Why is a black light important?
A black light is important to help find pet urine stains in your home so you can thoroughly remove both the stain and odor from carpet, furniture and baseboards. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find dog pee stains on carpet, especially if your carpet is dark or detailed. With a urine-detecting ultraviolet black light, dried urine crystals are illuminated and are easy to see and remove.
How do I use black lights to find dog pee?
First, thoroughly vacuum your carpet. Turn off all the lights in the room and pull the curtains over your windows so there is as little outside light in the room as possible. A dark room will make the black light’s job of illuminating urine stains much easier. Many people wait until nighttime to look for dog urine.
Hold the light 1 to 2 feet above the carpet and scan the carpet for stains. The stains will be easily visible, and you’ll be surprised at what you find! Bright white, blue, or green stains can most likely be attributed to old food or drink stains. Urine stains, on the other hand, will shine a dull pea-green or brownish-yellow color.
As soon as you’ve found a pee stain with the black light, use a inch or two of masking tape to tag the area for later cleaning. For large stains, you can use more masking tape to outline the perimeter of the mark. Or, you can clean the stain as soon as you find it. Be sure to use a product made specifically designed to clean animal urine. These products have specific enzymes that are important to break down the stain and odor, thus preventing your dog from being attracted to mark the same area again. Club soda or vinegar won’t clean effectively
Where can I find urine-detecting lights?
Not all black lights are created equal. Some lights are faulty, emit a weak light, or are not intended for use in detecting animal urine stains. Ensure you’re purchasing a light specifically intended to illuminate dog and cat pee spots in carpet.