Pet urine can cause permanent damage to your floors and fabrics, not to mention the embarrassing spots it can creat on your carpets. It can also create an unhealthy indoor environment. When urine is first deposited onto a floor or fabric, it has no bacteria, viruses, or pathogens, and has a pH of 5 or 6, which is on the acid side of the pH Scale. It is easier to remove right when it is fresh. Once it dries it turns "alkaline" or to a high pH between 10 to 12 on the scale and becomes more difficult to remove. The warm acid state of the urine offers the perfect breeding ground for bacteria which begins to flourish almost immediately. In this original acid state the urine begins to oxidize and react with the carpet fibres to create a color change. If left for days or weeks, depending on the fabric type, it will change to dye structure, therefore causing permanent staining.

The Best Cleaning Agents For Urine: Enzymes are the best cleaning agent for urine, vomit, and feces. An enzyme is the only cleaning agent that actually eats up the bad bacteria. For best results use an enzyme spotter after you have rinsed the carpet, especially if the spot is not a fresh one. We recommend 'NATURE'S MIRACLE', which can be purchased at any local pet store. Always read directions before use!

Products To Avoid: Try to stay away from products with high pH such as ammonia, Resolve, and oxygen bleaches such as Oxyclean. These products will leave the carpet with a residue and in a high pH state, which will enable the carpet to attract dirt like a magnet. In some instances the use of the wrong product can cause the urine stain to be permanent. Please call Liberty Floor Solutions at (916) 525-2456 if you are not sure what product you may want to try.

Finally, if you are going to high a professional carpet cleaner make sure that they use "Truck Mount" equipment and have a device called a "WATERCLAW". The 'Waterclaw' is the only device that can successfully pull the urine out of the padding. The professional cleaner will have to be on their hands and knees so they will probably require an additional fee for the urine removal. Usually they will charge $5.00 per spot. If they use a "waterclaw" and get on their hands and knees to extract the urine it is worth every penny.

FILTRATION SOIL & CARPET CLEANING

If you have light colored carpet, you may have experienced dark lines that appear mostly around the edge of the room, under doorways, under the skirting of furniture, and on stairs. Its makeup is oily and the molecules of the soils are so small that cleaning them or removing them from fibers is very difficult. In addition, they have an electrical "charge" that bonds them firmly to the fiber. This soiling is called filtration soiling because it comes from air passing through the carpet as it attempts to get through the crack between the carpet and baseboard or under a closed door.

More often than not these filtration lines can not be cleaned with your standard home cleaning machine or even with the standard truck mount cleaning process. In order for a carpet cleaner to get these lines out he (or she) will have to get on their hands and knees with special chemicals to remove the filtration lines. It is probably the most difficult task to ask a carpet cleaner to perform. That is why most cleaners will not attempt to clean these filtration lines, and they will tell you there is no hope. With the proper cleaning technique, chemicals, and patient these filtration lines can be removed. Be prepared to pay more this type of service because it does require more time and expense on behalf of the cleaner.

To help prevent filtration soiling vacuum and wipe the edges of the carpeting on a weekly basis. The best type of vacuum is a HEPA filtration, it will trap these fine particles in the bag. Be careful around the tackstrip on the edge of the carpeting, it could nick your fingers!