The Formation Of Mold
If your carpet has been soiled multiple times and you have not cleaned all the stains thoroughly, there is a high chance that mold is developing under the carpet. Urine of pets or humans can penetrate the carpet and get down to the underneath padding. There are components in urine that create a favorable environment for moisture. And moisture promotes the formation of unpleasant mold if left there for a long time. Mold can definitely cause problems to your respiratory system.
Remove Your Primary Flooring
You dont need to remove the entire floor to treat one spot. If youre treating subfloor under tile or wood, your job will be a little easier.
Carpet presents some unique challenges, but its not impossible.
If subflooring under tile or wood is in need of some TLC, you can remove the primary flooring yourself.
The only kicker here?
It is difficult to remove tile without breaking it. A tile remover shank can be helpful in the process.
Hopefully, you have a few spare tiles lying around the house. If not, it might be time to make a trip to the home improvement store.
Its a little bit easier to do the same with wood flooring without ruining it.
As youve probably noticed, there are some tools required that might not be in everyones household tool stockpile.
There is always the option of hiring a professional to remove the flooring over the affected area.
If the urine stain is severe enough that you feel it necessary to treat the subfloor, then calling in the pros isnt as extreme as it sounds.
As for carpet?
Count your lucky stars if the urine stain is in a corner or on the edge of a floor removing the carpet is as simple as pulling it back and going after the problem.
A stain in the middle of a carpeted room requires more legwork.
Avoiding Pet Urine On Carpets
Allowing your pets needed access to the outdoors or a clean litter box to relieve themselves is the best way to avoid urine stains on carpets! Never assume that a pet should be able to hold their bladder a certain amount of time, and remember that cats need a clean litter box or they simply wont use it. Pets also need to feel safe when relieving themselves, so ensure you keep noisy and energetic children away from them and their litter box.
If youre busy training your pets on where to relieve themselves, try using orange and vinegar scents around the home, as these are very unpleasant for animals and they are likely to avoid such smells when they need to relieve themselves.
If a pet has repeated accidents or consistently relieves themselves inside the home when they have full access to the outdoors or a clean litter box, its probably time for a trip to the vet. Your pet might have health concerns that affect their bladder and needs medication or a change in their diet.
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Why Pet Odor Stays In Carpet
No matter how much we love our four-legged friends, however, I think we can all agree that pet odor is the worst. But why, even when you clean your pets accidents, do the smells stick around? Your carpet is absorbing the mess. If your pets urine sits on your floor long enough, the mess will soak through the carpet fibers, and into the carpet padding.
Thats right, that padding you put under the carpet for comfort can also hold onto some gross messes if your carpet does not have the proper leak-proof backing. Plus, the carpet fibers will also hold on to that smell if not cleaned properly. That is why youre smelling urine, even when you cleaned up the mess weeks ago.
Its true, a lot of carpets today are designed with a waterproof backing that stops liquids from getting to the carpet pad. But if the carpet in your house is outdated, or simply not pet-friendly, your pets smells will extend their stay in and under the carpet.
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Tips To Clean Cat Urine From Wood Floorings:
Get rid of any excrement and blot the whole damp location right away and strongly with paper towels. Wash impacted location a number of times with white vinegar. Wash stain completely with warm water. Blot dry with paper towels.
Apply a specialized stain and odour-removing germs or enzyme cleaner . Pointer: Read the directions carefully prior to utilizing these products and test them in an unnoticeable area. If you can not eliminate some old stains, attempt sanding away the stain and resealing the wood.You must be additional watchful about cat smell and attack the issues as quickly as it occurs. Likewise, you should remove all traces of the odor, since if the scent stays, the cat will do it again in the very same area.
In almost all cases, cat urine is the worst wrongdoer of pet stains and pet smells. If you own a cat, its crucial for you to understand how to clean cat urine stains.The colour of cat urine and its staining potential will typically depend on dietary habits, age and sex of the cat, whether the cat is on medication, and the health of the cat. If the stain or smell continues, repeat the process.Once the stained area is really clean, you ought to use a premium animal smell neutralizer. If you can not remove some old stains, attempt sanding away the stain and resealing the wood.
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Will An Enzyme Cleaner Make It Safe To Put Down Brand New Carpeting
It is indeed the best measure you can take without replacing the subfloor. No one wants new carpeting immediately ruined by old stains resurfacing.
I recommend following the same steps outlined above, in all affected areas. I also suggest letting them dry and watching the spots for several days before you install the new carpeting.
Why so long?
Youll get a better idea of if the enzyme cleaner did its job if you wait a few days. You can even put old towels or doormats over the spot once its dry, as a test.
If the stain manages to rear its ugly head through either of these, it might be necessary to replace some or all of the subfloor.
You can also seal your subfloor before putting down any new flooring. Subfloor sealing will help repel liquid not just the urine variety.
Sealant goes a long way to prevent future stains from setting in.
How To Get Pet Stains Out Of Carpet
When it comes to lifting the urine spot out of carpet, its important to act fast so it doesnt permanently set into a stain. Cleaning it from carpet can be especially tricky since urine begins as a strong acid but crystallizes and becomes alkaline over time. Thankfully, our tips and tricks make the cleanup much easier. Try out these methods for removing the urine spot from your carpet.
To clean the urine spot from carpet with household ingredients, heres what you need and the step-by-step to clean:
- Clean white towels – We always recommend using white towels for cleaning so theres no color transfer when blotting.
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% – This is a mild alternative to chlorine bleach that helps kill germs while being safe on fabric. Because its an oxidizing agent, this makes it effective for helping to break down stains and destroy odor-causing bacteria. Finally, we recommend hydrogen peroxide 3% because theres potential for color loss if a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide is used.
- Empty spray bottles – For safe practice, always make sure spray bottles are clean and clear of any other residue before using.
- Liquid dishwashing detergent – This also helps lift spots from carpet and other fabric.
- Cold water
- White vinegar – White vinegar breaks down the uric acid in urine to help remove the spot and odor.
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Arthritis Can Make Litter Boxes Hard To Use
Another possible reason that an older cat may forego the litter box is arthritis. As cats age, they can get arthritis, which makes it harder for them to get into the box, Dr. Kornreich said. Perhaps the sides are too tall, or the box is located in a place that requires the cat to do some kind of arduous physical activity to get to, such as up or down a flight of stairs.
How To Treat A Plywood Subfloor For Urine Before New Carpet Is Installed
If urine stains have set into the plywood subfloor, you can treat it in the same way you would treat any subfloor.
Note that some wood reacts and swells on contact with any liquid an issue that might already exist as a result of urine.
Enzyme cleaners often recommend you spot-test small areas of wood before treating a larger area.
This will allow you to observe how the plywood subfloor will react.
You can make sure enzyme cleaner is a viable option before resorting to replacing the subfloor.
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Simple Ways To Get Rid Of Cat Urine Odor
You love your cat. But that love can be tested when you walk into a room and smell the unmistakable odor of cat urine. Why did your cat pee outside the box? How do you get rid of the cat urine smell? Heres how to clean cat urine and remove the cat pee smell from carpet, non-carpet surfaces and bedding.
First, there are 3 things you should know about why your cat might be peeing outside the litter box:
If youve found cat urine in your home, heres how to clean it up and get rid of the cat pee smell safely and effectively.
Removing Cat Urine Smells From The Subflooring
Urine can often soak through the carpet and into the subflooring, leaving a stain and a stench that cant be lifted with carpet cleaner and elbow grease.
If you have pet odor that will not go away despite your best carpet-cleaning efforts, neutralize the scent by using an oil-based, stain-blocking primer on the subfloor beneath the carpeting. Replace the padding as well as that area of carpet.
Here a few easy steps you can take to remove the cat pee smell from a cushion.
1. Soak the Area in Water
Soak the affected area of the cushion with water. Blot up as much of the cat urine as possible with a towel.
2. Soak the Area With an Enzyme Cleaner
Then soak the cushion by very slowly, pouring the enzyme cleaner on and around the affected area.
3. Let It Sit Before Blotting With Towels
Let it sit for 15 minutes, then squish out as much of the excess enzyme cleaner as possible before blotting with towels.
4. Let the Cushion Dry
If possible, leave the cushion outside as long as possible while it dries. Since cushions take days to dry, lay aluminum foil down before putting the cushion back, then put a second layer of foil over the top of the cushion to discourage your cat from peeing on the cushion again.
Mattresses require almost the same process as cushions.
1. Soak the Area in Water
Soak the affected area of the mattress with water. Blot up as much of the cat urine as possible with a towel.
2. Soak the Area With Enzyme Cleaner
3. Let It Sit Before Blotting With Towels
5. Rewash
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Cat Urines Powerful Odor
Cat urine has a very distinct odor that is caused by proteins and high levels of uric acid. By nature, healthy cats dont drink large amounts of water. This makes their urine more concentrated. At the time of urination, the fluid is acidic. As the urine dries, the uric acid forms crystals or urine salts and becomes alkaline. This gives our furry friends the most pungent-smelling urine that a poor carpet can suffer.
Getting Pet Odors Out Of Carpets Permanently
There are a few tricks for getting pet odors out of carpets permanently. The first is to tell a carpet cleaning professional that youre hiring them to address pet stains and odors, rather than for a standard cleaning! This will alert them to the need to bring specialty odor neutralizers, and to be prepared to tackle tough stains and odors.
A cleaning contractor will also typically pull up the carpet and clean its underside, to remove soaked-in urine and ground-in waste thats made its way along that backing. They will also use a UV light, to spot pet stains that are no longer visible. This ensures that he or she wont overlook any such stains and will get carpets completely cleaned.
A carpet cleaning contractor can also clean the carpet padding underneath the carpet backing as needed. If pet urine has soaked into the padding, it might have crumbled or otherwise degraded. If this is the case, its best to simply replace that damaged and stained section or all the carpet padding completely.
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Removing Cat Urine Odor From Carpets
Our cats bring us great joy, but sometimes they do things we dont understand. When they urinate on our carpets, its a frustrating and smelly issue. Cat urine is possibly one of the most potent, unpleasant smells youll ever experience. When it has dried into your homes carpeting, it can be a source of embarrassment and annoyance. Complicating things further, the urine is likely to be in the carpet for some time before its discovered, which makes the odor even harder to eradicate. Although standard carpet cleaners provide little help, its usually possible to remove cat urine odor. There are several different approaches to try, and it may take more than one remedy to get rid of the smell completely.
Remove Set In Urine Stains Using Oxidation
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Step 1: Make the cleaning substance first. Blend ½ teaspoon of bleach with 1 quart of distilled water.
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Step 2: Try the solution on a small section of the carpet which is usually hidden and not seen by many people. You do this to ensure that the homemade solution does not ruin your carpets color.
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Step 3: Soak the stained area with the solution. Let it sit more than 10 minutes.
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Step 4: Use a towel to scrub the area clean and dry. After this step, the stain should fade. If you see results, repeat the whole process several times until everything is gone. Before you pour the solution to the stain again, make sure it is completely dry first.
Note: Do not use this method for wool or silk. Only use for synthetic fibers.
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How To Remove Pet Urine Odor From Carpet Padding
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2019
As much as we want to feel like our pets are our babies, the fact is that they are still animals. And animals pee on things. Its just a fact of life.
I am guessing that you are here reading this blog because your pet had an accident on your carpet and youre having a hard time getting it out. Dont worry, weve all been there.
What makes pet urine so difficult to remove?
There are really two reasons.
The real problem with the way that carpet is designed isnt so much the carpet itself, but the padding underneath. The padding is basically a sponge that makes walking on your carpet softer. As great as it is for comfort, it makes getting pet urine out almost impossible. So no matter how well youve cleaning the carpet on top, the padding will almost always still have urine in it.
Even after youve cleaned the urine from your carpet, you can actually still see it by running a blacklight over it. Its really unsettling to see clear urine stains on your carpet, especially after youve tried to hard to clean it up.
To make matters worse, as the remaining pet urine dries it crystalizes and embeds itself into the carpet padding. Once the urine has dried in the padding it is going to take a lot more than just elbow grease to get it out.
So, whats the best thing to do? Call Chem-Dry.
Chem-Dry offers the best pet urine odor removal treatment that money can buy.
Watch this video to see how it works.
Break Out The Steam Cleaner
Fill the reservoir hole of your steam cleaner with carpet shampoo and hot water. Next, turn the machine on and cover the entire affected area and surrounding areas. Be sure to go over the affected section of the carpet repeatedly, allowing the hot water and solution to soak deeply into the carpet so that it reaches the padding. Let the cleaner sit on the stained sections for a few minutes before going over it again to suction it back out.
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