Before we elaborate on this cutting edge chemistry, it is important to understand what causes the toughest stains and odors and why they are so difficult to break down.

THE CULPRITS: PROTEIN-BASED STAINS

Most pet stains and odors are protein based (ie: urine, feces and vomit).  They are derived from proteins being excreted from the animal’s body.  The ideal cleaner will work best on protein stains and odors rather than heavy oils and dirt that you would find in traditional household cleaners.

FECES:  Feces is easier to clean than urine because it does not contain the same bacterial elements that linger and proliferate. The odor will disappear when these particles dry and are removed or scraped away.  Even in the case of diarrhea the bacteria is not as stubborn as urine so the odor should not linger too long.

VOMIT:  Depending on how far along the digestion process has gone will dictate how powerful the stain and odor will be.  Most commercial pet foods contain the ingredient Red 40, which is a common food dye that the pet’s body breaks down naturally during digestion.  The problem with Red 40 is that it is very difficult to clean even for the toughest cleaners.  If your pet vomits before the Red 40 is broken down in its system that will be a challenge to remove from a carpet.

A suggestion for removing vomit is to immediately cover the stain with baking soda powder.  Not only will the baking soda absorb the liquid within the vomit, it will also neutralize some of the very harsh stomach acids that will permanently discolor and burn the carpet.  After the baking soda has had sufficient time to sit, scrape it off and treat with Fizzion.

URINE:  This is by far the most difficult and elusive culprit of stain and odor.  Urine is comprised of three chemicals:

Urochrome:  This causes the pigmentation in urine

Urea: Eliminates excess nitrogen

Uric Acid: A by-product of normal metabolism that is excreted in crystal form from the body. These crystals are INSOLUBLE, which makes it very difficult for traditional cleaners to dissolve and remove.

Bacteria LOVE the chemicals of urea, urochrome, and uric acid.  Bacteria digest them and releases nasty, gaseous, by products that have an ammonia-like smell.  This smell is offensive to humans, but ironically very alluring to pets.  This is why pets are likely to do their business in the same place over and over again!!

In order to completely eliminate the stain and the odor caused by urine, all three components must be completely eliminated.  Perhaps the most challenging are those pesky little uric acid crystals!!

ENZYMES, OXYS AND DEODERIZERS

There have been many trends throughout the evolution of consumer products dedicated to treating stain and odors.  However, there are three prevailing trends that have dominated the market over the past several decades, “the deodorizers”, “the oxys” and “the enzymatic” cleaners.  It is important to understand what works well within these three categories and where their shortcomings reside.

To date, Fizzion is the only product in a stand-alone category that fits in to neither the deodorizer or enzymatic categories.  Instead, we have spent many years developing a system that relies on an innovative, gentle and completely non-toxic chemistry that uses CO2 as a vehicle to deliver the stain and odor removing chemicals.

Now that you understand what causes the stains and odors, let’s walk through why prevailing companies have not been able to successfully eliminate stains and odors permanently.

Deodorizers: These cleaners are designed with a lot of fragrance to mask the odor from the bacteria.  Once the fragrance goes away and moisture is reintroduced the odor returns.

The Oxys: These cleaners are designed to attack and remove the visible parts of the stain (the urochrome) and not the invisible parts (the urea and uric acid).  The active ingredient in these cleaners is hydrogen peroxide, a very chemical that is notorious for bleaching fibers and surfaces.  They also contain a high level of fragrance to give the perception that the only smell left behind will be a fresh scent.  The visible stain caused by the urochrome is often removed and the odor neutralizes, however, at this point the job is only half way done.  Oxy-based cleaners are not capable of removing those pesky little uric acid crystals that we talked about before.  As soon as humidity or water is introduced back in the area, these uric acid crystals propagate quickly.  Soon, millions of bacteria rally around the crystals emitting that ammonia-like smell again.

The Enzymes: Enzymes catalyze chemical processes.  The enzymes used in stain and odor removers are designed to break down the uric acid as well as the urea so bacteria can consume them.  There are several challenges with enzymatic cleaners.  First, the enzyme has to remain on the stain until it air dries.  This can take several hours, even days.  In the meantime, the smell is still lingering and the area that has been treated is still wet and needs to be cordoned off so that pets and/or children do not go near it.  The longer the stain sits, the more likely permanent damage will be done to the carpet or surface due to the alkalinity increasing in the stain.  Also, if the bacteria are not high enough in concentration, it may not completely consume all the uric acid crystals, which inevitably will release the odor again.  Finally, because enzymes are such sensitive molecules they are vulnerable to detergents.  This will preclude the enzymes from removing the stain since the synergy with the detergents is compromised.

Fizzion is neither a deodorizer, oxy nor enzyme.  It is in a unique category altogether.  Fizzion relies on a three-prong system to treat the stain and odor quickly, efficiently and permanently.

Using the same concept as dry cleaning, which uses CO2 as its basis, Fizzion uses the power of CO2 as a vehicle to make the normally insoluble uric acid soluble so that it can be removed from the fibers permanently.  It forms a shield around the stain while it works on it which immediately reduces odors.  Finally, Fizzion’s proprietary blend of cleaners creates an unmatched detergency that removes the stain permanently and without any harm or discoloration to the fibers or surface.