How to Get Rid of Dog Smell in a NYC Apartment
13.07.2026
To get rid of dog smell in the house, treat the smell at its source: wash your dog's bedding and your fabrics on hot, vacuum every soft surface with a HEPA filter, wipe hard floors and baseboards, and move stale air out with a window fan or box fan. In a small apartment, fabric and trapped air hold odor longer than the floor does.
What you'll need
- An enzymatic cleaner made for pet odor (breaks down urine and organic residue; read the label)
- A vacuum with a HEPA filter and an upholstery attachment
- Unscented liquid laundry detergent and access to a hot-water wash
- Microfiber cloths and a bucket
- A box fan or window fan
- Baking soda (for pre-vacuum deodorizing on carpet and upholstery)
- Rubber gloves
- A washable cover for your dog's bed, if it doesn't have one
Step by step
- Strip and wash all the fabric your dog touches. Dog beds, blankets, throw pillow covers, couch cushion covers, and the corner of the rug they nap on. Wash on the hottest setting the care label allows with unscented detergent, and dry fully — damp fabric re-smells fast.
- Sprinkle baking soda on carpet and upholstery. Leave it 15 to 30 minutes on rugs, cushions, and the mattress-side of a dog bed. It pulls odor out of fibers before you lift it.
- Vacuum every soft surface with the HEPA filter. Slow passes over the rug, then switch to the upholstery tool for the couch, chairs, and along the baseboard edge where fur and dander pack in.
- Spot-treat any accident zones with enzymatic cleaner. Saturate the spot per the label, let it sit for the full dwell time listed, then blot — don't scrub. Enzymes need contact time to work.
- Wipe hard floors, baseboards, and low walls. Damp microfiber along the floor, baseboards, and the wall behind the food bowls, where splatter and body oils build up at dog height.
- Wash food and water bowls and their mat. A sour bowl mat is a hidden odor source in a tight kitchen.
- Move the air. Put a box fan in an open window blowing outward for 20 to 30 minutes to push stale air out. If your window doesn't open, run a fan toward the bathroom exhaust or hallway to break up the still air.
What NOT to do
Don't soak hardwood or laminate floors — standing water swells the boards and warps laminate seams, and the smell of water-damaged wood is worse than dog. Skip vinegar or enzymatic cleaner on unsealed stone or waxed wood; the acid etches and the moisture strips the finish. Don't drape wet laundry or a damp dog bed over a hot steam radiator to speed-dry it — scorched fabric and radiator paint create their own stink, and it's a burn risk in a small room. And don't just mask everything with a heavy air freshener or plug-in; you're layering fragrance over the source, which reads as "dog plus perfume" within a day.
When to call a pro
DIY handles surface odor and routine buildup. But if the smell keeps coming back after a full clean, it's usually soaked into something you can't reach — the carpet pad, the subfloor under a rug, or deep in a sofa's foam — and that needs equipment a renter doesn't own. Old accident spots that have set for months, or odor that lingers after a previous tenant's pet, are also hard to fully clear by hand. If you've done the steps above and your apartment still smells like dog, book apartment cleaning with CleanWhale and we'll do a deep pass on the soft surfaces and floors.
FAQ
How do I keep my small apartment from smelling like dog day to day?
Wash the dog bed cover weekly, vacuum soft surfaces two or three times a week, wipe the food area, and crack a window daily for airflow. In a small space, a short routine beats a big monthly clean because odor has nowhere to disperse.
Does baking soda actually remove dog smell?
Baking soda absorbs odor from fabric and carpet fibers when you leave it on for 15 to 30 minutes and then vacuum it up. It works as a deodorizer on soft surfaces, but it won't fix a urine spot soaked into the pad — that's what the enzymatic cleaner is for.
My window doesn't open. How do I air out the apartment?
Run a fan toward your bathroom's exhaust vent or an open interior door to keep air moving, and run the bathroom fan while you clean. Moving air, even without an open window, keeps odor from settling back into fabric.
Can I use an enzymatic cleaner on my couch?
Check the upholstery care tag first. Test a hidden patch, and follow the product label for the fabric type and dwell time. On delicate or "dry-clean only" fabric, stick to vacuuming and spot-blotting rather than saturating it.
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