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Removing Pet Odor - How to remove pet odor

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OPH Good Housekeeping & Homemaking

How do I go about removing pet odors from my home?

This question has been asked by so many people over the years and in order to make a good fist of answering it, I'll have to break it down into two parts.

As most people keep cats and dogs as pets, these are the sections I'll concentrate on. Bear in mind that although I'm spliitting them, some remedies will work for either animal.

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Firstly I'll start with tips on how to remove, what I consider the biggest problem where cats are concerned, and that is their spraying and urinating. I will give you some friendly advice, which, not only will help you remove the stains, but will help you rid your home of the odor which is left behind.

Secondly I will let you know how to cope with the many odors which dogs leave around your home.

How do I remove cat urine and spray from my home?

Before we commence the task in hand you'll need to arm yourself with the following weapons:

Blacklight UV bulb - This will help you detect any dried in urine.

Peroxide - To get rid of the stain and the smell.

Distilled Water - to rinse the peroxide

Cotton Wool Balls and Citrus Oil - Can be used in unison to stop your cat from re-offending.

With out further ado let's start the removing pet odor process. Although there are many products on the market which proclaim to help you remove the smell of cat urine and any resulting stains, truth be told some work in varying degrees to others. The best thing you can do in this situation is ask a vet for a recommendation. A product which a few commentators have suggested works a treat - although it can take up to two weeks to remove odors completely - is Nature's Miracle, which can be purchased from most pet stores.

But for the purposes of this article I'll concentrate on the old fashioned household remedy which I 've used to great success over the years.

The first thing you'll need to do is screw in the Blacklight UV bulb (these can be purchased from most electrical shops) and switch it on, please note this will only really be useful if the room is darkened, so draw the curtains or wait until nightfall.

At this point you are probably thinking 'why do I need to use a blacklight UV bulb to remove pet odors?' Well the answer to this question is that they have a coating that will emit large amounts of Ultra Violet light when the bulb is switched on. This state will help you detect stains which you didn't know were there and thus adding to the cat urine problem you're trying to tackle.

Once you know where the stains are, you can now go about the task of removing them along with the pet odor which is being emitted. In order to do this you need to grab yourself some peroxide; I use this because it'll break down the urea (the sticky part of the urine) which causes the stain and the uric acid crystals which create the lingering smell. Usually most of the products on the market will easily get rid of the urea but not to the crystals.

Please note. Before you start pouring the peroxide on the stain make sure you do a colour fast test on a small area first. If all is well you can now treat the trouble spots; so do this and allow the peroxide to dry, before rinsing it with cold water.

Please ensure that you don't use soap on the stain because this will harden to crystal part of the urine, making it a lot harder to remove.

A pet odor removal tip which I think is important is in order to keep on top of things make sure you treat any urine spots as soon as possible. Just grab yourself something to absorb the urine - such as an old towel - and then treat the are as prescribed above.

How do I stop my cat from urinating / spraying in inappropriate areas?

One of the best remedies you can use to stop your cat from urinating or spraying in a certain area of your home is to grab yourself some cotton wool balls and coat them in citrus oil, this type of oil is used because cats find the smell repugnant whilst humans will savour it. Next place these balls into a bowl and leave near the trouble spots and your cat should avoid urinating there.

The final thing you can do is perhaps place a litter tray on the spot where you cat keeps repeat offending, obviously if this is feasible of course. Eventually you can move it closer to where you originally had it in incremental steps and hopefuly your cat will get used to using it where ever it is placed in your home.

Next I will concentrate on dog odors - what causes them and how these can be limited or even remedied.

Why do dogs produce so much odor?

Dog odor is secreted naturally in order for them to recognised by other animals, with these secretions being prominent around the anus, ears and paws. Although this is an essential action in the animal kingdom these factors have become less important during their domesticisation and only really serve to make our home smell like a kennel.
As well as producing pet odors naturally dogs can emit un-natural ones too. Poor grooming especially with long hair breeds can become a problem, as the build up of dirt starts to pong. If you do have a dog like this ensure you groom and bath it regularly in order to keep its coat in as good as order as possible.

Skin infections and allergies may lead your dog into giving off a smell as hyperhidrosis sets in. Hyperhidrosis is a condition characterised by abnormally increased perspiration. This in turn will more than likely result in a yeast infection which will lead to your pet into producing smelly micro-organisms.

Otitis - which is just a posh word for an ear infection - will also increase the odor which is produced by your dog. The yeasty substance as outlined above will be prevalent here.

Another pet odor source could occur as a result of your dog having bed breath, with the main causes of this being a build up of odor emitting tartar, gum disease, mouth ulcers and tooth decay. Oral conditions such as the aforementioned ones can make your pet drool prominantly, which again will result in even more odor being produced.

Medications which are given to dogs for certain ailments may cause them to give off an odious smell. This can be further ehhanced by certain foods such as fish, which may see to it that your pet produces a greater amount of skin

If you suspect that your dog is suffering from any of the aforementioned ailments then take him/her to the vet to confirm or allay your fears. Not only will your dog be happier but so will your nose.

Finally, and arguably the most common form of pet odor produced by your dog is done so through flatulence. This problem may have two underlying causes namely being dietry related and perhaps the onset of gastrointestinal disease. This odious problem is prevalent in dogs fed on cereal-based dog foods. So perhaps a change in diet may do the trick.

How do I remove dog urine from my home?

Well you can get remove dog urine stains and the resulting odor by simply following the same process as for cats outlined above

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