Pet Problems: The Full Depth

For the past few blog posts, we've been exploring the different ways to treat surface-level pet accidents. We talked about how to clean spills that you catch immediately, and how to keep them from becoming stinky stains. Then we talked about a more effective deodorizer that can be applied by your certified Zerorez® technician in order to deal with those trickles and slightly larger spots. But sometimes, the problem gets a little deeper; sometimes, there's more going on below the surface.

If your medium or big dog leaves a large, concentrated spot, or if your smaller dog or cat repeatedly hits the same place over and over again, then it's likely that their urine is going down into the pad of your carpet, where it begins to spread out laterally. That's gross enough, but then bacteria begins to feed on it, and they start off-gassing different chemicals into the air, which leave things uncomfortably smelly. Often, there may not even be a stain on the surface, so an easy way to find these "mystery stink spots" is with a blacklight. Under a blacklight, a substance called urochrome glows green, and it's a dead giveaway. So what do you do when this is the case?

First, you have to call in a professional. Each Zerorez technician carries a blacklight with him for the specific purpose of finding the stink spots. Then, if he deems it necessary, he can do what's called a "sub-extraction." Essentially, he'll use special equipment to flush out everything down on the pad. Then he'll put down a product which will start to kill off that bacteria and break down whatever is left under the surface. Finally, when the product has done its work, he'll flush that out, too, leaving your carpet sanitized all the way to the pad. No bacteria, no off-gassing, just clean carpet. And as long as the urine hasn't gotten past the pad and into the room's sub-floor, or into the room's baseboards, your pet odor problems should be solved!

Now before we end, we need to address the existence of "puppy pads" or "pet pads." These are very good investments for your carpet, because they keep that urine from reaching down into the sub-floor of your home. But be aware that sub-extractions are often still necessary, even with this added protection, because the urine may still be sitting on top of the pad. But for the peace of mind that comes from knowing your carpets are fresh, Zerorez sub-extractions are worth the investment. Stay clean, Indy.

-Zerorez-