real talk: cleaning with dogs

I was gifted a Find It Treat It Urine Off  kit for purposes of review. All opinions are my own.

This is not going to be the most glamorous post. Dealing with pet messes is never glamorous. But it is real, and as a devoted dog household, this is just a part of our life.

Meet the pugs behind Runs With Pugs.

Molly is 12 years old, a princess and a spitfire. If you’ve been following along, you know that Molly is afflicted with a condition called degenerative myelopathy. In layman’s terms, she has pretty much lost control of her hind quarters. While she is not in any pain, the affliction has no cure, and she has been fitted with a set of wheels to help with her mobility. Her bladder function is still mostly on point, but accidents happen.

This is Bentley. He will be turning 10 next month, and I am proud to say we have made a lot of progress with him. This guy had a rough start in life, and we have spent a lot of time working with him to try to get him settled. Unfortunately, from time to time, he likes to try to assert his dominance in the household pecking order, which can lead to some messy situations.

And last, but not least, meet Delilah. We just celebrated six months with Delilah and we are so thrilled at how seamlessly she has fit into our family. To be honest, we don’t know too much about her background, other than the fact that someone hooked her up with McDonalds nuggets on the regular (the dog will lose her mind if she detects chicken McNuggets in a one mile radius), and that she is mostly blind because of scar tissue on her eyes.  Incidentally, even though she was a new dog coming into an established dog residence, she has not had one single accident, which I find pretty amazing.

And now, enter Urine Off.

Obviously, we have tried our share of cleaners and deterrents over the years. We are pretty particular about the products we choose: there are more than a few on the market, all promising to remove stains and odor, but not many seem to be as effective as they claim.

I want something that’s easy to use, doesn’t have a harsh chemical smell or overpowering fragrance, is pet-friendly (and hopefully child-friendly, but the two usually go hand in hand), has the ability to neutralize odor, and doesn’t stain.

Urine Off fits that bill.

From their website, Urine Off boasts some pretty impressive claims:

Let’s see how it holds up!

The complete Find It Treat It kit comes with a bottle of Urine Off solution, a spray nozzle attachment and a separate LED light to help find new and existing soiled areas.

I was pretty excited about the LED light. It requires three AAA batteries (not included), but it’s small and strong and very CSI. I felt like I was conducting a forensic investigation while checking out the area rug.

Once the stains have been located, the directions advise to soak up newer spots, and then saturate the stain with the solution, extending beyond the edges to eradicate anything that has absorbed through carpet pads or the floor. For new messes, the solution only needs to sit a few minutes, while you can cover older ones with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight for maximum effectiveness. Any leftover solution can be removed with water after the allotted time is up. I’m pretty thrilled that there wasn’t any scrubbing required.

The pugs were less thrilled to be excluded from the fun.

The enzymes in the solution break down the bacteria that cause urine stains and odors. I only used the Urine Off on our rug, but it also claims to work on couches and mattresses, and even on cat urine (which, I have heard, is the worst of all pet things). As with all cleaners, give this one a test in an unobtrustive location before applying to fabric.

There was a barely detectable and not unpleasant smell to the solution, which dissipated quickly. We didn’t experience any staining or discoloration on our colored rugs. Everything wiped up quickly and easily, and I appreciate that it’s safe to use around pets and kids (the directions do advise not to ingest or bring in contact with eyes or open wounds, but that’s just good common sense).

That’s good for six paws up from this house!

The complete Find It Treat It Urine Off kit is available at Walgreens, and retails for $19.95. Don’t forget, three AAA batteries are not included.