| Pet Environment Tips:
How to Keep Your Pet’s Environment
Clean and Odor-Free, Safely
Pets provide a lot of joy, but they can also
cause some trouble. They sometimes grace us with smelly surprises,
or ones that leave marks on our carpets, furniture or clothes.
Their beddings or cages may also cause foul odors, and the
places where they “go to the bathroom” definitely
do so.
As a responsible pet owner, you want to eliminate
pet-induced stains and odors in the safest way possible.
Many spot removers available on the market contain
chlorinated solvents, such as tetrachloroethylene or 1,1,1-trichloroethane
(methyl chloroform). Many commercial deodorizers contain phenols,
such as triclosan.
Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens.
When ingested (for instance, by a child or a pet), they may
also cause liver, kidney or heart damage. When inhaled, their
vapors can cause respiratory disorders, and contact with your
skin may cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction.
In addition, these chemicals biodegrade slowly
and do not dissolve in water. Once they reach our septic leach
fields or sewage systems, they proceed to contaminate our
soils, waters, and air.
An effective alternative that is also safe for
our and our pets’ health and the environment, is a liquid
enzyme-based stain and odor eliminator.
What are enzymes and
how do they work?
Enzymes are natural, non-toxic and non-polluting
proteins that enable or speed up biochemical reactions. Reactions
that would normally take years to complete, can take place
in seconds! Enzymes tend to be highly specialized, each being
responsible for only one type of reaction.
In the past, enzymes for the cleaning industry
used to be extracted from the pancreas of slaughtered animals.
Nowadays, due to increased demand, this cruel practice has
been replaced by breeding special bacteria cultures that are
safe for humans, animals and plants, and can form desired
enzymes in large quantities. The enzymes are separated from
the bacteria before inclusion in cleaners.
Enzymes in stain or odor removing products transform
the stain or odor causing and sometimes harmful molecules
into molecules with completely benign characteristics, as
in the following example:
| 
The enzyme detects problem molecules
— in this example, the rotten-eggs-odor causing,
poisonous hydrogen sulfide (H2S). |
|
The enzyme connects with the hydrogen
sulfide molecules. It also attracts oxygen (O2)
from the environment — either from the air or
water. |
|
The enzyme splits the hydrogen sulfide
molecules and uses the oxygen to transform them into
water (H2O) and a totally harmless form
of sulfur gas (S2). |
Enzyme-based cleaners that come in powder form
may cause respiratory disorders and allergic reactions in
case of prolonged exposure, such as during the production
of those products. The main culprit is powdered protease,
the enzyme that breaks down proteins.
However, liquid enzymes are
safe for humans, animals and plants. They also do not
contaminate septic or sewage systems, and may help reduce
the pollution of any water, soil or air those systems affect.
WARNING: Allergies to enzymes are rare,
but if you are allergic, then, obviously, enzyme-based products
are NOT recommended.
Pet stain and odor removing enzymes in action
Learn how the enzyme based Snap
Pet Magic has kept our light-colored carpets and
upholstery clean despite seven cats.
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Pet Environment Tips