Warning: Avoid this article if the thought of urine bothers you.
As the humidity increases, the intensity of the bad smell increases and creates a degassing effect. For example, a wet rag will smell worse than a dry rag. As the temperature increases, the molecules in the air become more active and reach the olfactory nerves more easily. Both pleasant and unpleasant odors will increase in hot and humid environments.
In the land of the skunks, he who has half a nose is king. Chris Farley
Pet pee has a special place
Pet pee is a special, fragrant cocktail of hormones, bacteria, uric acid and ammonia. Ammonia in the urine becomes more concentrated over time and turns into mercaptan, also known as metantiol, a pungent gas that gives both ammonia and dog pee their distinctive odor. This, aside from the fact that ammonia is a toxic substance, is why it is never recommended to use cleaning products containing ammonia on pee stains. Not only does it make the stain more visible, it also makes the odor worse.
Can off-gassing hurt you?
Exhaust gases, sometimes called outgassing, are the gaseous release of chemicals from a material. Furniture, plastic, vinyl products, paint, new cars, clothing, cosmetics, plastic water bottles, carpet, and pet urine, just to name a few. Degassing materials emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and small particles throughout the life of the material. This can cause many symptoms, including headaches, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, and asthmatic reactions. Long-term effects are also possible; Some chemicals are strongly linked to leukemia and lymphomas, cognitive impairment and hearing loss, among other conditions.
Dogs and Cats: One clear winner
Dog urine contains urea, creatinine, uric acid, carbohydrates, enzymes, fatty acids, hormones, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium and ammonia; cat urine contains urea, creatinine, uric acid, sodium and other electrolytes. Cats don’t drink a lot of water, so their urine is much more concentrated and uric acid is less diluted. Cat urine smell wins out over dogs.
Why does urine smell?
After the urine is excreted from the body,,may develop strong odors due to bacterial activity and especially ammonia release. As mentioned earlier, ammonia results from the breakdown of urea and uric acid crystals that cause strong odors.
Pet urine can create an unhealthy indoor environment. Pet urine can cause permanent damage to your floors and fabrics. It can also create an unhealthy indoor climate. When urine is first released onto a floor or fabric, it has a pH of about 5 or 6, which is on the acidic side of the pH scale. It is easier to remove immediately when fresh. After drying it becomes “alkaline” or reaches a high pH of 10 to 12 on the scale and becomes more difficult to remove. The warm acidic state of the urine provides an excellent breeding ground for bacteria that begin to develop immediately.
In this original acidic state, urine starts to oxidize and reacts with the carpet, creating a permanent color change if the urine is not excreted immediately. Some of this discoloration can be attributed to the strong ammonia formed as urine goes through bacterial and chemical changes. Depending on the type of fabric or floor, if left for days or weeks, the paint texture will change, creating permanent stains.
Even if soluble deposits are removed, damage to the paint structure may already be done. There are two sources of odor associated with urine. The first comes from bacteria that thrive in dark and warm places with an endless supply of nutrients. A bacteria can feed on animal urine on a daily basis! Amino acids are formed as a result of this bacterial growth and the breakdown of urine. These complex organic compounds often work deep within the carpet fibers until they become part of the fibers. When this happens the urine spots becomes a urine stains. This can create a difficult situation. Waste products and gases from decomposing urine create an unpleasant odor. Carpets installed with a vapor barrier or pet urine barrier have a better chance.
Replay: Dried urine loves humidity
When dried animal urine salts are rehydrated, ammonia gas is released. Once you smell it, it is rarely forgotten. The second source of odor is a chemical odor that is present even when bacteria are killed. This explains why it takes more than sterilizing to neutralize odors in the urine. If the relative humidity is high, urine also causes additional odor problems. When the urine dries, the salts and crystals left behind are hydrophilic and attract water towards them. During the humid months, dry urine is usually easy to smell because the salts attract moisture, the moisture evaporates, and a large part of the odorous ammonia gas is released. To get rid of it, you need to remove the uric salts in and under the carpet to remove the gaseous pet urine odor.