Pet Disinfection and Deodorization: A Review

1 Overview

Although many everyday things can mask odors – such as pomelo peels or activated charcoal – and some people use incense or sandalwood to simply cover the smell with a fragrance they like, that only makes it feel less offensive.

Faced with so many deodorizers on the market, you may buy many kinds of deodorizing and disinfecting products, yet the house smell never quite goes away. The truth is: different deodorizers work differently, and so do disinfectants. Let’s look at how they actually work.

Microbial deodorizers.

Microbial deodorization uses special microbes that efficiently adsorb, absorb and break down foul-smelling substances, turning stink into no smell. It contains no chemicals and no genetically modified ingredients, so it causes no secondary pollution. These microbes rapidly metabolize liquid waste and organic matter such as pet urine and feces, shrinking solid volume and quickly cleaning the contaminated material. This type has become very popular and practical in recent years, and is commonly used to remove urine odor. Spraying on pet urine for about 30 seconds gradually eliminates the smell; it can be sprayed directly on wood floors without corroding them, and is quite inexpensive. However, completely disinfecting and removing all household odors is a bit harder, and most urine-deodorizing products on the market work much the same.

Pet disinfectants.

Pet disinfectants are very safe – once active in the environment they break down into inorganic salts and are completely harmless to dogs. A widely used veterinary-grade disinfectant (such as DuPont Virkon) has a very broad germ-killing spectrum: beyond common gastrointestinal bacteria and skin pathogens, it is also effective against infectious viruses such as parvovirus, distemper and influenza, protecting both dogs and their families. It can be applied by spraying, soaking or mopping depending on the scenario, making it versatile, and it is the professional disinfectant used by many veterinary clinics and kennels.

However, do not use it directly to mop wood floors – this disinfectant is acidic and mildly corrosive, and must not be mixed with alkaline products such as laundry detergent or body wash.

A newer one-drop aroma product is fundamentally different: its formula contains over 70 essential oils and is among the most advanced odor-neutralizing blends, breaking down smells through odor-eating enzymes so the stink has nowhere to hide. It is unfussy about what it tackles – a true all-odor remover – handling pet urine, smoke, mustiness, dampness, general pet odor, garbage rot, car interiors and more.

Use it directly: one drop keeps odors away for 24 hours. It can be added to a diffuser or air vent. Being a 100% natural active formula, it is harmless to people and animals, so no gloves or mask are needed, and accidental ingestion by a pet is not a serious concern. It can also be diluted in water for mopping (1 drop per 10 sq m), dripped onto the floor while mopping, sprayed into the air from a spray bottle, or used to soak smelly items.

Note: undiluted essential oil at high concentration is somewhat irritating, so avoid overuse to prevent pet allergies.

Activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal is made of tiny carbon grains with a huge surface area, and within those grains are even tinier pores – capillaries – with strong adsorptive power. It absorbs all kinds of odors from the air, and effectively takes in formaldehyde, xylene and the like. Place it in newly bought furniture, cabinets, drawers or the fridge, in shoes to remove smell, in pet homes for pet odor, and in new cars or newly renovated houses that carry many harmful, pungent odors.

But activated charcoal cannot be used forever. After about three months it is best to discard it or leave it in strong sunlight to reactivate before reuse; otherwise the trapped odors will slowly release and become mildly toxic.

Air purifiers mainly handle dust, pollen, pet odors, formaldehyde-type renovation pollution, bacteria and allergens. They typically combine a HEPA filter plus an activated-carbon filter plus a photocatalyst plus UV sterilization plus electrostatic adsorption. The HEPA filter catches dust particles, while the activated carbon handles pet odors. A pet home can install one with an activated-carbon filter.

One drawback: if you also use incense or fragrance at home, the purifier will clean those scents away too – it removes any smell. This is a one-time purchase that ends up the most economical. For a small space, a few hundred yuan will do.