Ur-OUT Pet Urine Odor Remover

Ur-OUT

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All-Spray Molecular Magic Pre-Spray on Velvet Cotton Sofa

Since I formulated All-Spray earlier this year, my technicians are still making adjustments to having a lot less detergents on their shelves. Their biggest adjustment so far was using only one cleaner for six textiles, hence the name, All-Spray.

Last Friday my technician text me the picture above out of pure amazement at how All-Spray was performing on a cotton velvet sofa (forgive the pdf pic). We’ve all cleaned cotton velvet fibers, but have we cleaned a delicate fiber with the same pre-spray we used on grimy grout or restaurant carpet? Probably not.

All-Spray is molecularly structured to encapsulate then emulsify grease, grime and soil particulates without the use of soap or surfactants. All-Spray is a gamechanger for our industry. All-Spray is a non-toxic carpet pre-spray that thoroughly cleans tile, grout, wool, natural stone, cotton, marble, concrete, synthetic fibers and travertine without leaving a soapy residue that can re-soil soon after the cleaning. Another huge benefit: We no longer have to burn our lungs out with toxic ethers and solvents.

Another Success Story

Today the same technician called me to let me know that the grimy kitchen tile & grout he was cleaning looked brand new after he was done. The grout was so clean and white that the customer ask him for grout sealer! No up-selling required, she saw the floor and asked him to seal it.

So All-Spray not only cleans velvet and grout to like new condition, but it does it at a low pH of 8 while being 100% non-toxic and soap-free. Why is soap-free important? If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a carpet cleaning franchise out there that offers no residue carpet cleaning and the message is sticking with our customers.

Soap and surfactants can re-soil carpet fibers even if they are thoroughly rinsed out, but who wants a two-day dry time? If your pre-spray contains surfactants, you are very likely leaving a soap residue that could cause your customer’s carpet to re-soil faster than with a soap-free product. If it contains anionic surfactants, the chance is even greater. Anionic surfactants is like the gift that keeps giving; it suds forever.

All-Spray’s Many Benefits

  • Destroys Grease & Grime
  • Will Not Resoil | 100% Soap-Free
  • HWE or VLM Pre-Spray
  • Cleans Greasy Restaurant Carpet
  • Cleans Grimy Tile & Grout
  • Cleans Stone, Marble, Travertine
  • Cleans Wool, Cotton, Jute
  • Cleans all Synthetic Fibers
  • Powerful Spotter & Degreaser

Other Great Features

  • 100% Non-Toxic
  • 100% Soap-Free
  • Near-Neutral 8 pH
  • No Rinse Needed
  • Won’t Etch Metals
  • StainGuard-Safe
  • VOC-Safe
  • Pet-Safe
  • Odor-Free
  • Dye-Free

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Many in our industry know that my carpet cleaning and chemical company are over 450 miles apart. I own and manage a carpet cleaning business in Tennessee, yet I live in the Chicagoland area. Keeping liability low is a high priority so I formulate products to match that need. From this need is where Ur-OUT and All-Spray originated.

While many of us are owner-operators, those who have technicians know that trusting a technician to flush urine out of a the third floor multimillion dollar home is just a bad idea. With Ur-OUT, you get just enough into the pad and leave it there to dry naturally. This eliminates the fear of flooding, mold or causing some crazy unknown hazard. The same with All-Spray

Two days ago we had a new technician that said his wand wasn’t working right. It turns out one jet was clogged, really clogged. I asked him about the his last appointment and he said he did his best to extract using one jet. While it makes me cringe, thankfully All-Spray is an encapsulant without any soap so the carpet will not re-soil and if any soils remain they will dry-extract when vacuumed.

We need products that not only work effectively, but reduce our liability as much as possible. Both All-Spray and Ur-OUT do exactly that. If you are one of the few that hasn’t tried any of our products, get a free desktop sample kit at the bottom of our “Shop” page, or just take the plunge and place an order and we’ll ship it out ASAP.

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42% of Cleaners Treat Urine This Way

As mentioned in my recent CleanFax article “Oxidizers Win the Urine Odor Battle, but Lose the War” I talked about the role we carpet cleaners play when dealing with pet urine in carpet. Before I really knew what I was doing in the carpet cleaning business, I used to assume the role of Urine Odor Commander In Chief, not realizing I was destroying my reputation.

So many professional cleaners willingly put their reputation into the wrong customers’ hands by over promising pet urine results. I somehow used to think I could eliminate all the urine odors with beautiful smelling oxidizer, but it was short lived. After a few weeks, Mother Nature would send in more bacteria and starts off-gassing ammonia. The customer didn’t call me back; worse, they called my competitor.

After researching and formulating with pet urine for so long, I can tell you that the only way to completely remove pet urine from carpet is to either incinerate it, or completely replace it, concrete subfloor included! The only way to eliminate a significant amount of urine odor is by applying bacterial spores that break down the nitrogen through enzymes – just like Mother Nature.

How Do You Approach Pet Urine?

For fun, I ran poll on the facebook group Carpet Cleaning CEO and found that a majority of cleaners approach pet urine by subsurface extraction using an enzyme cleaner. I admit, the poll did not have enough respondents to deem it official, but regardless, 42% said they flushed urine out of carpet with an enzyme cleaner.

Subsurface Enzyme Extraction: 42%

Topical Odor Treatment: 23%

Subsurface Enzyme Injection: 19%

Subsurface Oxidizer injection: 1%

Subsurface Detergent Extraction: 1%

While it’s easy to win a liability claim from it, Subsurface Enzyme Extraction works great but for reasons many professional cleaners may not understand. If you have spent anytime in the water damage restoration field, you know that subsurface extractors do a great job removing water from the carpet, but not the pad. This means the pad is still significantly wet after flushing urine. We may think it’s bone dry, but peeling up the carpet and doing the old fashioned squeeze test will make us a liar, every time.

While enzymes hydrolyze the available fats and proteins, enzymes require a lot longer than a few minutes dwell time to work effectively. The real benefit with using enzymes as a flushing agent is the remaining spores that are left down in the pad after the service. As the pad dries, the remaining spores are finally given enough time to start kick-start the Nitrogen Cycle. And the longer they sit wet, the more effectively they work.

There is a Better Way

Pet urine is nearly all water with a fraction of it being protein waste. I have evaporated enough urine to know that aged urine is really just a putrefied dust that contains a lot of goodies for bacteria. The best way to eliminate pet urine odor is to speed up the consumption of the bacterial food source: nitrogen!

Ur-OUT is nothing more than Mother Nature on steroids. Ur-OUT packed full of a special blend of bacterial spores that release countless enzymes to help break down the nitrogen much faster. This results in the most permanent urine odor elimination possible next to incineration, or full replacement.

Here’s How to Make Your Urine Jobs Faster, Easier and Permanent: Pour or spray enough Ur-OUT onto each urine spot. Step on it to “inject it” into the carpet pad. Done! Clean the carpet and leave Ur-OUT to dry naturally. The longer it sits wet the better it works. Plus, Ur-OUT’s spores continue to work long after it is dry when humidity levels increase. Any remaining spores will start consuming any remaining nitrogen thereby safeguarding and controlling the odor into the future.

My Short Story

I own a carpet cleaning business over 450 miles from my home. I have ran the business for nearly six years long distance. One of the first changes I made was to stop subsurface extraction. I could not sleep at night wondering if one of my technicians put too much water down and now I’ve got a ceiling to replace, or worse, a mold claim.

I quickly made the change to subsurface enzyme injection and never looked back. After six years of subsurface injecting Ur-OUT, I can personally tell you that my technicians knock-out pet urine jobs in half the time with far less liability and results that only get better with time. Save the oxidizers for organic stains. For an authentic, long term urine odor remover, choose Ur-OUT. Buy a bottle right now!

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How to Get Pet Urine Smell Out of Carpet

At this point you have likely cleaned your carpet and now the pet urine smell is worse, right? Understanding the Uric Salt Cycle is foundational to understand why pet urine odors return stronger than before after cleaning or even on rainy days.

Pet urine is the perfect storm for indoor carpeting. First, carpet is not water tight, so pet urine passes right through it and pools in the carpet pad below. In worse case scenarios, urine can seep into the sub-floor causing permanent odor damage. However, Ur-OUT can greatly improve how your home smells and it is so easy to do.

When a pet pees on the carpet, that urine eventually turns into an alkaline salt, known as Uric Acid (Uric Salt). Uric salt is rich in nitrogen and is a nutrient for bacterial growth. Bacteria slowly convert the nitrogen into ammonia giving you that awful pungent smell.

How Ur-OUT Works

Ur-OUT contains billions of non-harmful bacterial spores that start producing enzymes when applied to uric salt. Ur-OUT speeds up the conversion of nitrogen to ammonia quickly to eliminate that pungent, rancid urine odor so your home can smell great again.

Ur-OUT is also incredibly easy to apply and continues working long after the initial application. Once applied, Ur-OUT starts pumping out countless digestive enzymes to eliminate the uric salt once and for all. Ur-OUT exponentially doubles every twenty minutes for fast, permanent results.

Next to replacing your carpet, Spore-Form Ur-OUT is the BEST solution for permanent urine smell removal. If you have never tried a bottle of Ur-OUT, order yours right now and get your home smelling great again!

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Oxidizers Win the Pet Urine Battle, But Not the War

It seems the world has gone Oxi-crazy since the OxiClean infomercials of the early 2000’s. We use hydrogen peroxide in cleaners, spotters, boosters, deodorizers, you name it – it’s everywhere. Oxidizers do miracles for the cleaning industry, but there is one area of concern where oxygen is heavily used, but unfortunately greatly misunderstood.

Oxidizers remove the appearance of stains while having antimicrobial affects. They appear to work wonders on pet urine odor removal, but the Nitrogen Cycle teaches us otherwise. While oxidizers eliminate ammonia odors instantly, many professional cleaners may not fully understanding how or why. One of the greatest misconceptions in our industry is that oxidizers eliminate pet urine odors permanently.

The Nitrogen Cycle

All forms of life require nitrogen. Nitrogen helps create amino acids that give us proteins and eventually DNA, critical for life and reproduction. The Nitrogen Cycle involves how this element converts to liquid and gaseous forms throughout a cycle. It is fascinating to see how our ecosystem recycles nitrogen as a life force. Lightening, rain, decaying waste (urine) and microbes all play an important role in the Nitrogen Cycle.

When it comes to applying oxidizers to pet urine odors, the result is swift and instant. The odors disappear immediately because the oxidizer destroys the ammonifying bacteria on contact. However, the ammonifying bacteria were there for specific reason, to convert the nitrogen within the uric salt, creatinine and urea to the gaseous form of nitrogen called ammonia.

While the urine odors may have been eradicated, it is only temporary as oxidizers do not effectively alter the nitrogen. The area will eventually repopulate with ammonifying bacteria until the nitrogen is successfully converted to ammonia – no exceptions.

Nitrogen: Fighting Fire with Fire

Pet urine contains several sources of nitrogen. While oxidizers eliminate the nitrogen-converting bacteria, eliminating the bacteria is winning the battle, but not the war. This means the Nitrogen Cycle will continue as more ammonifying bacteria return and start converting the nitrogen to ammonia. The uric salt also makes this process much more attractive as it absorbs moisture as a desiccant to support further microbial life.

The only effective way to eliminate the nitrogen without replacing the flooring is to speed up the ammonification process. The ammonifying bacteria use special enzymes to convert nitrogen to ammonia. Applying additional enzymes to the nutrient-dense area provides the perfect environment for complete ammonification (nitrogen elimination).

Spore-form Ur-OUT

Enzymes quickly speed up the ammonifcation process thereby eliminating the possibility of future odors. While the process is not instant, it is still the only way to properly eliminate pet urine odors permanently. Unlike many enzymatic deodorants that are sold in enzyme form, Ur-OUT is a dormant formula, the stage prior to creating enzymes, so it starts creating enzymes on contact with the nitrogen. This provides the most potent enzyme count possible and the best chance for complete ammonification.

Spore-form Ur-OUT contains a specific amount of fragrance to temporarily mask the rush of ammonia odor until the ammonification process is complete. Ur-OUT’s fragrance slowly dissipates as the conversion occurs so there are no overpowering, lingering odors. The result is a fresh, clean, ammonia-free smell.

Good, Cheap, Fast: Pick Two

I have heard professional carpet cleaners say that they do not have time for enzymes to work, and that peroxide does the job instantly without any call-backs. This repeated phrase is a near battle cry within the industry, likely because the results are so instant. Science, however, tells us otherwise. It is also a Cheap, Fast service as the title suggests. Cheap, Fast yields low customer retention. It is crucial for professional cleaners to educate their customers on the Nitrogen Cycle.

Customers must realize that if they do not want to spend thousands of dollars in new carpet, pad and sub-floor, the next best thing is a quality spore-form enzymatic cleaner applied correctly to the carpet and pad. And it may require more than one visit!

Rethinking Pet Urine Odor Remediation

Pet urine is so pervasive that it may require additional applications on separate appointments. This is not the professional cleaners fault, as urine can seep deep into textiles, hardwood floors, even concrete. And who knows how many times a pet has pee’d in one location. It does become the carpet cleaners fault if he or she does not educate the customer on the odor removal process or offering a 100% odor removal guarantee that very day.

You did not ask the customer to allow their pet to pee on the carpet, nor that new-used homeowner to buy a home full contaminated carpet. If they do not want to fix the problem correctly, that is, full replacement, then you are not fully liable for complete pet urine odor removal.

Become the educator; assume the role of odor remediator, and not odor eliminator. Your aim is to save them thousands of dollars by helping them mitigate the pet urine odor. If full removal occurs, great, but offering anything more is risky.

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Pet Odor Remediation: A Two Day Appointment?

Let’s be real, we cleaning professionals love scheduling appointments, but do we ever consider how much liability is involved when it comes to pet urine jobs and our reputation? I assure you, those 50+ urine spots the customer doesn’t know are there didn’t get there overnight, so why do they think a quick carpet cleaning will do the trick?

Pet urine is a big reason customers need their carpet cleaned. Many of these customers don’t understand that pet urine can not only saturate the carpet pad, but the concrete or wood sub-floor beneath. Explaining how pervasive pet urine is to your customer is important for two reasons: Their satisfaction and your revenue.

Why Scheduling Two Appointments is Better

While treating pet urine and cleaning the carpet on the same day works, scheduling the service over two appointments yields better results with more revenue. Applying a quality spore-form product like Ur-OUT during the first appointment allows for a longer, more thorough application within the carpet fibers, pad and sub-floor beneath. This eliminates a greater amount of nutrient dense salt (uric salt) so odor-causing bacteria cannot return. Regarding revenue, scheduling the appointments on two separate days tells your customer indirectly that pet urine odor remediation is more invasive than simply cleaning the carpet. Educating your customer on the odor elimination process it the key to her understanding and accepting the value proposition.

I get it, we’re in a highly competitive industry; you might have a fear of losing the customer. If the customer is truly interested in removing pet urine odors from her carpet, she will choose the most thorough cleaning possible. Keep in mind, she has already tried vinegar and baking sofa and now it’s worse, right? If however you do lose the customer, they are likely focused on price and not results. While I would tread likely, you can down sell, but keep in mind that pet urine odor remediation is a double-edged sword: low price and premium results do not go together.

How to Schedule Two Day Appointments

Treating the pet urine and scheduling the cleaning for another day creates better value for you and the customer. While you can treat pet urine the same day as the cleaning, separating the two gives you a much better success rate as it’s more thorough and eliminates wicking, stains and residual odor complaints. You also get a second look on the day of the cleaning to make sure you’re delivering the best results possible.

Scheduling two separate appointments should not happen while at the job site, typically. Some will of course, but this type of appointment should be pre-qualified when the customer first calls in. Whether you provide a phone quote or in-home quote, asking the right question is the key to understanding what the customer truly wants. If pet urine odor is their main concern, going for two separate appointments will earn you more revenue and a potential life-long customer.

The Science Behind Separate Appointments

Understanding why pet urine odors reoccur is priceless information in our industry. Breaking the Uric Salt Cycle is the key to permanent pet urine odor removal. Biology, not chemistry, is the answer as you will learn shortly. Hydrogen peroxide, which is another popular odor treatment, does remove urine odors instantly; however, peroxide and other oxidizing cleaners do Not affect the nitrogen found within uric salt (urine salt). This means the nutritious uric salt will attract more odor-causing bacteria possibly in as little as a few weeks. Moreover, peroxide turns into water, the very fuel that restarts the bacterial growth through the Uric Salt Cycle.

Spore-form Ur-OUT eliminates the nitrogen found in uric salt thereby breaking the Uric Salt Cycle for permanent results. Giving Spore-form Ur-OUT time to eliminate the pet urine odors before the cleaning is the most permanent pet urine treatment available next to replacement. Note: you can also apply Ur-OUT same-day into the pad and clean the carpet afterwards. You can also use Ur-OUT as a powerful Subsurface Extraction cleaner at 1:20! More good information at: Pet Urine Odor Removal: Chemistry or Biology?

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“Do You Guarantee Pet Urine Odor Removal?”

I’m sure you’ve been asked this question many times from your customers. And if you answered “Yes,” you’re going to either love or hate this post. Either way, this article contains a solid argument as to why cleaners should not guarantee complete pet urine odor removal.

You know the story, a new home buyer buys a used home and schedules you to clean the carpet. The home inspector did not do a Urine Mapping Test nor did a professional cleaner. You arrive and instantly notice urine odors in the air along with yellow spots.

You mention the odor and stains to the new-used home buyer and request to do an UV test. She agrees and after seeing so many urine spots with the UV light, she pops the question: Do you guarantee complete pet urine odor removal? Your answer should always be “No,” followed by a solid explanation as to why you do not guarantee complete pet urine odor removal. You may also wish to let your customer know she should steer clear from any carpet cleaner that says they can.

The Seller Sets a Trap

The last thing people are thinking about when they buy a used house is if there is pet urine in the carpet. The seller cranked up the air conditioning to help reduce the Uric Salt Cycle. He also Frabreezed the carpet to the hilt. Is this your fault? Surely not, but you are there now and you offer pet odor removal as a service. How much ownership do you have in this conundrum?

Five Reasons You Should Not Guarantee Pet Odor Removal

There are five reasons carpet cleaners should never guarantee complete pet urine odor removal with number 1 being the most important.

  1. The only way to completely guarantee complete dog and cat urine odor removal is to replace the carpet, pad and either seal or replace the wood or concrete sub-floor beneath.
  2. You do not know if the seller reused the old pad if and when the carpet was last replaced. It could still contain thirsty urine salts.
  3. You don’t know if the seller did not seal and/or replace the sub-floor the last time the carpet and pad were installed. The sub-floor could also contain thirsty urine salts.
  4. If the carpet is oil-based, i.e., polyester, olefin or polypropylene, and the seller had the carpet cleaned without treating the pad, your UV light won’t show the urine spots. This means the pad beneath is likely loaded with thirsty urine salt just waiting for a drink of water to start off-gassing again.
  5. If a pet has urinated in one particular area several times where the urine has contaminated deep into the wood or concrete, you likely cannot reach deep enough to significantly affect the bacteria growth deep within the sub-floor.

Meeting of the Minds

If the customer chooses not to replace the carpet, pad and sub-floor because of pet urine odor, you have now taken on the role of damage control, and that’s the best position to be in. Again, if the customer declines fixing the problem the right way, that reduces your liability and her expectations of 100% odor removal. Ensuring the customer you will do as thorough of a job as possible is one thing, but taking complete ownership of any pet urine removal request is another.

It is crucial to have a meeting of the minds with each customer prior to starting the service. Identifying your limits as a service provider prior to starting the work is not only ethical, but it speaks volumes of your sense of responsibility, and your customers crave that quality in contractors.

Chemistry or Biology?

Now that you have a new role in helping your customer elminate pet urine odors from their carpet, choosing which odor removal method works best. While many professional carpet cleaners incorrectly assume hydrogen peroxide (oxygen) is the best pet urine odor eliminator, we encourage you to learn why peroxide is a short term fix. Next to replacing the carpet, Spore-form Ur-OUT delivers the most permanent pet urine odor eliminating results. The following post gives great insight into how and why biology, not chemistry is best when treating pet urine in carpet: Pet Urine Odor Removal: Chemistry or Biology?