Fact: Urine can cause permanent color damage, either from adding color by dying the carpet fibers or removing color by bleaching out the carpet fibers. Fact: When urine is deposited, it is in an acid state but as it dries, the moisture evaporates but the urine crystal salts become more concentrated & then it turns alkaline (thus the ammonia odor) Fact: Simple cleaning will NOT remove these odors or stains. In fact the crystals are generally reactivated by moisture. Notice the problem is more dominant in the summer humidity. Fact: Urine deposited on a carpet can eventually contaminate the backing, the pad, the tack strips and even if the floor is wood or concrete, odor can permeate from any of these affected areas. OK. So what can be done about pet stains & odors? Step 1: We must determine the degree of contamination. This is done using a black light and a urine probe. Step 2: After our examination the technician will decide which method of cleaning is best A. Minor problem treatment: An enzyme digester deodorizer is pre-applied on all affected areas & will generally take a dwell time of 30 minutes or till area is dry. The enzyme is designed to digest the urine bacteria prior to cleaning. Extraction is then performed using Courteous Carpet Cares residue free pet flushing solutions. B . Moderate Problem Treatment: If it is determined contamination is in the backing then we need to use an oxidizer treatment in conjunction with a tool called “the Water Claw”. First an OSR (oxidizer odor and stain powder) is mixed in a pail of hot water & then poured over the contaminated spot to saturate the carpet fiber, backing, and pad. We then use the “Water Claw” to extract the water, chemical, stain and odor from the carpet, backing, and pad. Then we fallow up with step A. C. Severe Problem Treatment: This is a full-blown odor treatment designed to completely remove the odor. The carpet is pulled up and cleaned on both sides. The padding is then discarded. Next the sub floor, tackstrips, baseboards, and carpet backing are all treated with an “odor barrier”. Note: this treatment is rare but when it is needed it must be weighed against the cost of replacing both carpet and pad. “Odor Barrier” must still be applied to treat the sub floor and baseboards. Then we follow up with step A.