How to Clean Mouse Droppings From Carpet Safely (+ Prevention Tips!)

Imagine this: you’re going about your day when suddenly you notice small, round brown balls all over your carpet. Upon closer inspection, you notice that they’re mouse droppings. Yuck!

To get mouse droppings out of your carpet, you’ll need to take a few careful precautions. Then, ventilate, disinfect, and steam clean your carpet to get rid of the mouse feces.

Precautions Before Cleaning Mouse Droppings from Carpet

Mouse droppings can carry all kinds of trouble. (I’ll just say two words: hantavirus and actual PLAGUE.) So you’ll want to arm yourself well!

Start by grabbing your gloves and a dust mask. Then, take these precautions to stay safe during the process. 

Ventilate the Room

Before you start cleaning your carpets, open all the doors and windows in the room. Allow the space to air out for at least half an hour before you start cleaning up the mouse poop.

Ventilating the room helps reduce the number of particles that float around during the cleaning procedure. And, it makes the atmosphere healthier for you to breathe while you clean.

Wear Gloves

You need to protect your hands while cleaning up the mouse droppings, especially if you have a cut on your hands. Before you start cleaning, put on a pair of rubber, vinyl, or latex gloves.

Once you finish handling the mouse droppings, wash the gloves. Then, dispose of the gloves and wash your hands.

Don’t Disturb the Droppings

Many people think they should sweep or vacuum the droppings. However, this can spread disease much more quickly. 

Instead, don’t disturb the droppings. Spray them with a disinfectant and let them sit before you start cleaning them up. 

Double Bag the Droppings 

When you start cleaning, dispose of urine, rodent feces, mice poop, and dead mice in a plastic bag. Properly seal the bag, then double bag and seal it again before disposing of them.

Steam the Hell Out of Everything!

The viruses that mice spread are airborne, meaning that you need to steam your upholstery and your carpets to get rid of the disease. Steam cleaning also helps get the smell out of your furniture and upholstery. 

How to Clean Mouse Droppings Out of Carpet

Now that you’ve taken these precautions, it’s time for you to get to work. Don your rubber gloves, grab some plastic bags, and let’s get to work!

Step #1: Apply Disinfectant

With your gloves on and the room properly ventilated, grab a disinfectant spray. You can check your carpet’s care tag or owner’s manual to see which disinfectant is safe for you to use.

Add the disinfectant to a spray bottle. Spray the entire carpet with the disinfectant. Now, leave the solution on the carpet for at least five minutes so that it can disinfect the room.

Step #2: Pick Up the Droppings 

Now that you’ve disinfected the room, it’s time to start manually picking up the droppings. The disinfectant should have loosened the hardened droppings from the carpet so that it’s easier for you to pick them up. 

Using a paper towel, carefully pick the droppings off of the carpet. Place them in a sealable plastic bag and close it tightly as soon as the droppings are inside. 

Once you’ve gathered all the mouse droppings in the room, place the sealed plastic bag into a trash can that has a tight-fitting lid. Take the trash can outside so that it isn’t in the home. 

Step #3: Wash Your Gloves and Hands

Now, head to the bathroom and wash your gloves using antibacterial soap. Make sure to wash them for at least 20 seconds before disposing of the gloves in the trash can with the mouse droppings. 

Then, wash your hands. Once again, use antibacterial soap and wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. 

Step #4: Steam Clean the Carpet

The last step of cleaning the carpet is to use a steam cleaner. This helps ensure that there are no lingering viruses or bacteria on your carpets. 

What’s great about steam cleaning is that they have an onboard heater that heats the water. The machine will heat the water to a temperature that kills bacteria and germs. 

Make sure that you choose a steam cleaner that has a nozzle and pad that works for your carpet. Then, use the machine over the entire carpet, moving from one wall to another.

How to Prevent Mouse Droppings on Your Carpets

Now that you’ve cleaned your carpets, it’s time to focus on preventative methods. This will help you avoid running into the problem in the future!

Here are a few tips for keeping mice away from peeing and pooping on your carpet!

Keep Food Far Away

Get rid of any food sources that are close to your carpets. If you have any food items sitting out on counters, put them in airtight containers and store them in a cabinet or in the refrigerator.

Regularly Clean the Carpet

Mice love dirty environments. And, mold and food stains on your carpets can attract mice and lead to droppings on your carpets. 

Regularly clean your carpets to avoid these issues. And, if you notice any stains, tackle them quickly to avoid them sinking into the carpet and causing bigger problems.

Seal the Home

Holes and cracks in your walls can let mice in and lead to problems. Fill any cracks and holes in your home quickly to prevent mice from getting in.

In addition, add vermin guards on your doors and windows. This stop mice from getting in the way that you get into your own home. 

Set Traps

Install baits, mouse glue, and other areas around the home where you notice mice. Just make sure not to put down rat poison as part of your traps. 

Rat poison can cause mice to die in obscure, out-of-sight places in the home. That then leads to a stench filling the area and leading to a whole other brand of problems. 

Install Carpet Protectors

Carpet protectors are a great way to keep mice at bay. This prevents your carpets from becoming infected and makes it easier for you to keep mice droppings away. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Disinfect Carpet After Rats?

Make a mixture of 1 parts bleach to 10 parts water and spray it onto your carpets. Allow it to sit for ten minutes before cleaning off the carpets. 

Does Vinegar Disinfect Mouse Droppings?

If you don’t want to use chemicals to disinfect your carpet, vinegar is a great choice. Spray distilled white vinegar on your carpets to disinfect them and keep germs at bay.