How To Remove Pet Odor

February 21, 2020

Key Points:

• The first step in removing pet odors is to choose the right product. Of course, you’ll want to avoid caustic chemical treatments. Unfortunately, many safe enzymatic cleaners will only do half the job of removing odors. You need a product that contains both enzymes and bacteria. See more information below.
• When using Unique’s products to remove odors, there are several key steps that you should follow. See below for specifics. 
• Although most people get that odor eliminated on their first try, it’s possible that you might still smell a diminished odor. If this is the case, see the troubleshooting items below to help you figure out exactly what you need to do to completely eliminate that pesky odor!

Any pet owner knows that his or her fuzzy little friends—no matter how lovable—can be smelly sometimes, especially when they have accidents on carpet! Beyond just removing the stain that results from these unfortunate accidents, it can often seem impossible to remove the odor! Never fear. In this article, we’re going to cover how to remove pet odors and the best pet carpet cleaner product to do it!

Step 1: Choosing the Right Product

Although this might seem like a simple step, there’s actually quite a lot that goes into it. The unlucky fact is that many pet odor cleaners don’t tackle the core of the problem. Of course, you’ll want to use safe cleaner. Sadly, many chemical-based treatments can be very harmful not only to you, but your pet as well! As always, we strongly recommend that you stay away from caustic chemical products, especially when using it around your pets!

As far as other safe products go—such as enzyme-only cleaners—they also will struggle to fully remove an odor. Enzymes are non-living proteins, and as such, they cannot reproduce and will only break larger pieces of waste into smaller pieces. In other words, enzymes will not digest waste fully—let alone remove odors. Enzymatic cleaners only do half the job. Normally, cleaners like this will use some sort of masking agent (i.e., a fragrance) to mask the pet odor. Obviously, this will wear off, and you’ll be left with that nasty pet odor once again! 

What you need is a product that contains both enzymes and bacteria. Because bacteria are living organisms that reproduce, they will fully digest (literally eat) not only the solid waste, but also the odor that goes along with it. At Unique, we put both enzymes and bacteria into our pet products. Unique’s Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator uses enzymes to break down the waste into smaller pieces so that the bacteria can completely digest both the solid waste and the odor-producing element (e.g., ammonia). 

Step 2: Effectively Removing Odors Using Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator

Using Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator to remove pet odors is easy. If you choose to use the concentrated version of the product, simply mix 1 cup of the product with 5-10 cups of water. This will activate the bacteria and create the perfect odor-eliminating cocktail! If, on the other hand, you don’t want to do this extra work, you can always go with the Ready to Use version of the product, which comes pre-mixed and totally prepared to knock out that odor. 

Pour either your own mixture or the Ready to Use blend of the product onto the place on your carpet where the smell is coming from. This could be an actual visible stain or simply a smelly spot where a previous accident occurred. The important point here is to completely saturate the area, which means you should use plenty of product. You want to make sure that the product soaks all the way through the carpet and into the pad itself. That being said, there is no need to completely flood the area! 

Next, use the bottom of the Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator bottle to agitate the area. This does two things:

• Makes sure that the product has infiltrated every part of the carpet
• And helps to break up especially large pieces of waste so the bacteria can eat it. 

Cover the stain with a damp white towel, and let sit for 8-10 hours. By covering the stain, you’re making sure that the area stays damp, creating the best environment in which the bacteria can work. Also, make sure not to use a colored towel, since the colors can bleed into your carpet!

Important note: while the product is working its magic, you might notice a stronger-than-normal ammonia smell coming from the affected area. Don’t worry! This is normal. If there is urine present in the affected area (which is likely if you were smelling things before!), the bacteria will create an ammonia smell as they digest the odor. Allow the area to dry completely, and the ammonia smell should disappear. 

Step 3: Making Sure the Odor is Completely Removed

In nine cases out of ten, you’ll get that odor removed on the first application of Pet Odor and Stain Eliminator; however, if you’re still experiencing some odors after you’ve allowed the area to completely dry, there are a couple things that might have happened. 

• You simply missed a small area of the stain. In this case, simply try to identify the area you missed and complete the steps outlined above!
• Not enough product was used, and the area was not fully saturated. If you’re still noticing a smell—maybe it’s diminished, but not eliminated—it’s possible that you just didn’t completely saturate the area. It’s important to use plenty of product so that it can penetrate the carpet and the pad. Additionally, sometimes pets will do their business along the wall, and the pee will get stuck behind the baseboard. If this is the case, you’ll need to make sure that you pour some of the product behind the baseboard. 
• The area wasn’t properly agitated. We’ve found that agitation is a crucial step in the process of removing stains. Make sure you properly agitate the affected area with the bottom of the bottle before you cover it with a damp white towel. 
• The area was not kept moist. 
• As mentioned above, it’s important to keep the affected area damp during the treatment period. This allows the bacteria to thrive and do their job to the best of their ability! 
• Your pet is taking anti-bacterial mediation. If your pet is currently taking a medication, it’s possible that the medication contains anti-bacterial agents. These anti-bacterial agents can make it into your pet’s pee, poop, or vomit, so when you try to use our bacterial-based product on the stain, the anti-bacterial agents kill our bacteria! In this case, you may need to rinse the affected area several times with warm water to purge it of the anti-bacterial agents, then apply our product. Also, it may take a few applications of our product to fully remove the odor. 

Conclusion

Pets are a great part of our lives, but they can be smelly sometimes! We hope that this article has helped you to determine the best way to eliminate those pesky odors! If you have any further questions, concerns, or comments, please reach out to use at support@uniquemm.com. We would love to assist you!

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