Ultraviolet Lights

You cannot treat contamination you cannot find. Pet urine spreads well beyond the visible stain and soaks through backing into underlay and subfloor.

It is frequently invisible under normal light, particularly once it has dried and the client has cleaned over it several times.

A UV blacklight makes it visible. Under UV, urine salts fluoresce a dull yellow-green, showing the true extent of the contamination.

That changes the job: you can quote accurately, treat the actual affected area, and show the client the problem before you start.

Choosing a UV light

LED torches are compact, battery-powered and suit spot checks, quoting and quick inspections. Easy to keep in the van permanently.

Full blacklight kits such as the SOS UV produce a stronger, broader output that covers whole rooms and reveals what a torch will miss.

Amber safety glasses block the visible violet light while letting the fluorescence through, which makes contamination easier to see.

365nm or 395nm. Inexpensive multi-LED torches are typically 395nm, which emits a lot of visible purple that competes with the fluorescence and needs a properly darkened room. A 365nm lamp such as the SOS UV emits far less visible light, giving much better contrast, and Stain Out Systems state it reveals staining without turning the lights off.

Once you have mapped the contamination, see our cleaning and decontamination chemicals.

New to this? Our guide to using an ultra violet UV light to find pet urine covers inspection method, what else fluoresces, and how to choose between a torch and a kit.

The most useful thing a blacklight does is settle the argument before it starts. The customer swears it's one spot by the door; you turn the lights off and there are six, and your quote suddenly makes sense instead of looking padded. Don't only scan the floor either — skirting boards, curtain hems, sofa legs and door frames are where male dogs mark, and it's why the smell comes back a fortnight after a perfectly good clean.

Tip: carry a spare pair of amber glasses for the customer. If you're walking them through the inspection, they need to see what you're seeing.