When Pet Odours Ruin Your Carpet
Having pets around comes with its fair share of challenges. Sure, the furry little guys are members of the family, and you would do anything to protect them and keep them safe. However, there will be some extra responsibility when it comes to maintaining the environment in which the pets live – and more so if you have a carpet. Pet accidents are some of the most challenging situations to deal with on carpets. First, there is the stain that forms, which sticks out like a sore thumb, clashing with the rest of the colours and styles of the carpet. The pee itself is acidic, corroding the carpet fibres. Moreover, carpets readily soak up the pet urine, causing it to get deeper into the padding. Then there is that one issue that you can’t run away from: odours. These are not like the usual odours from other kinds of organic waste. Pet urine smells actually get stronger over time due to the chemical breakdown that causes more ammonia to be released as the days go by. It’s made worse by the affected spot getting wet, which translates in an even stronger stench. The carpet cleaning here is required as a matter of urgency.
The Trouble With Pet Stains
The longer the pet stain is allowed to remain on the carpet, the more extensive the damage that it causes. As it penetrates through the carpet material and backing, even getting to the flooring underneath, it sets and becomes more difficult to clean. The drying urine leaves behind crystals which are activated whenever there is moisture or the area gets wet, producing the smell. Surface cleaning here is not effective. Deep carpet cleaning is required, breaking down the urine crystals and flushing them out of the carpet.
All the urine residue needs to be got rid of, and traces of odours dealt with. Otherwise, the pet in question is likely to pick that spot as their go-to section, deteriorating the situation further. You don’t want to give them the idea that they can mark their territory on your carpet.
The odours on the other hand are an ever-present nuisance. Sure, with stains you may try to hide them by moving around furniture, but odours will assault the senses of everyone on the premises. That distinct urine stench will degrade the ambience of the space, to the detriment of your family members and guests.
The urine residue that is in the carpet also has proteins – which provide nourishment for a horde of bacteria that will flourish in the warm fibres of the material. This exposes your family to more health risks. You also don’t want a situation where the guests coming into your home get immediately put off by the foul odours that will have permeated across the entire indoor environment, thus making the in-depth carpet cleaning here essential.
Pets can pee on the carpet for different reasons. These include:
- Not yet properly house trained – this is especially for puppies or new pets being brought into the household. Here, you’ll need to take time to ensure that the cat or dog has been properly trained, and in the meantime you can restrict access to carpeted sections of the house.
- Medical issues – There can be a variety of health problems that cause your pet to suddenly start soiling the house. These include kidney disease, bladder infection, urinary tract infections, bladder tumours, or even bladder stones. Here, a visit to the vet will be required to ascertain the specific causes and commence treatment.
- Psychological stresses – These vary from pet to pet. Separation anxiety – such as when the pet owner leaves for the day, new pets or people come into the household, dramatic changes in the family structure or schedule, stresses tied to relocation, home remodelling projects where there are plenty of noises from all the construction works being carried out and heavy machinery involved – such cases can trigger the urine accidents.
- Territorial marking – Male dogs will use urine to send a message to other pets in the premises.
Whichever the case, addressing the underlying issue of why your pet is peeing on the carpet is vital so as to prevent the accidents from recurring and also for the well-being of your furry friend.
Professional Carpet Cleaning To Get Rid Of Pet Stains
Tackling the pet stains as a DIY job comes with its set of frustrations. A common one is that the task is not accomplished satisfactorily. Here you end up with a situation where residue remains on the carpet, and odours continue lingering, making the rest of the occupants in the home uncomfortable. Using deodorisers on the other hand that only mask the odours using strong perfumes doesn’t summarily deal with the problem, since the cause of the odours remains and it will simply come back.
Another risk is using the wrong formulations for the task. Not every store-bought cleaner will be suitable for working the carpet in this situation. Some are not effective in removing the urine stains, others have an incompatible chemical formulation, and end up ruining the colour and texture of the carpet. While the goal is to remove the pet stains, you don’t want to use chemicals that will end up being a risk to the pets themselves later on, such as due to the release of toxins.
Professional carpet cleaning team on the other hand are well versed with dealing with pet stains on both natural and synthetic fibre carpets. They come with the experience needed when tackling the diverse situations, with powerful cleaning agents and machinery that flushes out the gunk from the carpet. Odour neutralizers are incorporated into the process, reacting with the molecules themselves and making them inert – so you won’t have to worry about that urine stench recurring after the carpet has been worked on. And since the urine residue itself will have been moved, you can put the pet stain troubles behind you – and also protect the carpet since your furry friend will not be driven to return to the same spot to pee.
- Inspection
The professional crew coming over for the carpet cleaning start off with an inspection of the area. Specialised ultraviolet light can be used for this, helping expose additional urine deposits in other sections of the carpet that wouldn’t have otherwise been visible. This also ensures that all the source of odours have been identified for accurate targeting – including those spots that could have escaped the notice of occupants in the building.
- Cleaning and extraction
The carpet cleaning method used here will depend on the urine removal capacity of the formulation selected, its compatibility with the particular carpet material being dealt with, and the suitable temperature and pressure ranges that can be safely applied when cleaning the carpet. Enzyme cleaners are incorporated into the process, and the thorough cleaning dislodges the urine crystals buried in the carpet, with odour neutralisers kicking in to deal with that stench that is pervading the space.
You can have the specific spots treated, or ask for a comprehensive deep clean of the entire carpet, removing the rest of the grime covering the area and leaving you in a cleaner and fresher home. This enables other troublesome stains like coffee and wine spots, to the dirt build-ups that happen over the weeks and months that passed since the last round of carpet cleaning was carried out.
Other Signs That Your Carpet Needs Cleaning
Pet urine stains are not the only reason to schedule a professional carpet cleaning. When was the last time you had your unit thoroughly washed? The carpet has the capacity of locking multiple times its own weight in dirt. By the time it becomes visibly soiled, there will already have been loads of gunk that have accumulated within the material. As more people walk on the carpet, the dirt gets pushed deeper into the fibres increasing the wear due to the abrasive effects of the particulate matter getting grinded against the carpet’s fibres. Here are issues to look out for that will indicate that the carpet cleaning is due:
- Discomfort when walking
Is the carpet getting increasingly uncomfortable to walk on? As dirt continues to get caked into the material, hardening over time, the carpet will feel stiff or rough. This can also be attributed to mistakes made during the DIY carpet cleaning such as over shampooing or failing to rinse the carpet properly, causing soapy residue to be left behind in the material.
- Staining
Stains – whether they are from spills or mud tracked in the premises, will be a nuisance. When they are dealt with promptly, it keeps them from setting permanently in the carpet. However, over the course of the carpet’s life on our floor it’s likely that there will be some stains that are not caught in time, such that they dry and bond with the carpet material. The more that this happens the worse it gets for the aesthetics of the carpet, in turn dragging down the décor. You don’t have to remain with a stained carpet that ruins the ambiance of your residence. The carpet cleaning professionals have the tools and experience needed to deal with even the stubborn stains.
- Offensive smells
A stinking carpet is hard to ignore. The smell hits you the moment you step into the house. Guests will be quick to point it out, creating an embarrassing situation that no host wants to be put through. When dealing with the odours, you want a permanent solution, not just deodorisers that mask the smell for a few hours. A professional deep cleaning will ensure that the source of the smell is got rid of.
- Dulled out/Faded sections
Those areas that are frequently walked on will gradually fade compared to the rest of the carpet. This is attributed to the increased rate of dirt accumulation in these sections, as well as the wear effects as the plush fibres get crushed under the footfall. While rotating the furniture can help in evening out the wear, the dirt that is building up within the carpet will need to be got rid of as well.
- Allergies acting up
The soiled carpet is packed with allergens. These range from pet dander for those households with cats or dogs, the faecal residue of the horde of dust mites that are feasting on the skin flakes being shed by persons in the building, pollen that carried into the house by wind and settles on the carpet, to everyday dust particles tracked into the building. Initially, the carpet performs its role of ‘filtering out the air’, by trapping these aligns in its fibres. However, as time progresses and the concentration of the allergens increases, the particulate matter can easily be dislodged from the fibres of the material – and this happens whenever the carpet is disturbed by a person’s footsteps. This kicks up the allergens into the immediate air space. With more particles circulating in the indoor space, it sets off allergies, with the intensity of the reaction depending on the particular sensitivities of the individuals involved. This can cause issues like throat irritation, coughing, watery eyes, incessant sneezing, all through to asthma attacks. When there are increased cases of allergic reactions in your home, this is a pointer to the need of ensuring a thorough carpet cleaning is carried out since it will be one of the main areas that will be holding the allergens.
Mould in the carpet is a unique problem. This is caused by the material remaining wet for long – such as when there are spills that have remained unattended to, or when people walk in from the outdoors with wet shoes and the carpet doesn’t have adequate ventilation to dry well. Dark spots popping up on the carpet can point to mould. Treat this as an emergency, since you have a limited amount of time to call in the professional carpet cleaning team. The longer that the mould removal is delayed, the more difficult it will be for even a thorough deep cleaning to remove the fungi – and it can get to a stage where you’ll be forced to toss out the whole carpet and purchase a new one.