upset stomach, and the toilet lid down.
he woke up quickly but only after the fact, i have a weak stomach, luckily he doesn’t, so he cleaned it up, took a shower and went back to bed.
Oh please do disinfect after cleaning up the mess. A good soaking with Lysol spray should do it. If you’re left with yellow stains, try hydrogen peroxide (do a hidden test spot first).
My vote? Move. Or buy new carpets. But also the enzyme type cleaner they sell for cleaning up after pets seems to work too.
Oh, by the way, I tagged you on a meme post on my blog.
You are welcome. 😉
Participation is not required, but appreciated.
Six Random Things About Me
I love the way that you are so practical and deal with just about every problem your readers throw at you. And great that you tell it like it is!
Diane in England
Oh my, I am about to start potty training my boy… After reading this – not looking forward to it…
Disinfecting after this type of mess is very important. A method that is just as effective as Lysol, but much less toxic (especially around little ones) is to use white vinegar made from grain, not petroleum (check the label). White vinegar is an excellent disinfectant. I also add a few drops of pure essential oil of lavender, which is also anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial. The vinegar odor will disappear as it dries and the essential oil smells wonderful. I also use this with the addition of baking soda to clean my toilets, shower, and the rest of my bathroom. Everything ends up sparkling, the bathroom is filled with a wonderful scent, and again, as clean/disinfected just as well as chemical cleaners or bleach and is not toxic to my family, nor the environment. Just something to consider.
Jennifer