I have a rather odd question and I'm hoping someone out there can tell me yes or no, and if no, then why not. They say that using enzymes is the best way to get pet odors out of carpets. But the enzyme containing stuff they sell at the store is awfully expensive.
So here's what I'm thinking. What about using septic tank cleaner (generic Rid-X) instead? I pay $2.75 for the stuff I've been using for many years and it is all enzymes.
Would it be possible to use this on the carpet? Maybe sprinkle it on, then spritz it damp and vacuum it up when it's dry? If not, then why not? I know, sounds odd, but it would be a lot cheaper than the stuff they sell.
By Cricket from Parkton, NC
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Oh, I would not try the Rid-X; I suspect you would stain your carpet...and those enzymes are not necessarily the same ones that take care of odors; and they're in a base that makes it easy to flush them and has nothing to do with cleaning.
First of all, you need to determine the source of the odor. If the odor has gone through the carpet and pad and soaked into the wood below, you may not have much luck without renovation. (Pulling the carpet back and sealing the wood underneath.)
If it is pet urine that didn't soak through, you will need to neutralize that, in which case your best bet probably is the commercial stuff. If you can rent or borrow a steam cleaner, you can buy concentrated cleaners that you dilute, and they do a pretty good job and are not that expensive.
If it is just old, stale pet odor, I would suggest first sprinkling baking soda all over the carpet, leaving it for a day or longer, then vacuum well. You can also try borrowing a steam cleaner and using one of the concentrates with Febreeze.
I love experiments like that. Why not dissolve a bit in a quart of water and test in small area, marking off area with tape and wait several days for it to work.
Most powdered septic products like Rid X are mainly filler with very little enzyme and don't dissolve easily. RidX liquid is too dark blue.
We use liquid Ultrezyme or liquid Odorzyme that we get from the people www.heartlandlabs.com. It's not very expensive but it does the trick. You can spray it or pour it on, but we usually pour so there is enough to soak into the floor, etc. under the carpet because pee really penetrates and if you only remove the surface pee, the smell will come back.
Try white vinegar it is said this should break down the crystals which are left behind after cleaning and leave the smell behind. The enzymes actually eat the crystals. You are supposed to saturate the area this is suggested to do with a fresh stain. I googled " enzymes cat urine". We had our carpets professionally cleaned we had one spot where our outside cat had gotten in and marked the wall.
The inside cat who had never urinated in the house all the years we had it continued to wet there all the time no matter how much we cleaned. We opted to pay $200 extra dollars to have the spot "professionally treated" they carried in a five gallon bucket 1/2 full with warm water and their "product" dumped it in the carpet and stepped on it repeatedly to get the fluid into the pad and back up, then sucked it out with their powerful vacuum.
This helped but far from perfect, the cat died a while latter and we had the carpet and some drywall replaced. But I didn't know about the vinegar I would have tried that in the beginning. I sounds like you leave it on and let it dry after blotting up all urine. For stains ammonia and rubbing alcohol are also mentioned as choices. Good luck!
I went through 3 vacuum cleaners due to the fine baking soda destroying my motors before the little old man at the vacuum shop told me never to suck up baking soda;the fine powder ruins the motor. Vinegar and baking soda work well on human urine but seem to be temporary with pet urine.I have tried NM and most other DIY urine products without any luck.
I actually have used Rid-x on my carpets and rugs both and it worked well.
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