Removing 1+ year old cat vomit stains

Hey all.  I've been looking everywhere and trying virtually everything to remove a pretty big stain on my carpet.  My cat, who likes to vomit, unleashed a beast of a puke at least 1 year ago.  For some reason, we just got lazy and didn't try to clean it.  Until now...  Since we're moving from our apartment in a couple of days, we REALLY need to get this out.  I do have a pretty decent Hoover steam vac, so any kind of solution that would work best?  It doesn't matter if it's a homemade recipe or not.  The lower the price the better.  But it doesn't matter too much at this point.. At this point, I'm thinking it's too late. I've tried vinegar, baking soda, using oxyclean, your standard carpet cleaning solution that came with the machine, etc. And nothing seems to work.

Thanks!

Of the items you have tried, that Oxyclean was probably the best option. You could try a color-safe bleach and tide....it probably will not wipe it out, but at this point it looks like it would be worth the attempt.

Without chasing your tail, your best bet is to hire a professional cleaner as he will access to chemicals and equipment that you do not. You could get the chemicals, but you would spend more due to the size of containers than to just hire someone.

Sometimes it isn't worth the expense, time, and hassle to tackle a job yourself.....I have a shed that is proof of that as it cost me twice the amount it should have.

Thanks! Last question: Since the rest of our carpet is decent (besides normal wear & tear), do you know if most apartment places will hire a professional to attempt to remove those stains, or do they typically rip up the entirety of the carpet and we're billed for the new carpet? I ask because I assume the apartment complex cannot cut out the red puke stains and replace with new carpet, right?

I've worked for several apartment managers and they have to get the rooms cleaned, but they rarely pay for stain removals. Truth is, most will never return a security deposit regardless of what you do anyway.

If the rest of the carpet is in good general appearance, it might be possible to cut out that bad section and replace it. It isn't very hard, but again, not really a DIY project for the first time.

I had one renter of a house that destroyed the carpet completely and I mean completely! They were just out the security deposit when they walked away....got off cheap if you ask me.

I would pass it by your property manager and see what they are willing to accept and what the options are. They may have a guy who is very good at stains....I was one of them and saved a lot carpets.

Thanks for everything! You've been huge.

Good Luck

This is typical....I had a lady tell me she tried and tried to get some spots up (vomit, urine etc) and when I told her what she used probably set it in....she said....I dont think your stuff is any better than mine!.....well, where the cat had his issue partially on a sofa and then under it....she only cleaned what she could see/reach....I moved the sofa and removed 100% of what she couldnt reach. LOL you would of had better luck to call someone prior to you touching it.....you may have ruined any chance of getting it out. Im not trying to be mean but I hear this almost daily and they are disappointed when "we" cant fix what they did. My point is...in the future call the pros.

Listen to these pros^........and don't touch it, and call a pro.

If not they're likely to charge you for replacement for all carpeted rooms, so there goes your deposit, Like Milspec said.

Davey...he already tried something I think.

Yeah, I already tried several things. I was about to try the ole hydrogen peroxide trick with using a towel and an iron, but didn't want to make things worse (if that's possible...).

The peroxide has already been tried with the Oxyclean....that is what it produces.

At this point, it is probably too late if that color is as red in reality. You could try a wall paper steamer and damp dish towel along with some peroxide/ammonia mix, but then you would be ready to sign up to start working for Stanley Steamer on your weekends.

Really, that dish towel and steamer is worth a shot if you don't want to hire a pro. If you do hire a pro, don't choose a franchise....they will just do all the things that you just did except you get to write a check.

Even if you had not tried anything on the stains, it still wouldn't come out even if you call a pro, a couple reasons, one it's been sitting there for a long time, two it sits on high traffic areas where you step on the stains a gazillion times ( when you have dirt / soils scratched the fibers, they are scarred, and the stains will fill in those scratches and will not separate ), third reason is sunlight had been hitting it and that is the worst for pet stains.

Sorry mate, I would agree with Rob ( Milspec ) and talk to your property management to see what you can come up with.
Some states have "wear and tear" clause on rental properties, you might want to look into that as well, in CA it's 3 years, then you're not liable for minor blemishes on floors and walls, stains can be considered minor blemishes and you might getaway with it, but there are also a lot of bad landlords out there, to be fair though, they're bad because they have to deal with a lot of bad tenants, lol.
Anyway good luck :-)

I would say those spots most likely need to be cut out and patched.

That vomit is extremely acidic and like dp says maybe has been baking in the sun