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New relationships are always a challenge. Such was the case when myself and my rescue dog Hazel combined households with my fiancé. I will preface this by saying that Hazel had always been the perfect dog. She’d never had an accident. I am pretty convinced she is the best rescue dog ever. But, there was something about the living room with the white carpet that just compelled her to pee on it. Imagine my horror the first time having discovered the offensive yellow spot. “Hazel!” I hissed. “What are you doing?” This was certainly not the way to make a favorable impression. I must say at this point that when dealing with an inappropriately urinating dog, it is critical to determine and address the underlying cause. But that’s a different blog post. For now, we’re talking stain removal. I tried every spot cleaner and carpet cleaner in the house, and a few recipes I found online—one widely-touted method calls for a complicated application of vinegar and baking soda. None worked. The stain persisted.

To make matters worse, Hazel continued to surrender to the swan song of the white carpet. Sneaking in here and there for a quick squat and dribble. I learned that a puppy had previously had a few accidents on that same carpet, and wondered if that had to do with its strange allure. Regardless, she kept peeing. I kept scrubbing. Armed with an online coupon, I called in a professional rug cleaner. The carpet looked great—until it dried. Then, the stains came back—even yellower than before! I did a double-take and couldn’t believe my eyes. It wasn’t until I discovered 180XT that I learned that enzyme-containing cleaners have this effect on pet stains. The “creeping yellow stain” phenomenon.

A stroke of good fortune brought 180XT into my life and onto my front porch. “Too good to be true,” I thought as I skimmed the super-simple instructions. Simply apply, scrub, and blot. Well, it works. It works on new stains, and it works on old stains. In fact, I recommend that you use a white towel (I know—eww) to blot the stain so you can see the yellow urine that has been pulled up from the carpet and pad into the towel. Stubborn or set-in stains may require a second application, but even then, it’s nowhere near the effort and elbow grease required from other cleaners. The secret is in the scrubbing. After applying 180XT, you need to agitate the stain for 15 seconds—just enough to get the frothing/bubbling action. I’m no scientist, but I believe it’s this foaming action that breaks down the stain molecules and extracts them from the carpet fibers. Then blot, blot, blot. You’ll be amazed. 180XT worked wonders for Hazel, for the carpet, and, of course, for my relationship.

Emily S.