What to do when your pet urinates on your carpet
Let’s face it, we love our pets. And I’m pretty sure that they love us back. But pet urine odors and the unsightly spots they create can seem difficult, if not impossible for the average pet owner to remove. In fact, many urine spots go unnoticed and can only be detected by the use of a UV light, or by pulling your carpet up and looking at the backing/pad areas. Obviously the latter is not the preferred way of taking care of the problem.
If you own a pet, such as a dog or cat and have carpet in your home, you can bet that there is probably some urine spots on your carpet. Pets that are potty trained can still haver accidents or may even be marking their territory. Many of our customers have been surprised to see the urine spots glowing under our UV light.
So what happens when a pet urinates onto your carpet?
Urine deposited on carpet does not stay there, it penetrates the fibers and contaminates both the backing of the carpet and the flooring material below the carpet. And depending upon how much urine is deposited, it will spread out as it penetrates into the pad. In many cases, the pet will urinate in the same area, causing more of a problem as the newer urine reacts with any older, dried urine still remaining in the carpet and below. As the urine dries, the liquid evaporates but the urine crystals become even more concentrated and pungent.
Can urine be professionally cleaned?
Urine spots typically can be easily removed by cleaning or with a spot remover. However, all that does is to clean the tops of the fibers. The urine that was deposited still remains in the backing, pad and/or the floor boards. This urine may be dry, but it is still there. And adding any chemical or water to it can easily cause it to wick back up to the top. And all the cleaning in the world will not remove the pungent odor. So we do not recommend any type of steam cleaning or spot removal for urine spots. To properly remove the urine spot, odor and bacteria requires a professional urine treatment.
How about store bought urine treatment products?
While some store bought brands may help with smaller spots, not every urine deposit is equal. Some may be very minor and have not seeped into your carpet padding. However, typical full bladder discharges will easily make their way into the pad and possibly through it and onto the subfloor. A professional will determine how they will approach each spot based on what they find from their UV light inspection. Misting on a store bought spray is not going to make its way deep into the carpet backing or even the pad, so if it doesn’t come into contact with the urine, it cannot defeat it.
Guardian Floor Care does offer our professional pet urine treatment in a 24 oz bottles that you can purchase for quickly handling pet urine spots. And unlike those store bought brands, we will personally show you how to properly apply it so that you can get best results.
What can you do immediately after your pet urinates on the carpet?
When accidents happen, it’s important to act quickly. If you find a fresh urine stain, you may be able to prevent long-term staining and odors.
Blot the stain to soak up the urine. Apply a clean, dry cloth or a layer of paper towels over the stain. Press down firmly to absorb the urine, but avoid rubbing the stain into the fibers. Repeat this process until no more liquid is absorbed.
Rinse the stain lightly with water. Wet a clean cloth or paper towel and apply to the stain until the area is damp. Avoid soaking the carpet fibers with too much water, since this can cause the urine to soak deeper into the carpet.
Blot the area until the carpet is dry. Apply a clean, dry cloth or a layer of paper towels to blot the rinsed area. Repeat this process until no more liquid is absorbed.
Continue rinsing and blotting. Repeat steps two and three until there are no lingering odors or visible stains.
While this process usually works on fresh stains, it may not work if the urine has already set or leaked into the padding or subfloor. In either case, or if the urine covers a large area, call Guardian Floor Care and we will properly assess and treat the area. We’ll also kill bacteria associated with urine.
How does a professional like Guardian treat pet urine?
We assess each urine spot to determine the proper treatment. Depending upon what we find, we have treatments from chemical based odor removers, to sub-extraction, and even vapor treatments to permanently remove the odor and any visible spots. In worst case scenarios where the urine has made its way into the sub floor, the carpet must be pulled up, the pad replaced, the floor board treated and sealed and the the carpet (front & back) treated and cleaned before being put back and stretched into place. That process is treated as restoration. This is why it is always important to handle pet urine as quickly as possible. While we may have a busy schedule, if you are located in or around Lincoln, CA, we can always make an emergency appointment to come handle these issues for you. Just call us at (916) 547-0416