Accidents from animals and humans can smell this substance, and if it gets into the carpets, it can smell like crazy.
The chemical makeup can vary from the sex of the culprit to those on medication. The one thing that will be contained is salts and ammonia.
Ammonia is used to kill germs and is yellow. So we sometimes see that yellow patch on the reverse side of a carpet or rug.
Some removal is very simple to complete. There are times when it is not cost-effective.
This needs to be identified and we do this by using a powerful UV light.
This process allows us to identify where the problem is. The Uv light will darken the fibres in colour.
We also use a very sensitive machine to find the smell, and this is called our nose.
Only experience will guarantee the removal and not everyone will be happy.
Let me explain.
When a carpet cleaner surveys a carpet or rug, the first thing which is carried out is the UV test.
This test highlights the area which is contaminated.
We also use litmus paper in areas that can also identify fibres that do not have a neutral fibre reading.
Not all removal is the same.
Pending the fibre involved, it could well be a simple application of a specific chemical applied. What this does is destroy the odour, salts, and colouring.
On the removal, steam extraction is the recommended system to use.
The steam will penetrate all the fibre, and also destroy any remnants of chemicals which have been unsuccessful in breaking down salts, and odours. Certain carpets will change colour, which will mean the fibres have bleached. To reverse this, we would need to apply our dye application procedure.
Now, as I said, not all removal is as simple as I have already discussed.
We have had during our years attended many pee-pee incidents.
In the more severe cases, we have had to do
A gentleman contacts us advising after a drunken evening, going to bed, he wakes up confused and just urinates on the bedroom carpet. He tried to dry as much as possible with towels. However, no matter what he did, the smell would not go away.
Now, through experience, a carpet cleaner will know what procedure has to be followed.
The carpet was uplifted, and straightaway the evidence and severity were clear.
The underlay was saturated. This was removed.
The subfloor was wood, and this was also wet.
The back of the carpet had yellowed.
The subfloor was treated with an odour-destroying and antibacterial chemical. The reverse of the carpet was also treated and steam cleaned.
The carpet was then supported. Not laid down to allow the wood floor to breathe and evaporate the chemicals.
The following day the subfloor retreated with a mist of chemical, the new underlay was fitted, and the reverse of the carpet was checked for odour.
The carpet was refitted and then steam cleaned twice under pressure.
This was an expensive wee for the customer.
The costing was
Our initial call-out fee and work carried out on day 1
The purchase of the underlay and our cost for refitting.
And then, of course, the clean.
How much did this wee accident cost the customer in total?
£150.00
Ouch. I wonder if this customer will have learnt his lesson and also want a repeat ear-bashing of the wife.
Now this second procedure is extreme.
Removing Pee from Rugs
When the issue happens to rugs, the removal procedure is very different.
The rugs are not fixed, so we can remove these from the site.
Using a dedicated bath, the rug undergoes the following procedure.
Chemicals dedicated to rugs are applied. The rug is then placed in a bath.
Hosed down and saturated with cold water and then brushed until the colour of urine stops leaving the rug. This action happens to the front and back of the rug.
We insert the rug into a centrifugal machine, which spins and removes any excess water.
The procedure is then repeated.
After the 2nd clean, we will then clean the rug either by hand or machine depending on the rug’s fibres.
Again, the rug will be rinsed off, hung to dry, fibres combed into place and left to dry.
Removing Urine from upholstery
How do you get wee on the sofa I hear you ask?
Now, this can be a nightmare for the upholstery cleaner, as the fibres are so much different from that of carpets.
Most carpet cleaners would walk away from a job like this unless they were trained.
So what happens first? As with a carpet and rug, a survey needs to be actioned. Fibre identification is very important. Some fibres may have changed colour and if this is the case the cleaning will be unsuccessful. The odour can be removed, but the bleaching of the fibre will remain.
The area would be treated with a urine destroyer chemical and then cleaned either by steam, hot water, or the relevant cleaning method.
The more severe situations have had the webbing removed from underneath the upholstery. The structure of the upholstery would be treated, working our way up. Webbing was replaced and then the sofa was cleaned in the normal way. This is quite extreme, but it does happen