Pet Stains 

Consider how much urine may be in the carpet. A small dog or cat weighing five pounds or less will eliminate about 2 ounces of urine each time. If the animal urinates only twice a day, it amounts to well over 11 gallons per year. If the animal concentrates that into a small area or even several small areas, which many of them do, then the problem can be quite extensive. Now think about the case where the animal is a Great Dane who considers the living room carpet to be his own special sandbox. The contamination gets worse when there are multiple animals in the home.

Often the home-owner believes that the pet urinating on the carpet is a rare event, an “accident.” I can assure you it was no accident. The animal did that on purpose. The purpose may have been more than simply relieving themselves. For example, male cats are very territorial. They will mark with spray or urine the perimeter or boundary of their territory, wherever they are allowed to roam. When there are multiple animals present the instinct to mark their territory is even stronger.

The Make-up of Urine

Urine leaves the body (either animal or human) as an acid with a pH that is typically between 5 and 6. It is sterile containing no harmful bacteria, pathogens or microorganisms unless the animal has a urinary or bladder infection.

The principle ingredient in urine (from mammals) is uric acid. Urine also contains urochrome (yellow pigment), cholesterol (lipids), urea and other ingredients. The exact make-up of urine will vary depending on the animal’s diet, health and other factors. The urine begins to change immediately upon leaving the body. The urine comes in contact with bacteria on the skin along with microorganisms in the carpet and elsewhere. The warm acid conditions offer a perfect breeding ground for bacteria which begin to flourish. Uric acid begins to be broken down into ammonia and carbon dioxide. The ammonia is highly alkaline (ph 11+). A strong concentrated alkaline can damage dyes and create a permanent color loss.  Be aware that what appears to be a urine stain may actually be color loss that can not be corrected by cleaning.

Some have suggested that a fresh urine spot should be treated with white vinegar to neutralize and flush the urine from the carpet. This is NOT what should be done. Vinegar is an acid. You can not neutralize an acid with an acid. A better approach would be for the home-owner to blot up any urine she can without forcing the urine deeper into the carpet.

As the acidic urine reacts with the ammonia that is being created it forms alkaline salt crystals. When dried urine is remoistened it gives off ammonia gas. The odor of ammonia gas is one part of the distinctive odor that helps us to identify and locate urine. The other component of urine’s odor is off-gassing from bacteria that grow abundantly in warm, dark places with a never-ending food supply. The pet feeds the bacteria daily!

The complex composition of urine and the many chemicals formed as the urine is decomposed by bacteria present a challenging situation. With time, some of these complex organic compounds can actually become part of the fiber.

Even if the bacteria are killed the ammonia and other chemicals still produce an odor. This is the reason that more than a sanitizing agent is necessary to neutralize odors from urine.

The Good News

Quality Carpet Care, has an exclusive system to eliminate the odor in the carpet with out the high cost of other traditional methods. Our process is new to the industry and we guarantee the results.

While it is our intention to simplify odor control and the urine stain removal process, it must be noted that odor control can be a complex multi-disciplinary procedure for which Quality Carpet Care has been trained.