So, is there carpet on planet krypton…I’ll ask Superman next time I see him! Ya, I know, I wonder myself sometimes…all in fun guys! As we all know, Superman has his one nemesis…Kryptonite! This green crystal turns Superman into “JELLO”, sucks away all of his powers and leaves him weak! Well, here on planet earth, where we have no super powers, many things have their weakness though. Being in the carpet cleaning industry, we believe carpet has on main weakness that will destroy leaving it weak. You guessed it…DOG PEE! Specializing in Pet Urine & Odor Remediation services, we have seen many homes with a pet urine problem. In general, for most people, pet urine just smells bad, but for a carpet cleaner it’s more than just an odor problem! Carpet is not always salvageable and may need to be replaced depending on the severity of the issue. Reason being, Dog urine is highly acidic and breaks the carpet down causing structural damage…many times beyond repair! Yes, “Dog Pee Kryptonite” breaks down and weakens the structural integrity of the carpet leaving it damaged. So, will dog urine have more of a negative effect on carpet than other liquids? The answer is YES! Listed below are the reasons.

  1. Dog Urine is the byproduct of a living animal and contains bacteria
  2. Bacteria in pet urine will continue to grow and thrive unless treated and destroyed
  3. Highly acidic in nature causing the decay of both synthetic and natural fibers
  4. Yellow color called (Urochrome) stains synthetics and penetrates natural fibers
  5. High acidic rate delaminates the carpet backing causing separation
  6. Dog urine causes the carpet to lose it’s rigidity

Listed above, are just a few reasons why Dog Urine has “Kryptonic” effects on carpet. Having said that, “like superman” once the kryptonite wears off, then the rebuilding process begins. As stated above, many times carpet is too damaged and needs replacing. Sometimes there are options available to repair carpet to a like new appearance. The bottom line, if the carpet weave has separated from the backing, probably not salvageable…period! If salvageable, allowing the carpet to dry will re-harden the latex (if not already separated). When dry, the carpet can then be cleaned and reinstalled. In a dog urine situation, removing the urine is key! Everything mentioned above can somewhat be prevented by properly extracting the urine when found. Again, removing the urine is key, once extracted, a drying fan can be used to reduce the humidity from the extraction/treatment process allowing the backing to harden. Dog urine bacteria and acid are really what damages carpet the most! The longer urine sets into the carpet, the more difficult it will become to remove. When pre-treating carpet, adding too much moisture will cause the backing to weaken more! Be sure to use small amounts of pre-treatment solutions and DO NOT let sit for long periods of time. Extract the solution within 1 minute from beginning of the treatment process. Any longer than that, you increase the separation and drying time by 50%. No matter what pre-treatment process your using, less is better!