How to Find Animal Urine Stains in Carpet with Black Light

There's nothing worse than having the elusive odor of animal urine wafting around your home. Our beloved pets can choose the darnedest places to go, and unless you happen to catch the spot while it's still wet, urine-soaked areas can become nearly invisible. Animal urine will fluoresce under the glow of ultra violet (also known as UV or black) light. With just a little preparation, a black light can help you track down those hidden urine spots and eliminate the source of foul odor in your home.

Things You'll Need

  • Black light
  • Paper towels
  • Baking soda
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Turn out the lights. Close the curtains and cover doors, if necessary, to darken the room. It doesn't have to be pitch black, but the darker it is in the room, the easier it will be to spot the glow left by animal urine.

    • 2

      Turn the black light on. You may see the bulb glow purple. Start in one corner of the carpeted area and work all the way across the room, sweeping the black light across the carpet as you go. Move forward so that you're sweeping a new area, then work your way straight across the room again.

    • 3

      Continue systematically crisscrossing the room until you've covered the entire area. Animal urine will glow brightly under the black light. Mark the places where you found normally-invisible urine stains by either dropping a paper towel over the stain (this works especially well if it's still wet) or outlining it with a sprinkling of baking soda.

    • 4

      Make sure to check around baseboards and even a few inches or more off the carpeted surface on walls and other vertical surfaces, as some animals may spray urine horizontally.

    • 5

      Treat the urine stains immediately. See Resources for several effective urine removal options.