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Properly Treating Pet Accidents

& Dispelling A Few Misconceptions Along The Way

Why Pets Have Accidents
As a pet owner, it would be unrealistic to expect your pet to never have the occasional accident indoors. Accidents can occur because your pet just got caught short (happens to the best of us!), he's marking his territory or for anxiety reasons. However, if you notice a pet which has always been clean before is now messing indoors, you may have a problem on your hands.

Pets will sometimes change their habits if a new pet has joined the home or if they are pretty unsettled - such as times just before you move home or in the early days of moving into a new home. The best way to get through this is with gentle, firm and consistent house-training - and knowing just how to clean pet urine accidents.

Occasionally - and mainly in the case of male dogs and cats, neutering fixes this problem as it is to do with marking territory and dogs and cats that are neutered don't seem that interested in this particular activity any longer. If none of the above applies, your pet may have an underlying medical reason for their behavior - and wondering how to clean pet urine may really be the least of your problems.

Even if your human nose can’t smell it, believe me a pet’s nose can find
the faintest trace of an accident. Worse, they may want to mark over
an old pet urine stain with their own urine scent.

Do also bear in mind that old dogs may grow incontinent - make special allowances for them. Either let them out frequently or get or even indoor potty training pads to help them along.

Four Important Rules You Need to Know About Pets & Properly Treating Their “Accidents”

Rule #1 - The Timing
At times, staying on top of “accidents” can be relatively easy and other times it can be a huge undertaking. No matter situation, one of the the mess quickly. It’ll be easier to remove pet urine odors and the stain will have less of a chance to set into your carpet, furniture, or bedding if you lose no time tackling your pet‘s little accident.

Rule #2 - The Urine
The color of pet urine and it's staining potential will often depend on dietary habits and the age of the pet. Foods high in protein tend to produce a darker, more pungent and acidic urine. Foods higher in carbohydrates such as corn or oats produces more alkaline urine that is less likely to stain carpet and does not produce as potent an odor. Typically, because cat diets are richer in protein than dog diets, their urine will produce harsher odors and are more likely to cause stains.

Unlike dogs, cats do not urinate for territorialism. This behavioral pattern in male cats is accomplished by spraying. This urine also contains the male hormone testosterone which makes it even more pungent than urine. Although spraying is typically done on a vertical surface (such as a couch) it could also conceivably come in contact with a carpet.

Rule #3 - The Age
Another consideration is the age of the pet. The older the pet the more renal function diminishes, thus producing urine that contains more proteins. Because less uric acid is secreted in this urine it is less likely to stain a carpet; however, it will produce an even stronger odor. In almost all cases cat urine is the worst perpetrator for pet stains.

Rule #4 - The Carpet Factor
The degree of staining from pet urine on a carpet will depend in part on the fiber type and dye method of the carpet. Solution dyed fibers will be the most resistant to urine stains with olefin fibers providing the greatest stain resistance. In most cases, stains created by urine tend to leave either a red tinge (by adding to the existing color) or a yellow tinge (by reducing existing color). In either case the shift in color is almost always permanent in nature.

How Nasty Can Uric Acid Be?
Acids found in pet urine can also liberate calcium carbonate fillers used in carpet latex, causing it to lose it's bonding strength. Therefore, it is not uncommon to experience delamination (a loss of tuft bind strength) in carpet exposed to pet urine.

Although there are some commercially available products designed to remove urine they are only effective on fresh spots. Neutralizers and deodorizers offer only minimal help in removing urine and urine odors once it has set into the carpet and pad. Even the sub floor can become contaminated.

With the important facts you have just read, you can now use the following essential steps to treat the areas. It’s important to note that these tips apply to accidents that are relatively new (about a week max.) and you have been able to pin-point their location (visually, by smell or by black light). These types of stains that have appeared recently can often be cleaned with good success.

STEP #1 - Apply the enzymes or disinfectant liberally at least 3”-4” beyond the area that is contaminated (If urine has hit the backing of the carpet it can spread outward beyond the surface area.) IMPORTANT NOTE: It is strongly recommended to use the enzymatic cleaner when at all possible, because with disinfectants you can run the risk of possible exposure to chemicals that my not be safe for human or pet contact. Enzymes are considerably more eco, pet and human friendly, because you are dealing with an organic, biodegradable protein. DO NOT USE BLEACH ON YOUR CARPET!

STEP #2 - Place a one-half inch thick weighted layer of towels over the spot and let it sit overnight. This will allow the towel to soak up much of the moisture through the “wicking” process. Wicking, is a term to describe the drying process of moisture on carpet. As moisture dries it actually travels UP the wick of the carpet fibers, pulling the moisture, dirt and contaminants to the surface of the carpet.

STEP #3 - Test area utilizing a black light or your nose to determine if there is still a smell and more contaminants. If so, repeat the process above. If you have a wet extractor you can also attempt to extract the area utilizing WATER ONLY. DO NOT USE ANY SOAPS or SHAMPOOS!

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not recommend repeatedly using a wet extractor on the carpet though, because it can break down the carpet fibers and can have other potential negative health effects.

A challenging and difficult place to be for any pet and carpet owner is knowing when the carpet can be salvaged and when it’s simply time to replace it. It is strongly recommended that a certified Odor Remediation Specialist is brought in, before any final decision is made.

They can more accurately determine, utilizing various approaches (industrial black light, moisture detector and inspecting the backing of the carpet to name a few), how salvageable the carpet really is. The real benefit to this is that, for a very reasonable assessment cost (sometimes even free), they may be able to save you the considerable cost of replacing the carpet. Minimally, they can provide a detailed assessment of what your realistic options are and they often can provide insightful tips and tools that many consumers are not typically aware of.

It May Be Tough To Do...but Don’t Use Those Spotters!
Though we are inundated by a rediculous amount of spot cleaners promising all kinds of wonderful results the simple TRUTH is they typically create more problems than they solve!

Many wet carpet cleaning methods and carpet spotting products can leave detergent residue in the carpet. This is “unhealthy” for your carpet for one major reason: Detergent, otherwise known as “soap” or “shampoo”, is fundamentally designed to attract dirt and soil. If ANY amount is left in the carpet it will continue to do what it was designed to do…attract dirt and soil. Simply put, your carpet becomes a dirt magnet! The detergent residue can attract new soil, trigger rapid re-soiling, cause carpets to "ugly out" and become matted down.

Having Your Carpet Cleaned With a Wet Extractor is NOT the BEST for Your Carpet.

After decades of conventional ‘wet’ cleaning on carpet, far too much evidence has been established on the numerous negative affects that can come from this process of cleaning carpet. Aside from the obvious potential of mold/mildew growth that can come from saturating carpet, all you need to do is speak with the guys who see what happens to carpet after is 'wet' cleaned for years - the professional carpet installer/removers. Read what one veteran carpet installer said