When urine is allowed to dry and remain in the carpet or other material, it begins bonding itself to the fibers. The longer it is allowed to remain the stronger the bond becomes.

Proteins (chains of amino acids) physically bond to the fibers while other portions of the urine crystallize into salts, forming ionic (electric charge) bonds. At this point it has become impossible to completely remove by cleaning alone.

In the meanwhile, mother nature begins the process of decay. This painstakingly slow process is the root of your odor problem.

The composition of urine is complicated. Think of any possible combination of substances previously ingested: water, fish heads, mice, bones, etc, all of which contain many elements. Some of the parts are transformed by the body into yet other identifiable compounds before a watery elimination. For our discussion we will address the parts of urine referred to here as "organic wastes"; those portions of urine that decay.

The process of decay results in bacteria consuming the waste while converting it into gases. It is nature's way of getting rid of it. Organic wastes are a natural source of food for bacteria. Feeding on the wastes the bacteria produce obnoxious vapors, releasing primarily ammonia, sulfur and methane gases in various combinations which we perceive as a bad odor. Put yet another way, what our noses discern as an obnoxious odor is in reality bacteria excrement.

Ammonia is the principle gas produced from urine decay. Chemically alkaline, the increasing presence of ammonia causes the pH to rise steadily, which in turn inhibits bacterial growth and the natural process of decay. While preferring a balanced, neutral pH, bacterial growth slowly continues nevertheless, gradually producing ever more inhibiting ammonia and other malodorous gases. In this loop, it can take mother nature several years to remove the odor's source. Simply stated, when it comes to urine naturally occurring bacteria eat very slowly, but other than that have no table manners at all!

The bacteria growing in your urine contaminated carpet can be pathogenic or not. That is, any of several species can be present and multiplying, some of which may bear disease. All sorts of bacteria and bacterial spores (eggs) are present in nature and in our bodies. Most are friendly toward us while others are not. For example, our eyes would be glued shut with dried mucous were it not for some friendly microbes. Our digestion system could not work without them. Bacteria help make bread, cheese, yogurt and a host of other foods. There are many safe uses and our bodies need them. For the most part, bacteria as a whole have gotten a bum rap since we could not live for very long without them.

Bacteria are a multitude of microscopic simple, single-cell life forms called, singularly, bacterium. Bacteria grow when a bacterium matures, dividing into two identical "sister" cells. Growing in "colonies", countless numbers of bacteria are required to remove any amount of organic wastes. They must multiply continuously and extremely vast numbers are essential.

To give you some idea, magnification 30,000 times is required to view a single bacterium. "Tiny" is non-descriptive. In this microscopic world an average puddle of urine is about the same size as the Atlantic Ocean for you and I. Put in this perspective, how many of us do you think it would take to swallow the Atlantic Ocean (and vaporize the results)? Try to estimate the number of people it would require! On the upside, a bacterium can mature and divide very quickly, and bacterial activity produces needed enzymes in the process.

Copyright © 2001 [Alan Luke]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 10/15/11. Home