Pets... Oh, how we love them. Cat and dogs provide a
variety of benefits within households, they can also create
challenges. A pet accident on carpet can leave much more than
just a stain and lasting unpleasant smell.
Pet urine can be a very destructive stain,
and can permanently damage or alter the dyes in carpet and fabrics
in a very short period of time. Damage to the carpet backing and
latex may also occur, delaminating being the most common.
URINE VOLUME CHART
|
Small
dog
(Miniature Schnauzer)
|
50 to 100 ml
per deposit (approx)
|
|
Medium
(Border Collie)
|
150
to 200 ml
per deposit
(approx)
|
|
Large
(Rottweiler)
|
200
to 250 ml
per deposit (approx)
|
Based upon (approx) urine volumes, a small dog marking its'
territory can deposit 75 ml of urine twice a day for an average
of over 50 liter of urine over a 12 month period. If you suspect
that such a problem exists in your home, the best solution to this
size of contamination is professional services.
Facts
About P.U.
in Your
Carpeting
Speed is
critical. The longer the urine sits on your carpeting, the more
difficult it will be to remove the stain and the odor.
The sex,
breed of the animal, it’s health and it’s diet, all play factors in
whether or not a urine spot will become a permanent stain. The urine
of a female dog is often more acidic than a male dogs, and thus more
inclined to leave a permanent stain.
Most
carpeting installed in homes today is nylon. When nylon carpeting is
manufactured, a hot, acid based dye solution is applied to the
carpet fibers to give them the desired color. Nylon carpet fibers
are designed to accept these acid dyes. When a pet urinates on the
carpeting, it deposits a warm, acid based liquid to the carpet,
putting the carpet through a process similar to the original dye
process. Most new carpet stain warranties exclude pet urine stains,
because urine is often strong enough to penetrate the stain
resistant treatment and permanently stain the carpeting.
As urine
dries the liquid evaporates, leaving urine crystals or salts which
consist of bacteria, urochrome, uric acid, urea, proteins and
hormones. As the urine dries the crystals become more concentrated
and the odor more pungent. Simple cleaning will not remove this
odor.
Urine is
of course water based and contains salt crystals . Once the urine
dries, the crystals which are left behind are activated by excessive
humidity (or rainy days) and the smell comes back.
It is
also important to know that a small stain on the surface may be 3 or
4 times larger under the carpet surface.
Often,
without your knowing, pets will urinate continually in the same
general location. The average cat will deposit 2-3 ounces each time
it tinkles, the average dog, 3-4 ounces. Multiplied by several times
a day, you can have a major problem on your hands in a very short
time.
Urine
deposited on carpet does not stay there, If allowed to sit on the
carpet long enough it sink deep into the fibers and contaminates the
backing of the carpet, as well as the carpet pad and the flooring
material, and become very difficult to remove.
Have you
ever noticed how you can clean a urine spot one day - seemingly
removing it - only to have it reappear a couple of days later? Urine
crystals are usually to blame. When you clean up a urine spot that
has dried, you can often remove all traces of the urine on the
surface fibers. But, the urine crystals, deep in the carpet fibers
and backing, will slowly wick back up to the surface, causing the
spot to once again show up. You can clean the spot until your arm
falls off, but still not permanently remove it.
Once
urine saturates the carpet backing, it may no longer be a matter of
simple spotting, but a major restoration, sometimes requiring the
carpet to be pulled up, both sides extracted and treated, the pad
replaced, the sub-floor sealed, the tack-strip replaced and the
walls and baseboards scrubbed and re-painted!
For more
information about pet urine odor and stain removal, please call
Universal Carpet Cleaning of Pikesville . We have many specialized products
and services designed to tackle even the toughest urine problem. We
provides complete urine removal and decontamination services.
The Pikesville, Maryland area includes the following zip
codes: 21208-21282