How to Tackle Tinkle with Science
Hello everyone this is Krista with Episode #160 on the Wag Out Loud pawdcast. Did you know that a dog's whiskers actually serve a purpose? They help dogs navigate the world by detecting objects or movement. So they're amazing whiskers can actually detect subtle changes in air currents, and then transmit that information about the size, shape and speed of nearby objects.
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Julie Holmes has been part of Unique Manufacturing in several different roles since it started in 1995. She is now the Brand Director for the Pet Care line because pets are her passion. So, she knows a bit about bacteria, the good kind. Julie has 2 dogs, a cat, 35 chickens and 4 peacocks.
Welcome dog lovers! I am so glad that you're here to join us on the topic of how to tackle tinkle with science and with me today is Julie Holmes. And Julie, first of all, I want to thank you so much for being on the show today. How are you?
I'm great. And I am so excited to be on the show. I always learned so much from you.
I know! All of our experts, I always learn something. So you are here to teach us about this amazing science. So before we get started, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us what got you interested in this science and cleaning technology to use on pet odors and stains?
Okay, well, thank you. So my name is Julie Holmes and I am the Brand Director for the Pet Care Division of Unique Manufacturing and Marketing. And we use bacteria to clean with. And it all started with apartment complexes that would just rip out carpet if they had pets in it. The owner of the company, the founder, which is actually my father, was in the janitorial supply business. And so that's how it all started. And he said we have got to find an alternative. There's got to be something out there that works. And so we started learning more about bacteria. And we have had been learning about it since the mid 90s. And it has been our whole area of expertise. So we just focus on bacteria for cleaning. So it works for stains and odors. It works in holding tanks. It works in septics, it has so many uses, and it's all natural, and you know, it's just fun to see how it works.
Very cool. Well, we're gonna dive a little deeper. But Julie, let's face it, okay, we all have dogs, and our dogs are going to have accidents in the house. It's inevitable, you know? Urine, bile, vomit, poo. So speaking of vomiting, I think the sound of your dog about to vomit that has to be the worst sound on the planet. Oh, it wakes you out of a dead sleep, doesn't it? Well, why don't we first talk about what is usually found in the typical household cleaners that we usually consider using on these type of accidents.
Toxic Cleaners
So usually what's out there are chemicals, different kinds of chemicals. Then there's surfactants, which we have a little bit of surfactant in our product, but some are just all surfactant based. And surfactants are soaps. So that's how they clean. And then a lot of products are masking agents. So really, they're just dumping perfume to get rid of the smells and odors, but they're not getting rid of it at its source. And that's what we like to do.
Well, what are your thoughts on I've seen products now with essential oils.
Essential Oils
So certain ones are safe. I mean, you have to you know, cats tend to be more sensitive than dogs with essential oils. We have perfumes in our products. But we can't use essential oils because of how that bacteria because it's a live spore would react to that. So we do have some perfumes but very slight, and ours are all there's a type of perfume that's created and it's called designed for the environment. And so they're all very safely created so they don't have allergens and things. But that's the problem with some essential oils is your cat may be sensitive, your dog may be sensitive. So you just have to be careful with those, you don't want to use too much of it. So we use very, very little perfume, because we're not masking anything. But there is a bit of a perception in people that they like to have a clean scent as they're cleaning. But we do have some products in our line that have absolutely no perfume, because we know there's so many people with sensitivities.
Well, I'm glad you brought that up that you know a lot of products we're talking about, not only the stain itself, but to your point, we don't want the odor at all, because we know that it's just nature, that our dogs sometimes like to go in the same spot. Or maybe we take our dog to somebody else's house and they smell an old odor from another dog, well, especially male dogs, they want to mark and they're going to, they're going to pee right on that exact spot. So we're talking about getting rid of the stain, and the odor. And you mentioned a lot of products are just trying to mask the odor through these fragrances. So what makes your products different in actually getting rid of the odor.
Bacteria
So ours actually eat it, which always sounds a little bit strange. But what happens is the bacteria creates an enzyme. And an enzyme’s job is to break down organic waste. So it goes to work, breaking that down, small enough for the bacteria to literally go in and eat it. So it continues working. When you first put it on, the stain will go away almost immediately. But that bacteria just keeps growing every 20 minutes, it will reproduce itself. And then it just keeps going as long as there's moisture and a food source. And that food source is urine, vomit, blood, it’s anything organic, even a lot of food, you know your food items are organic. So it gets rid of that as well. But it's truly breaking it down eating it and removing it so there's nothing left. So then the dogs there's nothing left for the dogs to smell. And then they won't go back and mark.
I love this technology because it is natural. And I think cat pee has to be the worst as far as odor and stains. And I know that new homeowners that have to buy a house where cats have lived. You've mentioned it, you know you have to rip out the carpeting and start a new because there hasn't been anything to actually remove the stains and odors that might have been there forever. And you've been through this yourself, Julie. So tell us your story.
Well, we bought a house and we got a great deal on it. But it had nine breeding dogs in it. So there was so much urine. They also had rabbits. They had cat.s The rabbits were free running all over the house. And so this house had a lot of stains and odors. And it's a mountain home. So it has rough cedar walls. So the dogs would hike their leg on the walls, cats would spray on the walls. So we tore out the carpet and still when people would go to walk in it would it would almost knock you over. And we just started using our products. We went through 16 gallons, but we sprayed every wall every floor. Everything we could think of. There was a rabbit hutch pushed against a wall that had that was rough cedar and you know rabbits spray and it's it's a calcium buildup. If you've ever been around a rabbit hutch, it puts this white stuff on the wall or anything behind it. And that's a calcium buildup and it broke all that down. And we had a dog at the time that was unneutered. So he was our test guy, and he came in, walked through the whole house. There was one post, he walked over and hiked his leg on it and we said we did not treat that post. We treated it and he never had another accident again in our house. So we know it worked and you know you become paranoid so everybody that comes in you're like do you smell anything? Do you smell any? No, I swear to you. I'm not just being nice as a friend. Because nobody wants their house to smell like that. That's a huge fear of we all have when we have pets.
Sure. Well, Julie, you mentioned that these products have bacteria. But some of us have also heard of enzymes in certain products. So what's the difference between the two? Enzymes versus bacteria?
Enzymes
Enzymes are great. They're the, they're the guys that are breaking things down. But if you have a bottle that’s enzyme only, you have however many enzymes is in that bottle. But the amazing thing with bacteria is because it is live, it's in spore form in the bottle. But once it gets on the floor, and has a food source, it starts reproducing itself. So it creates unlimited numbers of enzymes, because it just keeps making enough enzymes that break down the waste small enough for that bacteria to eat it. So you get a much more thorough job because it's an enzyme will break down the stain and odor. But it's still in your carpet. And what happens is, as you walk over, it kind of comes back up. So if you've ever had that situation where you've cleaned, it looks great, it doesn't smell and then a week or two later, because did they go there again, or what's going on? And that's where that's coming back up as we walk on the carpet so that what the bacteria does, is it allows those enzymes to break it down and then it goes in and eats it. I always picture little PacMan running through my carpet like they just keep reproducing and eating, eating, eating and making that little noise. And they're just in there doing that. And then when there's no food source, then they turn into water and carbon dioxide and go away. So there's also nothing left on your carpet, which I like that because it stays cleaner longer.
Right. Well Julie, I think this is a great spot for us to take a pause and listen to our sponsor for the month. So everybody hold on and we'll be right back with Julie.
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All right, we are back speaking with Julie Holmes, about how to tackle tinkle with science. And I just I love as everybody knows, and you all listen to this show, because we love alternative, natural, holistic, integrative approaches to, you know, just enhance the health of our dogs. And we've had people on the show before about why household cleaners and chemicals that we use commonly in our homes are not good for ourselves or our dogs. So Julie, you were just telling us about the difference between bacteria and enzymes and really how they work together in getting rid of stains and odors. So when we buy a product, the bottle, both of the bacteria and enzymes are living in this liquid that we use to clean. How long are they living in there?
How Long Does the Bacteria Live in the Bottle?
Okay, so when we bottle them up, they're in spore form. And we officially say two years. But what's amazing because we have so much bacteria in our product. We keep back a bottle from every batch we make. And so last year we went back through those bottles and we said let's go back 10 years and we brought a bottle out. We do will stain our things with coyote urine or other things so that we can really test them. And we poured that product on, and it's still work. So it's, you know, the bacteria can live a long time in that bottle. But we hope people use it before two years. Typically, you know, I've had people say, oh, like, my dog never has an accident. And I tend to use it for all kinds of things. Because I do have dogs that will eat something and throw up or, you know, I use it my garden, because they pee on my flower containers and that kind of stuff. So I tend to go through it within two years. But we have to officially say two years, but we know it goes much longer just because the amount of bacteria in that bottle.
Interesting. And I think you told me when we first met, that the bacteria that you use are aerobic. What does that mean?
So they need oxygen, you know, they some bacterias, like we have bacterias, that would go in your septic you can't. Those are, they can't be aerobic because they don't get oxygen down there. So with our products, when you use them on stains, and odors, we always tell people to put a damp towel over there over the stain and odor. And that just helps it to work faster and keeps that bacteria damp. So I've had people say, Well, I just put a plastic bag or it's like, no, no, no, then it can't breathe. We need our bacteria to breathe. So it can keep growing.
And do these stains, go all the way down to the sub floor, you know, through the carpet, through the backing of the carpet. Are you saying that these enzymes and bacteria actually go all the way through?
All the way through? Yes. And that's what's so good about it. Because you think of if your pet has you're at work all day or you're gone, and your pet has an accident? Well, if it sat there for several hours, it is all the way through. So now you have to you know, you've got to clean that all the way down, or else it will come back that you know, stain and odor will come back. And it can entice your pet to go back there because those pheromones in there will draw them in. So that's another nice part of a bacteria. And a pheromone is organic material. So the bacteria will move that. So that will stop if you've got a habitual issue. You know, you've got to do some behavioral stuff. But if they're going back to that spot, just because of the odor, we can you know, we're getting rid of that. So we can stop that cycle.
And for really bad stains like I can imagine blood for one, do we have to repeat the process more than once?
Sometimes you do blood actually. Amazingly, it's usually one time. And when we tell people to put the damp towel over and we always say white or cream. And people always say why do you say white or cream, we just don't want to color transference. But when you lay that towel on it, you just leave it for several hours or overnight. When you take that up, you'll see a lot of the stain right there. So it helps pull that out. If you put it in the washing machine, it will wash right out. But it you know, seems like when cats throw up a hairball that's tricky there cuz there's that Bile is very acidic and strong. So that usually takes a couple times. Also, if you know sometimes people think the pets just had one accident there. And what they don't realize until they start cleaning it is that pet has been going there quite a bit. And there's more urine there than they realize. One of the things that happens when you use a bacteria is you'll get an ammonia smell. And if you think like when your pet first has an accident, you don't smell anything for a day or two. It's when the natural bacteria starts breaking that down that you get that ammonia smell well, with our products, you're hitting it with lots and lots of bacteria. So you'll get you can get a really strong ammonia smell if there's a lot of urine there. So we always say you know, we have warnings from the boss you smell here and that's okay. It's gonna go away when it's when the product has done. You won't smell anything, but it may seem very strong as you're cleaning it, but just hang in there.
Well, I love the products. I've used them. As everybody knows, I only promote products that I've tried and know like and trust. And these products are amazing. You know, I've used it on Winston, for bile and for urine. And I'm just amazed at there is nothing left behind. But I have to ask you, we're talking about the house that you bought that there was A rabbit and cat pee sprayed on the wall. So I know how to take care of it on a carpet. And you mentioned, you know, putting a light colored towel over it. How do you treat walls? If you don't have, you know, a horizontal surface?
Treating Different Surfaces
Yeah, you can't put a towel on the wall. No. We just tell people, you just spray it and you can spray it on. As long as it's a surface that water won't damage. And then I was thinking, well, the urines are already there, you know doing its thing. So we just tell people to spray it on the wall, you can spray it on drywall, what we find sometimes, especially with cat is they like to go in corners, they like to spray in corners, and it will get behind the baseboard. Same with a tall dog. If he hides his leg on the wall and it goes behind the baseboard. We tell people just to pour it along the baseboard and let it get down in there. And you might have to do it a couple times in a situation like that. So it gets down in there, but it'll get it out. And that's what we had to do we just and you can use a pump up if the large area, you get one of those one quart pump up garden sprayers and you use the concentrate and put it in there and you just pump that up and spray the wall, let it dry, you still smell it, you do it again, until you don't smell it.
And what about other types of surfaces? What about hardwood floors or bedding, you know, the dog bed, what do you suggest for those types of surfaces?
So on those. So on a dog that if if they just have like a little mess up, you can just put some on there, we do have a pet bed cleaner. But you can also use our concentrate if you're going to use use it in the washing machine. So and I started the pet bed cleaner because I fed my Mastiff raw bones. And so he's already kind of drooly, and now he's chewing a bone on his dog bed. And I knew that was unsanitary. So you just can spot clean it. If you have the kind of bed that you can take the cover off, you take it off, put it in the washing machine, and you can just use our product in there, rather than detergent. And it will it will clean it. If you have a front load washing machine like I have, you have to make it do a pre wash because it can't sit in water like a top load. If you have a top load, fill it up, put the bedding in there, put you know an ounce or two of the product and let it sit for an hour or so and then wash it through. So you can do it that way it works. If a pet has an accident on a bed, or like say even a couch or a chair that has padding, you want to pour some on and then you press it down. So it goes you want it to go into that foam or fiber whatever it is creating the padding on there because the urine went all the way down there. So we want to get down to that. On hardwood, typically the top is sealed. So it tends to go where the seam is. So we we have a hard floor cleaner, you can turn it to the the spray and just spray directly in that crack. With carpet, you get it more damp and with wood. We just don't we want to be cautious for the the underlayment so you just pour you know put a little bit in at a time, let it dry kind of smell and then just keep doing that till you don't smell it. And on tiles. It's again usually the tile field it's more the grout and grout is really absorbent. So just pour it in the grout and leave it there. Just let it do its thing. I have slate floors and I the same Mastiff that ate raw bones was also a happy peer until when we had guests over, he would just like dribble everywhere. So I just followed him with a bottle of the ready to use and I would just pour it and I would leave it puddles and people are like, are you gonna do anything with that like Nope, we're just gonna let it do its thing. Clean it up and not have you know, leaving a stain or anything like that wouldn't show any watermarks or anything.
So Julie, are any customers skeptical on this science?
Some are at first because it feels in and it's a different process normally you like if we're using a chemical you spray it on, you wipe it right off. And this we're saying Nope, you pour it on and leave it on. Let it be damp. So that feels different to people. It's a different cleaning process. But once they use it and see the results are like oh my gosh, and they love telling people about it.
Yup. I'm one of those. Well, Julie as we are wrapping up, is there anything that you would like to leave us with?
Where Does the Bacteria Come From?
Well, one thing I would say, you know, I didn't mention it and where the bacteria comes from, it actually comes from soil. So that's how it's natural, like, that's where the bacteria comes out. And then it's selected from the soil and then grown and then we put it in the bottle and liquefy it. So it's a pretty fascinating process. So it's, it's kind of fun, but the science behind it is really pretty fun to to learn about.
Well, hopefully we've piqued your interest. And Julie and her team have given us a great offer for you to try these amazing products that I just love. Always good to have on hand for sure. So the website is TackleTinkle.com. I love that and use the code WAGOUTLOUD15 for 15% off of your first two orders, and all of this information plus the URL and social media tags will be in the show notes with links. So you guys can go there as well. Again, if you want to learn more about the company and the science, Julie and her part, TackleTinkle.com. Julie, thank you so much for sharing this with us. And I really hope that our listeners have found a product that just like me, you can know like and trust. And as we mentioned in the beginning, these pet accidents are inevitable, as well as our own accidents. You know, we spill wine and food and all that good stuff. So, Julie, thank you. You're awesome.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unique_pet_care/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uniquepetproduct
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-holmes-85a47a24/
Well, thank you. It's been so fun to be able to talk with you. And I'm just so glad to be on your show. So thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
Take care, everybody.
Thanks again to our friends at System Saver for sponsoring this month’s episodes . Check out this fantastic all-natural formula by going to http://caninesystemsaver.com/ and be sure to use the code WOL10 for 10% off!
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Hey Winston was that another tail wagging episode?
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