Combat those pungent pet problems in four steps.
Sixty-eight percent of households (i.e. 85 million) in the U.S. own a pet, according to an American Pet Products Association survey, and of that number, 60.2% of them own dogs while 47.1% own cats. These pets are bound to take a ride in the car at some point or another, and they’re bound to leave something behind.
“As clean as we believe our pets to be, animals undeniably leave behind unpleasant reminders of being passengers in vehicles,” states Brendan Thomas, national director of training for NuVinAir Global. “Pets bring dirt, grime and, in some instances, even fecal matter into our cars. If improperly cleaned, animal odors will linger because of physical contaminants left behind.”
That lingering smell
Generally, lingering pet odors are the results of pet hair or other bio matter, such as feces, urine, vomit, cat spray, etc., being left behind or embedded in the carpet and/or upholstery. Urine, in particular, leaves an acidic stain that emits a sour smell. If a car owner has already tried to clean these surfaces and the odor remains, then he or she either has not cleaned the vehicle properly or the matter has seeped beyond reach into the foam of a seat cushion, for instance.
“Usually what happens is it’s the long dwell-term of the contaminant that soaks into the backing on the sub-material,” explains Keith Duplessie, president of Detail Plus Car Appearance Systems. “It’s usually not the surface material that’s difficult to clean. So that’s where we get the residual odor. And, that can be exacerbated by heat.”
The heat factor is especially critical and definitely a problem in warmer climates. “Rising temperatures play a big role in a vehicle’s odor resurrection, especially if those vehicles have been detailed with masking agents and quick-fix solutions,” Thomas explains. “Once the inside of a vehicle heats up, whatever cover-up solution that was used to disguise an odor will melt away. To ensure odors never return, use surfactant cleaning products that attack odors at the source, not just masking them, but getting to the root cause of an odor and removing it completely, once and for all.”
Steps for odor removal
Step one: contaminant removal
The first step to deodorizing a vehicle is to remove all possible contaminants that may be causing the smell. In other words, you will need to conduct a complete detail of the interior — not just the problem area(s). Part of the issue with odors is that they emanate from whatever matter is left behind, and sometimes that matter travels. In the case of pet hair, this matter can settle anywhere — in air vents, side-door panels, etc. “All possible compartments that can hold animal hair, dander or urine/fecal matter must be opened, inspected and cleaned,” Thomas asserts.
As for spot-treating urine/fecal stains on carpet or upholstery, the procedure is not very different from a standard carpet cleaning process.
First, you want to make sure you are wearing personal protective equipment, such as nitrile gloves, a dust particulate mask or respirator, safety glasses and some form of skin coverage, be it a long sleeve shirt and/or pants. While these will protect you from any contaminants that go airborne, you do not want to exacerbate the problem by using a forced air extraction method, Duplessie says. Instead, go with a dry brushing method.
Using a nylon carpet brush and a stout vacuum, scrub the upholstered surfaces to break any dry contaminants free. You don’t want to wet these surfaces with anything; otherwise, the contaminants will be harder to pull up.
“If you wet it, you reanimate it and then you make it just like you would dirt — you’re making mud, and that makes it more difficult to get out,” Duplessie states.
Step two: stain remover application
The second step, according to Duplessie, will be to apply an appropriate enzyme stain remover. There are four basic enzymes that detailers will often work with: lipase, cellulase, amylase and protease. Lipase is usually used to remove oil stains, so it would be of little use in this instance. Cellulase removes plant-based materials, which may have some use here; however, of more import will be amylase, which helps remove urine stains and odors, and protease, which is a protein remover.
“A lot of people think these are actually live enzymes and they eat and kill bacteria. They don’t,” Duplessie states. “They basically chemically act with the material and change the structure of the stain agent, be that a protein or another material.”
After applying the enzymes, agitate them into the surfaces, and then move on to an all-purpose upholstery and carpet shampoo. While the enzyme stain remover will break down and chemically change the stains to make them easier to lift, it will not eradicate them; hence, you need to clean the carpet as normal to remove everything left behind by the chemical process.
Step three: extraction
The next step is extraction. Duplessie recommends using a vapor or dry steamer. “Steam is the best cleaning method we can use for sterilization and for low-water inject,” he notes.
After all, you want to prevent wicking, or the resurfacing of a stain after too much liquid has been used on it. Be sure to wrap a towel around the brush end of the steamer, so that as the steam releases the dirt and soils, they will get picked up by the fabric of the towel.
The drawback of steam, Duplessie admits, is that it doesn’t penetrate very deeply. However, for carpet stains and surface upholstery, a steam extraction should be adequate. If urine, for example, has seeped deeper into the upholstery and penetrated the foam of the cushion, there is not much any detailer can do to fix the problem. In fact, the owner will likely need to replace the seat cushions.
Step four: sterilization and deodorization
Finally, you’ll want to apply a sterilization agent (usually one that has a peroxide base) as well as an odor neutralizer or deodorant. Deodorizers are not fragrances, which mask odors with scents. Read the labels on your chemicals to make sure you are using an agent that will eliminate an odor and not simply cover it up.