Facts about urine and your carpet
Part of learning about how to get rid of urine odor is learning about urine and your carpet.
- The urine spreads and gravitates down into the pad and subfloor. It is important to determine where it has spread.
- Once urine begins to dry, the moisture evaporates and microscopic salts and crystals are formed and remain in your carpet, pad and floor.
- The crystals and salts react to the humidity in the air. Any increase in humidity causes the crystals and salts to give off that heavy ammonia urine smell. This often occurs in the summer when it is humid.
- Urine smells last for years in carpet. In order to eliminate the odor, the crystal and salt deposits must be permanently deactivated.
The sooner you get at it, the better
Left untreated over a period of time, pet odor becomes absorbed into the porous materials in your home like draperies, sheet rock, upholstered furniture, baseboards, and even the concrete foundation. Unfortunately, pet urine can off-gas (stink!) for years. And you can become “nose blind” to it.
Find out how much urine is in the carpet
Determining the amount of urine will help you figure out the right amount of treatment to use. First, understanding the animal will help.
- What type of animal?
- How large? Male or female?
- More than one pet
Use tools to locate the specific spots:
- Nose: The first tool is old fashioned, but it works. Literally get down on the carpet and sniff.
- Black Light: Urine deposits glow under the black light.
- Moisture Meter: This tool can detect the moisture that the salts and crystals from urine will absorb and hold in the form of humidity.
It can also penetrate the backing of the carpet to give you a reading in the pad.
Make sure to check each room. Pets can be sneaky!
Rinse and extract
Before applying a treatment, it’s best to get as much urine out of the carpet as you can with a rinse. But be careful–using too much water without extracting can cause the urine to spread, making it harder to treat.
Neutralize the urine, don't mask it
Chem-Dry’s P.U.R.T.® traps odor and destroys the odor molecule, so you don’t just cover it up with a fragrance. The spots should be kept moist so that the treatment will continue to work over the next 24 to 48 hours.
Need help with your pet urine odor issue? We’re here to help.
