Have you been feeling a strange smell in your house for a few days, similar to that of cat pee and you don't know where it comes from? No problem, with an ultraviolet lamp you will find the source of the bad smell in a few minutes, but be prepared to use elbow grease to eliminate it permanently.
Steps
Step 1. Purchase a good quality UV lamp
Focus on a model with a tubular lamp, similar to neon ones, at least 30 cm long. This way you will illuminate a larger surface. Contact your trusted hardware store, you will save some money and you will find bigger ones, compared to those sold in pet accessories stores. You can also make a purchase on the web, at very good prices, in this case, however, you will have to wait for the delivery time, living with the bad smell.
Step 2. Do your search at night, when the darkness is nearly total
Cat pee can be difficult to see, especially when the animal is old. You will get the most out of your efforts, using the UV lamp at night or in a completely darkened environment.
Step 3. Use a sweeping motion and gradually move away from the area that smells the most
Cat pee should appear yellow / green under UV light. You might be surprised to find spots in unsuspecting areas, perhaps even far from the floor, as cats have a lot more inventiveness than you! Also check these areas:
- Bookshelf
- Mobile
- Curtains, sofa covers, bedspreads
- Interior of open compartments
- Objects with openings that can intrigue a cat
- Clothing that your cat can access
- Openings your cat may slip into
- Any other place you can think of when searching
Step 4. Take a look at these images and get an idea of what to look for:
This is what your stained carpet looks like when viewed in normal light. Fresh pee stains will look like this, illuminated by a UV light. On the other hand, old stains will appear more faded when illuminated with UV light.
Step 5. When you have identified the stains, remove them immediately
If you can clean the contaminated area right away, alternatively mark it with tape, or an object, and remove all stains at the end of the search.
Advice
- A UV light also highlights residues of cleaning products. Don't be scared and remember that the ultraviolet traces of these products should be purple in color, rather than yellow, and much brighter than pee stains.
- The UV traces of the images shown in this article may be difficult to see if your computer screen is exposed to sunlight.
- Make sure you have an extension cord handy if you are using a corded UV lamp. The chances of you needing it are very high.
- While regular UV lights may work, you will make much more progress with an LED UV lamp. You can buy it online for a few euros, being cheaper even than the mercury vapor ones.
