Actichem Pet & Flood Elimo 20 ltr

Product Overview

Actichem Pet & Flood Elimo is the new-generation urine decontaminant in the Actichem range. It takes the established acidic urine chemistry of Pet & Flood and adds Actichem's Elimotech odour neutralisation technology, so that crystal dissolution, stain removal and odour neutralisation happen in a single treatment rather than three.

The problem it is built around is the one every carpet cleaner knows: urine odour that comes back days after the job. Urine deposits hard uric acid salt crystals in the fibre and the backing. Those crystals are odourless when dry and release odour again the moment humidity reaches them. Masking the smell treats the symptom; dissolving the crystal treats the cause. Elimo does the second and then neutralises what is released in the process.

Which pack size do I need?

• 500 ml (AP491EL.005) — spot work and van kit.
• 5 litre (AP491EL.05) — regular urine decontamination work.
• 20 litre (AP491EL.20) — restoration contractors and high-volume operators.

Why Professionals Choose It

• One product instead of three. Crystal dissolution, stain treatment and odour neutralisation in one application, which simplifies the process and shortens the job.
• Stops odour returning. By dissolving the crystals rather than covering what they emit, it addresses the reason odour reappears days later.
• Low-pH salt blend that neutralises tough urine crystals and reverses browning from urine, over-wetting and high alkalinity.
• Super-wetting penetrants for rapid, effective wetting of fibre and organic waste — important because urine contamination is through the carpet, not on it.
• Safe on natural and synthetic fibre, subject to pre-testing.
• Works with peroxide where maximum stain removal is needed, as a single combined treatment system.

Safety Information — Please Read This Section in Full

The previous version of this page described the safety profile as "Non-hazardous - Warning". Those two words contradict each other: a product is either non-hazardous or it carries a signal word. We have corrected it, and the documentation position needs to be set out plainly because it is not as clean as we would like.

The documentation position

• Actichem's product data sheet for Pet & Flood Elimo (AP491El) gives the safety classification as WARNING.
• Actichem's safety data sheet index lists a sheet for AP491El, but it is gated behind a data-capture form and we have not been able to obtain the document itself.
• The safety data sheet available to us — and the one Actichem's own literature links from this product — is for the base product, Pet & Flood (AP491), version 2.2, issued 22 September 2025. That sheet classifies the product as DANGER, with H318 causes serious eye damage and H315 causes skin irritation, at pH 2.5 to 3.0.

Where a manufacturer's marketing material and the closest applicable safety data sheet disagree on a safety point, Carpet Cleaners Warehouse publishes the stricter reading. Until Actichem releases a product-specific safety data sheet for AP491El, treat Pet & Flood Elimo as carrying the classification below, and do not write a risk assessment on the basis of the WARNING signal word alone.

Classification to work to

• Signal word: DANGER (from the AP491 sheet; Actichem's Elimo data sheet says WARNING)
• H318 — Causes serious eye damage. Eye Category 1.
• H315 — Causes skin irritation.
• pH 2 – 3. Acidic. Both sheets agree on this.
• Poisons Schedule: not applicable
• Not a marine pollutant. HAZCHEM: not applicable.

What this means on site

• Chemical goggles, or safety glasses with unperforated side shields. Urine work is floor-level trigger-spray work and splashback towards the face is normal. Actichem specifies an eyewash unit for the base product.
• It reacts with mild steel and galvanised steel or zinc, producing hydrogen gas. Keep it in plastic or stainless. Do not leave it standing in a steel bucket, a galvanised container or a sprayer with steel internals.
• Never mix with alkaline products. The base sheet names strong bases, alkalis and oxidising agents as incompatible. Keep it away from Protein Spotter and any ammoniated product, and rinse thoroughly before either follows the other on the same spot.
• Ventilate, with local exhaust where natural ventilation is poor.
• Protective clothing: overalls and a PVC apron, per the base product sheet.

On adding hydrogen peroxide — read this before you do it

Actichem's own directions offer the option of adding 60 ml of peroxide per ready-to-use litre of Elimo for maximum stain removal. That is the manufacturer's stated method and we have published it below.

It is worth knowing that the safety data sheet for the base product lists oxidising agents as incompatible materials, and hydrogen peroxide is an oxidising agent. We read those two statements the way we read the equivalent contradiction in the MethSan range: the incompatibility statement governs bulk storage and uncontrolled mixing, not the manufacturer's own working dilution. On that reading the recommended addition is fine.

We have asked Actichem to confirm this in writing. In the meantime, if you use the peroxide addition:

• Mix only what you will use immediately. Do not make up a batch in advance.
• Never seal mixed solution in a closed container. Peroxide decomposition releases oxygen and pressurises the container.
• Do not store the two products mixed. Combine at the point of use.
• Do not scale up the ratio beyond the stated 60 ml per litre.

On the anti-microbial claim

Actichem's material for this product describes "targeted anti-microbial action" and bacterial elimination. We have not been able to find an ARTG or APVMA listing for the product, and antimicrobial efficacy claims are regulated in Australia. We have therefore described what the chemistry does — a low-pH environment that is hostile to the bacteria responsible for urine odour — rather than repeating a regulated claim we cannot substantiate. We have asked Actichem whether a listing exists, and if they supply one we will publish the number here.

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 by steam extraction, doing extra dry vacuum strokes. What you remove mechanically you do not have to remove chemically.
2. Apply Pet & Flood Elimo undiluted for severe contamination, or diluted up to 1:4 for lesser affected areas.
3. Spray apply onto the fibre or fabric until it is wetted out. On aged contamination, get product down into the backing.
4. Agitate with a carpet rake or upholstery cleaning brush.
5. Allow 10 to 20 minutes reaction time.
6. Rinse extract using Actichem Rinse Pro.
7. Allow to dry, assisting with increased ventilation.

For stubborn staining

• Treat with a hydrogen peroxide product afterwards — Conquer O2 or Spotaway U — after a thorough rinse.
• Or add 60 ml of peroxide per ready-to-use litre of Elimo for maximum stain removal power. See the peroxide note in the safety section above before doing this.

Understanding Urine Damage

Explaining this properly to the client is most of the job, and it is what separates a completed job from a callback.

• Fresh urine is roughly neutral; dried urine is alkaline. As it breaks down it forms uric acid salt crystals bound into the fibre and backing. Those crystals are odourless when dry and release odour whenever moisture or humidity reaches them — which is why a carpet that smelled fine on the day smells again a week later.
• Contamination is always larger than the visible mark. Urine spreads laterally through the backing. Treat well beyond the stain edge or you leave a ring of untreated crystal.
• Alkaline urine can permanently alter carpet dye. Where the dye itself has been changed, no product restores it. That is dye damage, not staining, and the client needs to hear it before the work starts.
• Sub-floor contamination is a separate job. Where urine has passed through the underlay into timber or concrete, a topical treatment cannot reach it. Establish this before quoting.
• Odour returning is a diagnosis, not a failure of the product. It means crystal remains — usually because the treated area was smaller than the contaminated area, or the product did not reach the backing.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating only the visible stain. The single most common cause of returning odour.
• Not reaching the backing on aged contamination.
• Skipping the 10 to 20 minute dwell. Crystal dissolution runs on a clock, not on effort.
• Diluting 1:4 on severe contamination. Undiluted is for severe; the dilution is for lesser areas.
• Following it with an alkaline product without rinsing, or preceding it with one.
• Storing it mixed with peroxide, or sealing a mixed solution in a closed container.
• Leaving it in a steel or galvanised container.
• Promising complete odour removal before checking for sub-floor contamination.

Technical Specifications

Actichem lists pack sizes of 500 ml, 5 litres and 20 litres. All three are stocked.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Elimotech?

It is Actichem's proprietary odour neutralisation technology, used across their odour control range including Deostor, Airfresh and Deozyme Plus. Actichem does not publish a formulation-level description of it, so we will not invent one. What we can say is what it is for: neutralising odour compounds rather than masking them with fragrance.

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

Elimo is the newer formulation — the same acidic urine decontamination approach with Elimotech odour neutralisation added, at a similar pH. The practical difference for you today is documentation: standard Pet & Flood has a current, published, product-specific safety data sheet, and Elimo does not. If your work is audited on documentation, that matters.

Why does this page publish DANGER when Actichem says WARNING?

Because the only safety data sheet available to us for this chemistry is the AP491 sheet, and it says DANGER with a Category 1 eye statement. The WARNING classification appears on a product data sheet, which is marketing literature rather than a regulated safety document. Where the two disagree we publish the stricter reading and tell you we have done so. If Actichem releases an AP491El safety data sheet that supports WARNING, we will update this page.

Should I use it undiluted or at 1:4?

Undiluted for severe contamination, up to 1:4 for lesser affected areas. If you are unsure, treat it as severe. Under-treating urine is what produces the callback.

Do I still need a separate odour treatment?

Usually not, which is the point of the product. Where odour persists after correct treatment, the likely cause is untreated crystal outside the area you worked, or contamination in the underlay or sub-floor, rather than a need for another topical odour product.

Can I use it on wool?

Actichem states it is safe on all natural and synthetic fibre. Wool is a protein fibre and tolerates acid better than alkali, so an acidic treatment suits it. Pre-test every time, particularly on dyed wool.

Why does the smell come back even after treatment?

Because crystal remains somewhere. Almost always that is because the treated area was smaller than the contaminated area, because product did not reach the backing, or because contamination has gone through to the underlay or sub-floor. Re-treat generously beyond the original area before concluding the product failed.

Related Products

• Actichem Pet & Flood 500 ml — the established formulation, with a current product-specific safety data sheet.
• Actichem Rinse Pro — the recommended rinse after treatment.
• Actichem Spotaway U — peroxide-based treatment for residual urine staining. Rinse before applying.
• Actichem Brownaway — purpose-built cellulosic browning treatment.

Summary

Pet & Flood Elimo is the most complete single-product answer to urine contamination in the Actichem range: it dissolves the crystals that cause recurring odour, treats the staining, reverses alkaline browning and neutralises odour in one application.

Its documentation is the weak point, and we would rather tell you than let you find out during an audit. Actichem publishes a WARNING classification on their product data sheet, their product-specific safety data sheet is not obtainable without submitting personal details through a form, and the safety data sheet that does cover this chemistry carries a DANGER signal word and a Category 1 eye damage statement. Work to the stricter classification, protect your eyes, keep it out of steel containers, and rinse before anything alkaline or oxidising follows it.

Safety Data Sheet

Actichem Pet & Flood (AP491) Safety Data Sheet — version 2.2, issued 22 September 2025

Actichem Pet & Flood Elimo Product Data Sheet

A product-specific safety data sheet for AP491El is not freely available at the time of writing. Actichem's index lists one but places it behind a data-capture form. Carpet Cleaners Warehouse has requested a copy and will publish it here as soon as we have it. Until then, use the AP491 sheet above and treat the classification as DANGER.

SKU: AP491EL.20

Dealing with urine contamination and not sure how far it has gone, or which product the job actually needs? Contact Carpet Cleaners Warehouse before you order. Whether it is a topical treatment, a full decontamination or a sub-floor problem changes the products and the quote, and it is far better settled before you start.