Troubleshooting The Source Of Your Home's Pet Urine Odor Problem
Posted on: 22 December 2014
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If you've cleaned your home using pet odor and stain removing cleansers but can't seem to get rid of nasty pet urine odor, this guide is for you. Read on to learn about three different pet odor causes you might be missing and find out what you can do about it.
Go Beyond The Floor & Get A Black Light
If you've scrubbed your floors with cleaners designed to permanently remove pet odors but are still stuck with the stink, it's time to buy a black light. Pet urine can get in a lot of surprising places, especially if your pet is spraying. Your pet may have left urine residue on walls and furniture, or feral animals may have even sprayed outside your home near your doorway. Just one spot left untreated can produce a miserable stink, and the scent of another animal can make your pet more likely to mark their own territory indoors.
When you're ready to hunt for the source of the stink, turn off the lights in your home and turn on your black light. Black lights react with the chemicals in your pet's urine and make it glow, so it's easy to find and destroy. Use your cleaner there until it doesn't glow anymore, continuing the process inside and outside your home until there are no stains left.
Scooping A Litter Box Isn't Enough
If you have a cat, some of the odor may be coming from the litter box itself. If you scoop the box and change the litter regularly that's great, but the box itself has been exposed to cat urine repeatedly and probably reeks even when there's nothing but fresh litter in it. There may also be messes on the sides or bottom of the litter box.
The trick here is to make it not smell like anything to you, but to not destroy your cat's scent on the box completely with pet odor removers. If that sounds gross, don't worry: humans have 5 million smell receptors while cats have 80 million. Clean the box using plain, unscented soap and water, and as far as your nose is concerned there won't be any detectable smell, but your cat will still be able to detect that it smells like where they're supposed to go.
Deep Carpet Stink
Many carpet cleaning solutions claim to be able to remove pet urine odor, and some do a good job of removing the stains and odor from the carpet's fibers. However, when serious soiling occurs, pet urine sinks beyond the fibers of your carpet and into the padding underneath the carpet. Unfortunately, getting a carpet cleaning solution that deeply into your carpet and back out again is extremely difficult and may not effectively remove the odors.
If you notice pet odor coming from your carpet but no stains appear when you shine a black light on it, chances are the carpet pad is what's stinking. In this instance, calling a professional is your best bet: professional carpet cleaning machines will be able to penetrate the pad and remove all the cleaning liquid, leaving your carpet and its pad completely clean. They can also help with furniture and other surfaces your pets have peed on.
Having pets and a clean-smelling home is a challenge, but it's not impossible. Follow these tips to find and destroy troublesome odor sources and make your home smell clean again. For more intense problems, contact professionals, such as Chem Dry Springfield.