Pet odors in the home, how to get rid of them

Do you need a restoration company to remove pet odors in your East Alabama home?

Pet odors in your home can be challenging to keep ahead of. There are less expensive short-term approaches and costly long term approaches, but the bottom line is how well you keep up with your cleanup abilities.

Did you just purchase a home that has pet odors from the previous owner, or do you simply want to clean up after your own pet and make your home smell good again?

The severity of the situation will determine how much work and effort will be required to eradicate the smell from your home, so if your cat has gone wild through your entire house then you are likely in for quite a bit of work ahead of you.

The Short Term Approach

You can use this approach in low-medium affected cases as well as when the pet is still going to reside in the home. Animals like cats and dogs usually like to “re-mark” the areas they have already soiled so applying a long-term solution to this would likely result in wasted efforts as it would re-occur and end up being costly.

Steps Involved:

It’s best to clean up after your pet as soon as possible in order to keep any urine from soaking deep into absorbent materials such as carpet underlays and sub floors. The deeper the urine penetrates these materials the harder it will be to clean up.

Spot-cleaning the affected areas using store bought pet stain and odor removers will help short term. Once an acidic based chemical formula is applied, it will counter act the alkaline salt residues left behind by the urine, and then, once this has been applied you can try doing a warm water rinse, making sure to soak up the water with a towel or such soon after you rinse it so it does not soak too deep.

Hiring a professional to have your carpets cleaned, once or twice a year may do the trick. High power extraction methods using hot water are used by professional carpet cleaning services and are able to apply deep cleaning techniques and counter acting chemicals which will target pet odors and staining. Store bought or rented house hold carpet cleaning machines and cleaners are no match for the power a professional unit holds, so if you are wanting a thorough, deep clean of your rugs and carpets its best to have it done professionally.

The Long Term Approach

There are times where you may not know where the odors or contamination are coming from, so how would you know where to clean?

This is where a professional carpet cleaning or restoration company comes into play. They have specialized equipment such as moisture testing meters, UVA (black lights) and bright lights that can pinpoint soiled areas. If the area is large, it may be better and more economical to replace the carpeting and underlay. If the wood or concrete subfloor is contaminated, it will also need treating.

Long standing pet odors are tough to get rid of. If you need your carpeting professionally cleaned or restored, call Restoration 1 East Alabama for an estimate.