Carpet cleaning and pet odor removal solve different problems. One cleans the carpet fiber. The other treats contamination in the pad below the fiber. If your only problem is dirty carpet, you need carpet cleaning. If you have a pet odor problem, you almost certainly need both.
What Carpet Cleaning Does
Carpet cleaning removes soil, dirt, non-living allergens, and surface staining from the carpet fiber. Our Hot Carbonating Extraction process uses carbonated cleaning solution and about 80% less water than traditional steam cleaning. The carbonation lifts dirt and contaminants from the fiber, which are then extracted. Dry time is 1-2 hours.
Carpet cleaning addresses what is in the fiber. It does not address contamination that has soaked below the fiber into the pad.
What Pet Odor Removal Does
Pet odor removal, specifically the P.U.R.T.® (Pet Urine Removal Treatment) process, is designed for what carpet cleaning cannot reach. Urine soaks through the carpet fiber and backing into the pad. As it dries, it crystallizes into compounds that reactivate with moisture. Those crystals are in the pad, not the fiber surface.
P.U.R.T. is applied to contaminated areas after the carpet cleaning. It penetrates into the pad and breaks down the urine deposits at a microscopic level. Once the process completes, the odor source is gone from the treated area.
When You Need Carpet Cleaning Only
A home without pets or with pets that have not had carpet accidents does not need P.U.R.T. Standard carpet cleaning handles soil buildup, spills, and general use. If there is no known history of accidents, standard cleaning is fine.
When You Need Both
Virtually all pet odor jobs require both. P.U.R.T. treats the pad, but the carpet fiber still needs to be cleaned. We do the carpet cleaning first, then apply P.U.R.T. to the affected areas. If you have pet accidents in your home, the standard booking is Hot Carbonating Extraction carpet cleaning plus P.U.R.T. treatment for the contaminated areas.
When You Might Need Carpet Replacement Instead
If contamination has soaked through the pad all the way to the subfloor and stayed there long enough, no treatment will fully eliminate the smell. We will tell you if we believe that is the situation before we do any work.
For a complete overview of how we treat pet odor in Kansas City homes, see our pet odor removal Kansas City service page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just get pet odor removal without the carpet cleaning? No. P.U.R.T. is applied after the Hot Carbonating Extraction carpet cleaning. The carpet cleaning step is necessary for the treatment to work properly.
Does carpet cleaning alone remove pet smell? It depends on where the smell is coming from. If the odor is from urine deposits in the pad, carpet cleaning alone will not fully solve it. P.U.R.T. is needed for urine odor.
How do I know if I need P.U.R.T. or just carpet cleaning? If you have pets that have had accidents on carpet, you likely need P.U.R.T. in the affected areas. When in doubt, call us at (816) 841-4776 and describe what you are dealing with.