Pet Urine Detector – Detecting Pet Urine Stains with a UV Black Light
Having pets is a joy but having a house that smells from pet odors, particularly pet urine, is not – for this reason we recommend use of a UV Black light to detect pet urine and to help in the location and elimination of pet odors.
Many pets claim their territory by leaving a highly concentrated urine mark, or ‘spray’, often throughout your home. This spray is very 
strong and unpleasant-smelling and can be difficult to find and eliminate. Other pets can become incontinent as they age and puppies have accidents along the road to becoming completely housebroken. All of these things can lead to a house with a clear pet urine odor problem. Clearly some form of detection instrument is needed, and nothing works more effectively than a UV Blacklight for detecting pet urine stains.
Unfortunately, urine stains that are not sourced and completely removed to prevent any trace of remaining odor will continue to draw the pet to that spot for future re-marking. Even the tiniest amount left behind can be detected by your pet and can exacerbate the problem.
Dog and cat urine detection is a tricky business for human beings. The standard visual and “sniff” tests are often insufficient to trace the problem back to source. Since our pets have noses that are much more sensitive than ours, an odor that we do not notice is very noticeable and attractive to them. The human eye and nose can fail us in this quest, but an ultra violet black light used for urine detection, will not.
Making use of a blacklight will enable us to see urine spots that have not been completely eliminated through our cleaning efforts. The black light is basically an LED flashlamp with Ultra Violet spectrum leds, and is able to pick up and illuminate any crystals remaining from our pets’ urine. Once detected, we can pinpoint areas that need cleaning to rid our homes of unwanted odors. Using products like URI-Cide pet odor eliminator can help us with this task.
Seven Steps to Detection of Pet Urine with a Black Light
Here are seven simple steps for using a UV blacklight to assist with pet urine detection, the procedure is the same for detecting dog or cat pee:
1. Begin by vacuuming any carpeted areas in your home. Many things collect in our carpets such as dead skin cells, lint, and dirt to name but a few things. These fine particles will also be illuminated by the UV black light and can cause confusion when trying to pinpoint the sources of lingering pet urine smells. Taking the time to vacuum will ensure that your carpets are free from as much additional dirt as possible and will make pet odor detection much easier for you.
2. Remove all sources of light from the room in which you are working. You will need to make certain all lamps and overhead lights are switched off and that any blinds and doors are completely closed. The objective is for the room to be as dark as possible in order for the black light (also known as ultraviolet light or flashlamp) to work most efficiently. The darker you can make the room, the more you will uncover!
3. For best pet urine detection, hold the black light one to two feet above the carpet. Food and other fluid stains will glow a shade of white, blue, or green when under ultraviolet light. They will vary in the intensity of their color; however, urine residue is generally more subdued in hue. The crystals remaining in the carpet should appear army green, or if the stain has been there a while, a more cloudy yellow or possibly brown. This makes recognizing pet urine a little simpler.
4. When you suspect you have detected some dog or cat urine, the most effective way to determine if you are correct is to simply smell the identified spot. Regardless of the length of time the urine has been in the carpet, it will be impossible to mistake it for anything else. It is a uniquely unpleasant odor that immediately gives itself away!
Because it is unlikely that there is merely one spot in the carpet that has been affected by the urine, mark each spot you find with a small piece of masking tape, so you will know which spots to return to in order to clean them thoroughly when you are finished with your blacklight pet urine detection efforts. It is important to make certain you place the tape marking in the middle of the urine marked area. This will help remind you not only to clean where the tape is, but also the area around it.
5. Once you have determined the areas that require cleaning, use a heavy duty cleaner designed specifically for pet odor removal to cleanse these spots. Uricide pet odor remover is the perfect choice here. Make certain that the stains are thoroughly soaked with the cleansing agent. The easiest way to clean the stain is to start outside the edge of the affected area and gradually move towards the middle. This will ensure that the entire stain is properly addressed and nothing has been inadvertently missed.
6. When you have completed your pet urine removal efforts, resume use of the blacklight after a few days. Some urine stains that have been in your carpets long term may require a couple cleanings to completely remove. A second attempt with the blacklight will reveal any spots you might have missed the first time around.
7. The most important thing to remember is to not allow your pets back into a contaminated area until you are absolutely certain that it is completely free of even a few traces of urine crystals. This may mean two to three attempts to ensure the room is truly clean. Because our pets’ noses are far more sensitive than ours, they will naturally be able to unearth even the remotest scent our cleaning has left behind thus perpetuating the problem.
Thorough cleaning is through use of the UV blacklight is the best way to resolve this pesky household problem, whether you’re fighting against the odorous effects of cat urine or dog urine.
