Actichem Pet & Flood 500ml spray

Product Overview

Actichem Pet & Flood is an acidic urine spot and browning treatment for carpet and upholstery. It does two jobs that need doing at the same time and that most products only do one of.

Urine dries alkaline. As it ages it deposits hard uric acid salt crystals in the fibre and in the backing, and those crystals are what keeps releasing odour every time humidity rises. Pet & Flood works at pH 2.5 to 3.0 with a blend of citric and glycolic acids and a chelating agent, which dissolves the crystals rather than merely masking what they emit. The same acidity reverses the alkaline browning that urine, over-wetting and high-pH cleaning leave behind.

That is why it appears in both the urine range and the browning range: it is one chemistry solving two problems that usually turn up together.

Why Professionals Choose It

• It dissolves the crystals. Odour treatment that does not remove uric acid salts is temporary. The smell comes back on the first humid day and the client rings.
• It corrects browning at the same time. Urine damage and cellulosic browning are frequently the same callback. Treating both in one pass saves a return visit.
• Super-wetting penetrants. Urine contamination is not on the fibre, it is through it and into the backing. A treatment that sits on the surface treats the least contaminated part of the problem.
• Safe on natural and synthetic fibre, subject to pre-testing.
• Chelation as well as acid. The hydroxyethanediphosphonic acid content sequesters the mineral content of the crystal, which is what lets a mild organic acid do work that would otherwise need something far more aggressive.

Safety Information

From Actichem's safety data sheet, version 2.2, issued 22 September 2025.

• Signal word: DANGER
• H318 — Causes serious eye damage. Eye Category 1.
• H315 — Causes skin irritation. Skin Corrosion/Irritation Category 2.
• Poisons Schedule: not applicable
• Not a marine pollutant. HAZCHEM: not applicable.
• pH 2.5 – 3.0. Genuinely acidic.

A note on the wording: Actichem's sheet pairs the code H318 with the phrase "causes serious eye irritation". H318 is the code for serious eye damage, which is the more severe classification. We have published the code as written and the correct phrase for it, and we have raised the wording with Actichem.

Composition

What this means on site

• Eye protection is not optional. Chemical goggles, or safety glasses with side shields. Urine treatment is floor-level work with a trigger sprayer — splashback towards the face is the normal case, not the exception. Actichem also specifies an eyewash unit.
• It reacts with mild steel and galvanised steel or zinc, producing hydrogen gas. This is the practical warning most operators have never been told. Do not leave it standing in a steel bucket, a galvanised container, or a sprayer with steel internals. Use plastic or stainless.
• Never mix with an alkaline product. Actichem names strong bases, alkalis and oxidising agents as incompatible. In a spotting kit that means keeping it well away from Protein Spotter and any ammoniated product, and rinsing thoroughly before either follows the other on the same spot.
• Ventilate, with local exhaust where natural ventilation is poor. Urine work often happens in small enclosed rooms.
• Protective clothing: overalls and a PVC apron. Actichem also specifies barrier cream and skin cleansing cream.

How to Use

For professional use only. Always pre-test in an inconspicuous location for substrate sensitivity.

1. Extract as much of the urine spill as possible first, with extra dry vacuum strokes. What you remove mechanically you do not have to remove chemically.
2. Apply Pet & Flood to the affected area until the fibre is wetted out. On aged contamination, get product into the backing — the crystal is not only in the pile.
3. Agitate with a carpet rake or upholstery brush.
4. Allow 10 to 20 minutes reaction time. Dissolving crystal takes contact time; agitating harder does not substitute for it.
5. Rinse extract, using Actichem Rinse Pro.
6. Allow to dry, assisting with increased ventilation.

Where stains remain

Some stubborn urine staining needs an oxidiser after the acid stage. Conquer O2 or Spotaway U will do that work. Rinse thoroughly before applying either — Actichem lists oxidising agents as incompatible with this product, and you do not want them meeting in the carpet at full strength.

Understanding Urine Damage

Setting client expectations correctly is most of the job on urine work, and this is the explanation that does it.

• Fresh urine is roughly neutral. Dried urine is alkaline. As it breaks down it forms uric acid salts — hard crystals bound into the fibre and backing. Those crystals are odourless when dry and release odour the moment humidity or moisture reaches them, which is why a carpet that smelled fine yesterday smells today.
• Odour treatment without crystal removal is temporary by definition. Anything that only neutralises the smell in the air, or only masks it, is treating the symptom.
• Alkaline urine can permanently change carpet dye. If dye has been chemically altered, no treatment restores it — that is dye damage, not staining, and the honest answer to the client is that the colour will not come back.
• Contamination is usually larger than the visible mark. Urine spreads through the backing. Treat generously beyond the stain edge or you will leave a ring of untreated crystal.
• Sub-floor contamination is a different job. Where urine has passed through underlay into timber or concrete, topical treatment cannot reach it. Say so before you start.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating only what you can see. The contaminated area is almost always larger than the visible mark.
• Not getting product into the backing on aged contamination. Surface treatment gives a surface result and a return call.
• Skipping the dwell time. Ten to twenty minutes. Crystal dissolution is a chemical process on a clock.
• Following it with an alkaline product without rinsing. Or preceding it with one. Rinse between.
• Applying peroxide over unrinsed product. Oxidisers are listed as incompatible.
• Leaving it in a steel or galvanised container. It reacts with mild steel and zinc and produces hydrogen.
• Promising odour removal before checking for sub-floor contamination.
• Working without eye protection at floor level. H318.

Technical Specifications

Actichem lists pack sizes of 500 ml, 5 litres and 20 litres for AP491. Contact us for the larger sizes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the smell come back after cleaning?

Because the uric acid crystals were not removed. They are odourless when dry and release odour when moisture reaches them, so a carpet can smell clean on the day and smell again after the next humid spell. Dissolving the crystal is the whole point of an acidic urine treatment.

Why is it acidic when urine dries alkaline?

Two reasons. Neutralising the alkalinity is part of it, but the more important part is that acid plus chelation dissolves the uric acid salt crystal. An alkaline product will not.

What is the difference between Pet & Flood and Pet & Flood Elimo?

Elimo is the newer formulation: the same urine decontamination approach combined with Actichem's Elimotech odour neutralisation technology, at a similar pH. Pet & Flood is the established product with a current, published, product-specific safety data sheet. See the Elimo page for the documentation position on that product before choosing.

Can I use it as a browning treatment?

Yes — it corrects the alkaline browning caused by urine, over-wetting and high-pH cleaning. For general cellulosic browning unrelated to urine, Brownaway is the purpose-built product.

Will it remove the stain as well as the odour?

It removes a great deal of the staining. Stubborn residual staining usually needs an oxidiser afterwards — Conquer O2 or Spotaway U — applied after a thorough rinse. And where alkaline urine has permanently altered the carpet dye, no product will restore it.

Is it safe on wool?

Actichem states it is safe on natural and synthetic fibre. Wool is a protein fibre and prefers the acid side, so an acidic treatment suits it better than an alkaline one — but pre-test every time, particularly on dyed wool.

How far past the stain should I treat?

Further than looks necessary. Urine spreads laterally through the backing, so the contaminated area is wider than the mark. Treating to the visible edge leaves a ring of crystal that will smell later.

Related Products

• Actichem Pet & Flood Elimo — the newer formulation with Elimotech odour neutralisation.
• Actichem Spotaway U — the oxidising step for residual urine staining. Rinse before applying.
• Actichem Rinse Pro — the recommended rinse after treatment.
• Actichem Brownaway — purpose-built cellulosic browning treatment.

Summary

Pet & Flood is the acid-side workhorse for urine contamination and alkaline browning. It dissolves the uric acid crystals that cause recurring odour rather than masking what they emit, and it reverses browning in the same treatment.

It is DANGER-classified with a Category 1 eye statement at pH 2.5 to 3.0, it must not meet alkaline products or oxidisers without a rinse between, and it reacts with mild and galvanised steel. Protect your eyes, keep it in plastic, treat wider than the stain, and give it its dwell time.

Safety Data Sheet

Actichem Pet & Flood Safety Data Sheet — version 2.2, issued 22 September 2025

SKU: AP491.005

Dealing with urine contamination and not sure how far it has gone? Contact Carpet Cleaners Warehouse before you order. Whether the job needs a topical treatment, a full decontamination or sub-floor work changes both the products and the quote, and it is much better established before you start than after.