Dealing with pet odour in your home can be extremely difficult and frustrating.  There are usually three scenarios, you either, 1. have a smell that permeates the whole house no matter what room you are in. 2. Have an offensive odour specifically to one or two rooms or  3. you occasionally get a whiff of pee that comes and goes. In any case the source of the odour can be elusive and hard to find.

We love our pets to bits but sometimes accidents can happen, or your beloved pet is using your home as a toilet!   This could be due to several reasons either behavioural, psychological or a physical problem.  No matter the reason, finding the offensive areas and treating them can be a hit and miss affair unless you have the experience and tools to locate and the treat the urine properly.

If you suspect your pet has been peeing in your house but have not caught them in the act, then it’s time to play detective. Here are a few things you can try.

• Check all your carpeted floors and rugs for any visible stains.
• Follow your pet when they leave the room, try not to let them notice you and try to catch them in the act.
• Follow your nose, get down low and smell your way.  Your nose will lead you to any offensive smells.

Cats and dogs will usually go to the toilet in the same area every time unless they are caught off guard and have an accident.  Once you have identified the areas of concern it is time to treat and sanitise these areas, But before you use over the counter products or Google “how to clean up cat/dog pee from carpet”  Get our Free Report – “7 things you must never do when treating your Pet stain”.

If you have already treated the area and the odour persists, then one of the following could possibly be the reason.

• Your treatment was ineffective
• Your pet has urinated on that spot again
• There is another area close by that you missed
• There is more urine in the carpet that you just can not see
• There is urine in the carpet underlay and sub floor

 When your pet pees on your carpet the urine soaks through the carpet into the underlay and sub floor then spreads out in all directions. The stain on top of the carpet could be the size of a teacup saucer however the size of the stain in the underlay and sub floor could be the size of a dinner plate.  Most of the time it is only the size of the stain on top of the carpet that is treated, and the rest gets missed.

Another way that a stain can get missed is if the urine dries with no visible stain remaining on the carpet.  However, there is a big wet patch in your underlay and sub floor that you can not see or get to and so can not be treated. Wooden and concrete sub floors are extremely porous and easily soak up urine, most sub floors are never sealed and if not treated properly could be the cause of your continuous odour issues

Calling a professional Carpet Cleaner who Specialises in the Treatment of Urine and Odour will always provide you with the best possible outcome.  It is important to note that all pet stains must first be treated properly before your carpet is cleaned.  If you are having problems with odour it is almost certain that there are wet patches of urine in your underlay and sub floor.  Having your carpet steam cleaned the usual way with hot water extraction will actually spread the urine further throughout the underlay.  Hot water extraction saturates the padding, spreading the untreated urine and now it is impossible to find the individual wet patches of urine as all of the padding is wet.  Cleaning your carpet before treating the pet stains will cause serious problems which will then be more difficult and costly to fix.