Enzyme-based treatment applied directly to the concrete slab is what removes pet urine smell from concrete. Not surface spray. Not a cleaning product. Not an ozone machine. The enzyme treatment needs to contact the actual urine crystals in the concrete, which means the flooring above the concrete has to come up first so the treatment can reach the source.
Concrete is porous. Urine soaks through carpet and padding into the concrete beneath and crystalizes there as it dries. Those crystals are what produces the smell, and they do so repeatedly every time ambient humidity increases. In Las Vegas, that happens every time a swamp cooler runs. Replacing the carpet without treating the slab replaces the surface but leaves the source in place. The smell comes back with the next tenant or the next humid day, usually within weeks.
How We Find It Before Treating It
We use UV light scanning to locate every area of urine contamination before recommending how much flooring needs to come up. Under UV light, urine fluoresces even after the surface appears clean and dry. This tells us exactly which areas of slab are contaminated so the flooring removal is limited to what is actually necessary. In some units it is one room. In others it is the entire ground floor. We do not recommend removing more than the contamination requires.
A property manager in Centennial Hills had us assess a unit that had housed dogs for three years. She had replaced the carpet in two rooms and the smell persisted. UV scanning showed contamination in a third room that had not been replaced and in a hallway section. The slab under the replaced carpet was also still contaminated because it had not been treated before the new carpet was installed. The scope was larger than expected, but knowing it in advance meant treating it completely rather than repeatedly.
After the Slab Treatment
After enzyme treatment of the slab, we apply a sealant over the treated areas before new flooring goes down. The sealant encapsulates any residual crystals the enzyme treatment could not fully break down and prevents them from off-gassing through new flooring in the future. This step is what makes the treatment lasting rather than temporary.
Call (702) 442-1126 for a free property owner assessment. Read more about our odor removal service.