pet urine / odor encapsulation

[mark63]

Switching over to encap cleaning, getting rid of my truck-mount. one of my customers dog just passed on. She wants everything cleaned and mentioned urine problems. Can I encap and use odorcide or should I use the truck-mount. I wont have the truck-mount option for long, I'm getting a portable for the hopefully few times I need to extract. I am not going to do the pad or saturate the backing at this point, just a basic cleaning with a deodorizer?

[Ed E]

In my experience, if it is "light" contamination (just a few spots that didn't penetrate carpet backing), then Hydrox is a suitable option for odor and stains. Adding an odorcide is also a good idea.

However, for any situations where the urine has penetrated the backing and gotten into the pad (or beyond), then in my opinion, you have to flush. I use something that neutralizes alkaline urine salts, flush heavily, then inject a bio-enzyme past the backing. This scenario is one of the reasons I own a porty.

If the urine has penetrated the sub-floor, then you really have a serious restoration issue at hand.

[lee@deepclean.us.com]

Ed is correct!

[encapman]

I'm getting a portable for the hopefully few times I need to extract.

That is the best way to go. You will occasionally still need to extract. And this is a situation where a good flushing would be the proper approach.

You could saturate the spot with a strong mixture of Encap-HydrOx and then extract thoroughly. You could also add Odorcide or Tea Tree oil to to your detergent to handle any possible lingering odor. Tea Tree oil is available from most drug stores and it's very effective in treating urine odors.

[drytouch]

In my experience, I get excellent results with re-saturation techniques. That is, flood the obvious stains with a mixture of hot enzyme and odorcide, using a garden sprinkler.

Then shower feed the whole carpet with the same mixture (I use fiber plus here), pad it, force air with dri-pods, post vac and treat any remaining stains with two part solution.

Apprise the customer another topical odor treatment may be necessary and that its not free. Its usually not necessary.

I've done many private homes and apartments without issue.

The closest I've come to HWE is using a two gallon auto detailer (Durmaid 1600) with a medium duty wand.

I wont argue against the orthodox 'flush it' position, but its still going to need plenty of enzyme and odorcide. "Flushing' alone is often done improperly and often can spread the contamination, not mediate it.

VLM techniques have come a long way.

[Blue Ridge Floor Care]

Use the truckmount while you still have it, and then pick up a portable. I love VLM, but it's not always the best option.