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Why Enzyme Cleaners?
In most cases, we can find ourselves looking at a hefty set of recipes for home-made solutions and formulas designed to eradicate the cat urine stains. Alternatively, there are always enzyme cleaners for Cat Urine. They are widely circulated on the Internet, typically including vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. And obviously, we have a set of skeptics that would question everything based on human error.
Many people tend to be unfamiliar with the problem of cleaning cat urine stains. They try to wipe off cat urine as they would any other color. It usually ends up in them finding out later that their attempt didn’t work. Using traditional household stain cleaners on cat urine would burn the imprint right through with the chemical reaction, and instead of removing it actually “sets” the stain. It makes the color even more evident and persistent, making it nearly impossible to clean out even with the enzyme cleaners.
There is a robust, legit, and chemically vital reason to use an enzyme cleaner to remove cat urine stains. DIY mixtures or typical household cleaners cannot contain the strength and chemical prowess required for the ingredients to remove all the various contaminants present in the cat’s urine. Vinegar and baking soda in this light tend to be pretty useful (and yes, not just to make a science fair volcano). They usually work to neutralize the odor temporarily. Hydrogen peroxide is 30% more oxidizing than chlorine, catalyzing the reaction to adequately clean it.
What does Enzyme Cleaners sort that the regular cleaners cannot?
Cat urine is composed of:
- Urea
- Urobilin/Urobilinogen
- Uric Acid
- Sodium
- Other electrolytes
- Creatinine
- Pheromones
- Bacteria – typically five different strains.
When the cat’s urine dries, break down the area by the bacteria present in the environment and on the surface, making it all the more dangerous. That is what makes ammonia and gives the urine that specific essence associated with urine in general. As the urine starts to decompose further, it releases thiols, which usually provide natural gas with the smell it has; this makes the odor much worse. (It is the thiols in skunk spray that make it SO potent and difficult to remove).
The cat urea and urobilin/urobilinogen are not hard to clean, though. The Urea, animal pigment/chromogen, creatinine, and the pheromones are water-soluble (urobilin is the pigment that causes the color). That makes it easier to clean out thoroughly.
Typical enzyme cleaners for cat urine will be more than sufficient in dealing with these issues. That is why hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and baking soda also appear (initially) to be effective at solving the problem. But the fundamental issue still has not been sorted as we can see using these cleaners leaves a salt stain mostly because of the redox reaction. It is mainly Uric acid and the residue.
It is still not water-soluble, so it needs to be collected and disposed of properly. Due to the uric acid component of cat urine, cat pee has a half-life of six years, not only that but the Uric acid bonds very firmly with whatever substance it comes in contact.
It is the main reason why it is necessary to use a cleaner that can break down the uric acid. Soap, vinegar, baking soda, ammonia, chlorine, and hydrogen peroxide (to name the most common cleaners) are not chemically potent enough to balance the equation and break down the uric acid components in cat pee.
The problem with typical retail products in this category is that they tend not to solve the problem; instead, to use an appropriate analogy, they tend to dress up the issue in a pretty gown rather than solving it. It means that even though the odor is covered up, it will most definitely not be a permanent solution to this issue.
When exposed to certain humidity levels, the healthy uric acid salts react with the moisture and concentrate using that little amount of water as a store for concentration, causing the uric acid crystals to form. This process again releases even more smell, not always at levels detectable to the human nose, but the cats’ more sensitive noses can smell it. The scent of their urine outside of the litter box encourages many cats to continue urinating outside of the box, often with their families left scratching their heads, wondering why.
Why and Why not’s
It would encompass why one would prefer using a nontraditional cleaner rather than the typical market product that would be comparatively weaker due to federal safety statutes.
The only thing that would, at any level, have the strength to break down the uric acid to remove the smell permanently is an effective strong concentrated enzyme cleaner. The enzymes in this home-made cleaner solution would break down uric acid into carbon dioxide, and ammonia, once converted to gasses, they can efficiently dissipate into the environment. That is why it is also essential to allow the enzyme cleaner to air dry. It needs the “natural” drying time to break down the uric acid salts, allowing the resulting gases to evaporate, unless one fuses the solution with a catalyst which would speed up the process.
Not all enzyme cleaners used for eradicating cat urine are equally effective; some are strong, and some are not merely strong enough to deal with the issue you may want to use it. Good enzyme cat urine cleaners are typically a bit more expensive. The cheap ones will work but need to be reapplied over and over because of their weak consistency, and well others will be too strong to safely accommodate the chemical reaction. Marketed Enzyme based cleaners that tend to work reliably include Nok Out, Urine Off, and Anti-Icky Poo.
Of course, every cleaner needs to be appropriately used to obtain the maximum effectiveness from its use. Most enzyme cleaners come in a sprayable bottle, and this is usually a spread pray; therefore, while it may cover a larger surface area, it can not concentrate it enough in one place. It is deceptive because just spraying a light layer of enzyme cleaner over a dense urine stain will not dramatically happen there. There is a chance you might end up not completing the cleaning of that spot, which would result in the salts bonding and leaving a nasty stench. Cat pee wicks, and unless the enzyme cleaner completely encompasses the stain and the stench source, all of the cat pee, even it won’t work as virtually the first time. “Spraying” cannot work as the problem would need more than just a spray. Dousing, pouring, and soaking are a requirement for when one is cleaning up cat urine.
How to remove the stench with Enzyme Cleaner for Cat Urine Stench:
To properly use an enzyme cleaner for cat Urine on a fresh stain:
- Blot up as much of the urine as you can before applying anything.
2. Soak the affected area with the specific enzyme cleaner for cat urine that you chose.
3. Let the enzyme cleaner for cat urine sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Blot up as much of the enzyme cleaner for cat urine as possible.
5. Leave the enzyme cleaner to air dry.
Ideally
Covering the area is always a smart idea. It will help prevent the cat from attempting to pee on the same spot while the enzyme cleaner for cat urine does its work; this would make it impossible for the process to be interrupted by moisture and humidity. Some people tend to layout aluminum foil over the affected area for that same effect; other recommendations include an upside-down laundry basket or an aluminum baking sheet.
The same necessary procedure applies for an old stain; this is mainly because the material is essentially the same despite how much it has seeped through and contained. But an old color may require at least two or three full cycles of enzyme cleaner for cat urine to completely clean the stain. This is considering a sufficient amount of time allotted for the solution to dry up and give its initial results.
Furniture
If possible, take the cushion and place it outside, drown out the cat urine as much as possible, then continue to soak the pillow. By this time, the stain would increase in size as you very slowly start pouring your enzyme cleaner for cat urine on/around the affected area after giving it time to soak through the fabric down to this. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then squish out as much of the excess enzyme cleaner as possible for cat urine. Finally, blot up what you can. If it’s sunny out, you can always leave the fabric outside as long as possible while it dries up, especially the super wet area where the urine has collected.
To treat a mattress, use essentially the same process as for the couch cushion (you don’t need to remove the mattress from the bed!). Slowly pour your enzyme cleaner for cat urine on/around the affected area, ensuring it has the chance to soak in thoroughly. Let it sit for 15 minutes, and then blot up what you can with many towels. Place several layers of clean towels over the area and then make the bed. This is because the enzyme cleaner for cat urine will be recomposing and balancing out the cat urine with your enzyme cleaner’s constituents for cat urine. Just swap out those clean towels each day (if done correctly,y it will take days to dry). To discourage peeing on the spot while the mattress dries, cover the bed with a massive plastic sheet or tarp when you’re not using it, or take a large box, cut it down, and lay it over the top of the bed when you’re not using it.
Mattresses may require several applications or, in some cases dousing to remove altogether the cat urine smell, let alone the residue that can trace. The thickness I,s in most cases, one of the major issues, but getting the enzyme cleaner for cat urine to all the same spot the cat pee went is more difficult on the thick things, mainly because of the diffusion pattern and the difference between the two liquids. The cat’s urine has a lower viscosity than the cleaner; therefore, it would sleep more and diffuse more evenly. It can attribute it to its homogenous nature, but the cleaner would take a lot more than just a few applications as it would need to douse.
The entire pillow or cushion needs to be doused in the cleaner to ensure urine as the whole matter has been hit; from this point onwards, it would advise keeping the pillows dry. One asked to keep the affected fabrics dry because the dried salts that now dwell in that pillow can convert back into crystals if enough moisture seeps through the surface or can harness via the environment. But rest assured, your couch or your mattress ruined is not if your cats pee on it, so there is no need to throw your cats or the couch out, although for the night as a discipline case would be appropriate in this case. You will be able to clean it in some way eventually because it’s not strictly impossible to get rid of, but it becomes tedious and tiring!
Do not use ammonia products for cleaning purposes; this is mainly because the chemical attributes are synonymous with cat urine. Recall that the cat urine, as we discussed earlier, is also composed of ammonia. If the same ingredient is used to clean the urine, you would only encourage your cat to come back in that spot to urinate again. It is not because they are attracted to the smell or purposefully understanding and disobeying you. It is because the scent they have urinated is a marker for its urination spot. In most cases, this is what tells a cat where to urinate, so when you use an ammonia cleaner instead of an enzyme cleaner for cat urine, they tend to think this is the place they urinate in regularly, or more accurately, treat the origin of that smell as a urinal.