| MadSci Network: Chemistry |
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I am frequently asked by my clients how to get the smell of dog and cat
urine out of carpeting. Since most of the odor comes from uric acid salts
can you suggest a simple home formula for removing the smell of dog and
cat urine from carpet. Most commercial products are only perfumes that
mask the smell. Thank you. Roger Bierstedt DVM You need something to convert the odorific stuff into something that doesn't smell. I run an undergraduate lab in which the students use large quantities of an amine (rather smelly, and basic). I have them clean up with dilute acid; the standard is "until you don't smell the amine any more" -- the acid converts the amine into a water-soluble (and non-smelly) ammonium salt. I would think that, since urine is acidic, a mild base like baking soda would do the trick. The problem is getting it into the carpeting, then getting it out again! A baking soda solution should kill the odor, but then you'll probably have a baking soda stain in your carpet. But they should try sprinkling liberally with baking soda, waiting a while (say, 15-30 minutes), then vacuuming up the mess. Because it probably won't completely penetrate the carpet it probably won't kill everything, but that's the basic principle.
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