Usually.  There are several factors that determine the success rate of removing yellow, brown or red pet stains from carpet and fabric from pet urine, vomit or feces.

• Fiber Type
  • Olefin and polyester fibers are not absorbent, so most stains easily clean out.
  • Nylon fibers can absorb stains. Sometimes they clean out and sometimes they do not.  Specialized stain removal products are applied to any remaining stain with the hope of complete removal.
  • Natural fibers like wool or cotton can be very absorbent, so stains are more likely to remain after cleaning.  However, the specialized stain removal products have a risk of removing color from wool or cotton, therefore you must accept this risk before we proceed.
• Previous Attempts at Removal
  • Some spotting techniques can distort the fibers from aggressive agitation.  Some solutions can “set” the stain, making it more difficult to remove.  Some solutions can permanently bleach out or remove color from the fiber.
• Severity
  • Some stains may require multiple applications to reach 100% success.  If the pet took medication this, can also affect the results.  If the pet’s food has dyes, causing red stains, it may require a different stain removal solution.

No.  Cleaning may remove stains, but removing pet urine odor is a totally separate process from cleaning and removing the visible stains.  If the odor sources are not treated, the odor will remain and may even increase temporarily because of the additional moisture from cleaning.

Some companies will apply a deodorizer to the carpet surface, however this typically is a “Band-Aid” and is simply masking or covering up the bad smell.  Our process actually removes the source of the bad odor.  For example, after a hard workout at the gym, you may be sweaty and stinky.  You could mist cologne or perfume to cover up the bad smell, or you could take a shower and remove the source of the odor so you are clean and fresh.

Urine leaves the body (man or animal) in an acid state, with a pH of about 5 to 6. It is generally contains no harmful bacteria, pathogens or microorganisms. However, it becomes the perfect breeding ground for those things as soon as it leaves the body. The main ingredient in urine is uric acid. It also contains yellow pigment, urea, cholesterol, enzymes, and small amounts of other chemicals. The uric acid begins to change immediately upon leaving the body. The warm acid state of the urine offers a friendly environment for bacteria, which begin to flourish almost immediately. In this original acid state, the urine begins to oxidize and react with the carpet to create a color change, which may become permanent if the urine is not removed from the carpet. As urine begins to dry, it changes its hydrogen content and forms crystalline salts, which take on an alkaline pH.  Then the smell begins!  When dried urine is re-moistened, it gives off an ammonia gas.  Odors associated with urine come from two sources:

1. Bacteria that grow abundantly in dark warm places with a never ending food source (the dog feeds the bacteria daily!). This bacteria growth and breakdown of the urine creates amino acids. These complex organic compounds work deep into carpet fivers until they are nearly part of the fiber. This can present a challenging situation. The waste materials and gases from the decomposing urine create an unpleasant odor.
2. The second source of odor is chemical odor that remains even when the bacteria have been killed. This explains why more than disinfecting is necessary to neutralize odors from urine. Urine also presents additional odor problems when the relative humidity is high. The salts and crystals that are formed are hydrophilic and draw water to them. As the salts are reactivated by moisture, they give off a greater proportion of odorous gases.

Yes. A black light will cause urine contamination to glow in the dark. Most black lights operate at a wavelength between 380-415 nano-meters. Most bodily fluids including tears, saliva and semen will also fluoresce under a black light. The glowing part of these bodily fluids is called porphyrin.

Porphyrin is actually a group of organic compounds that has an attraction to metals. In the blood stream, these compounds attract iron and are one of the building blocks of hemoglobin, but they are also present in other body fluids. Other fluids such as the quinine in club soda, many vitamins, petroleum jelly, antifreeze, optical brighteners found in many consumer carpet spotters and laundry detergents also glow.  These will usually fluoresce a bright white or even blueish hue, not the dull yellow of urine. 

To understand why some substances glow under a black light and some do not we have to look at the atomic level. These compounds have an available electron orbiting it’s nucleus. When energy in the form of ultra violet light from your black light encounter these electrons, that energy is absorbed and excites the electrons to the point where they jump to a higher orbit around the nucleus. However, this energy is unstable and is quickly released by the electrons as visible light. This reaction happens super fast over and over again and this is the glow seen when using a black light. These photo reactive compounds penetrate carpet fibers and are nearly impossible to remove. Even after deodorizing and removing visible stains and odors, the previous stains will continue to glow under a black light. This does not mean the procedure failed or that there is still urine in the carpet.

No.  There are eight different, primary odor control mechanisms. Most odor control formulations will utilize one as the primary component with other mechanisms blended in to broaden the scope of the product. Due to the complexity of the formulation and the costs of active ingredients you will find significant differences in the performance of products offered in the market place.  Depending on the situation, Distinctive will choose the proper product to remove odors. 

Below are brief descriptions of primary odor control chemistry in use today.

1. Biological agents, often referred to as an enzyme, eliminate odors by metabolizing (eating) the odorous material. This is the chemistry used in many ‘do it yourself’ products. Enzyme’s performance varies based on their temperature and if they get to hot they are killed. Usually there is a surfactant mixed in with them which can leave a dirt attracting residue. Enzyme’s may require up to 72 hours to be effective.  Distinctive would use this chemistry on an installed wall to wall natural fiber carpet that can’t be immersed like a loose rug.
2. Pairing agents eliminate odors by bonding to the odor molecule. Thereby altering the shape of the odorous molecule so the olfactory senses no longer recognize the odor.
3. Molecular encapsulation utilizes multiple bonding mechanisms to pull the odorous molecule into the active molecule and thereby absorb the odor much like a sponge absorbing moisture.
4. Physical encapsulation occurs when a film-forming agent engulfs the odorous substance and physically prevents the release of odor.
5. Molecular cleaving (oxidation): Reactions that chemically change (break apart) the odorous molecule and combine with it to form different substances. This is the chemistry used in the product Distinctive uses to remove odor from synthetic carpet and fabric fibers.
6. Odor modification is based on the Zwaardemaker Conjugates theory where two different odors will cancel each other out. In odor control, fragrances are formulated that cancel out the most common odors encountered such as urine, feces, and mold.
7. Emulsification: Acid based products designed to dissolve urine salts and neutralize ammonia and suspend the contamination so it can be rinsed away. This is the chemistry we use when immersing wool area rugs to remove pet urine odor.
8. Masking agents simply provide a pleasant fragrance that mutes the malodor so as to make it more tolerable.

If your home has an “animal” smell, but there are no pet urine spots or urine odor, usually a thorough cleaning will rinse and extract pet hair, dander, oils etc. that cause the odor.  We have a deodorizer that can be applied to the carpet that is made for this odor and is different than our normal pet urine odor oxidizing deodorizer.  

There are many DIY deodorizers or ideas on the internet for removing pet urine.  The main challenge of doing this yourself is applying enough deodorizing solution to saturate the affected areas and then extract the solution.  Our weight assisted extraction tools and powerful truck mounted vacuum allow us to do this.  Otherwise, issues can be caused by the carpet or pad being left wet and remaining that way for an extended period of time.  

Changes in humidity/moisture levels.  Have you cleaned a spot thinking it was gone, but then one day the odor mysteriously came back? Why?  Urine is made up of three different parts.  Many cleaning products remove the first component – the sticky liquid content.  Some can even remove the second component – the stain-causing pigmentation.  But nothing removes the third component – the uric acid crystals or “urine salts” that cause odor.  You could clean this spot all day long and even our professional carpet cleaning solutions will not remove the odor.  You must use a specialized deodorizer to remove the odor.  When you clean or treat the spot, it may seem like the urine is gone because the stain and odor disappear.  But the urine salts are still there.  If 100% dry, urine salts have no odor. But when humidity levels change, or conditions are damp or humid, the urine salts attract moisture and reactivate, causing the terrible odor to return.  This odor is unmistakable and sometimes smells similar to ammonia.  Humidity levels can change for a number of reasons but here are two major reasons…
Change in Seasons.  During the winter, the air is very dry.  During spring and summer there is naturally more humidity.  Even though nothing about the pet spot has changed, pet urine odor that goes unnoticed during the dry winter will suddenly have a terrible stench during the spring and summer.
Carpet Cleaning.  Cleaning the carpet will change the humidity level in the house, especially if the areas affected by pet urine are only cleaned and not treated for odor.  Odor from pet accidents may become more noticeable for a period of time after the cleaning because of the elevated moisture content.  Generally, it will return to the same condition as before, after it has dried completely.  We cannot be held responsible for such odors unless we can identify, treat and neutralize them.