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View Full Version : Removing dog urine from 40 year old zebra skin and repairing minor tears



Hide girl
11-23-2016, 12:27 PM
Can you advise on which kit is best to clean and disinfect dog urine, repair small tears and condition a 40 year old zebra skin. Generally, the skin looks great except for the tears.

Roger Koh
11-23-2016, 03:20 PM
Do you have pictures?

How old is the urine?

Does it go through the suede or back side?

We will discuss about how to remove base on your pictures, before we go into the other issue o repair, rejuvenating and care of the zebra skin.

Here is some information on urine:
Urine: Urine is a compound waste discharge, comprises of urochrome, uric acid and the ammonium salt to deal with. When deposited urine attracts the natural bacteria from the atmosphere and starts to ferments, a putrid odor will develop from the protein component of the urine and ammonic odor will develop from the ammonium salt. When ammonic odor becomes present, the pH of the contamination would have shifted to 10. Such high pH above the neutral average 3 to 5 of leather causes the amphoteric protein fiber to shift ionic negative (-ve); that causes the protein fibers to repels its other ionic negative (-ve) constituents like the tanning agent, fatliquor and dyestuff. Behaving just like the attraction of a magnet, like poles repel. When the leather constituent breaks hydrogen bond with the protein fiber, the leather starts to denature and revert to rawhide. A typical appearance of an aged or compounded contamination is a darkening effect from the fugitive tanning agents, a whitening effect from the fatliquor. Fugitive dyestuff or bleeding is only apparent from a white towel detection and yellowing from the urochrome. The denaturing or reverting to rawhide effect of the leather is further confirmed by tackiness or in worst-case sliminess in the present of moisture. The leach out fatliquor results in stiffness and fugitive dyestuff results in discoloration. A systematic sequence of decontamination approach includes surface residue removal with CleanUrine-1.5 (pH 1.5), and rinse with Acidifier-2.0 (pH 2.0) recharging the protein fiber ionic positive (+ve) and neutralizing the ammonium salt with KillUrine-2.1 (pH 2.1). Utilizing such a low pH treatment retards bacteria activities from off gassing putrid odors, a natural pH control without the need to use bactericide or fungicide for mold prevention. Therefore, urine is a type of soiling that will require a biochemistry approach to decontaminate it. Restoring the leather begins after decontamination with Hydrator-3.3, a pH 3.3 multifunctional product that has ionic positive (+ve) charging abilities, an active surfactantcy essential for foreign water movement within the inter-fibrillary spaces to redistribute the leather constituents and purging foreign contamination to resurface. This is the last of the wet cleaning process to remove suspended urochrome yellowish compound through visible white tissue paper as an extension of the leather in the wicking process as the leather dries naturally. Only then, without a trace of the urine stain that Fatliquor-5.0 (pH 5.0) replenishing commences. The emulsified fat and oil encased water molecule breaks free when hydrogen bond attraction takes place between the fat and oil with the protein fiber, leaving a breathing space essential for leather transpiration to function naturally. The fat plumps the leather with fullness from easily collapsing into creases and wrinkles during stress or flex, while the oil lubricates the fibers so that they slide over one another like millions of inter-connecting hinges with smoothness. One important unique characteristic of leather is suppleness with strength and much depends on the fatliquor, in this holistic approach to effective leather urine decontamination and restoration. For severe neglected cases with finishes damages as seen in this picture, refinishing commences after leather suppleness restoration.

Roger Koh
Leather Care System Formulator
Consultant / Practitioner / Instructor
web: www.leatherdoctor.com
forum: www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com
email: [email protected]

Hide girl
11-23-2016, 03:36 PM
Hi there.
The urine is a few weeks old. Approximately 1 month old.
Yes it has soaked to the suede side.
I had tried an enzyme cleaner to get rid of the scent so the dog wouldn't urinate on the skin again, but I can still smell the urine and there still some discoloration.




Do you have pictures?

How old is the urine?

Does it go through the suede or back side?

We will discuss about how to remove base on your pictures, before we go into the other issue o repair, rejuvenating and care of the zebra skin.

Here is some information on urine:
Urine: Urine is a compound waste discharge, comprises of urochrome, uric acid and the ammonium salt to deal with. When deposited urine attracts the natural bacteria from the atmosphere and starts to ferments, a putrid odor will develop from the protein component of the urine and ammonic odor will develop from the ammonium salt. When ammonic odor becomes present, the pH of the contamination would have shifted to 10. Such high pH above the neutral average 3 to 5 of leather causes the amphoteric protein fiber to shift ionic negative (-ve); that causes the protein fibers to repels its other ionic negative (-ve) constituents like the tanning agent, fatliquor and dyestuff. Behaving just like the attraction of a magnet, like poles repel. When the leather constituent breaks hydrogen bond with the protein fiber, the leather starts to denature and revert to rawhide. A typical appearance of an aged or compounded contamination is a darkening effect from the fugitive tanning agents, a whitening effect from the fatliquor. Fugitive dyestuff or bleeding is only apparent from a white towel detection and yellowing from the urochrome. The denaturing or reverting to rawhide effect of the leather is further confirmed by tackiness or in worst-case sliminess in the present of moisture. The leach out fatliquor results in stiffness and fugitive dyestuff results in discoloration. A systematic sequence of decontamination approach includes surface residue removal with CleanUrine-1.5 (pH 1.5), and rinse with Acidifier-2.0 (pH 2.0) recharging the protein fiber ionic positive (+ve) and neutralizing the ammonium salt with KillUrine-2.1 (pH 2.1). Utilizing such a low pH treatment retards bacteria activities from off gassing putrid odors, a natural pH control without the need to use bactericide or fungicide for mold prevention. Therefore, urine is a type of soiling that will require a biochemistry approach to decontaminate it. Restoring the leather begins after decontamination with Hydrator-3.3, a pH 3.3 multifunctional product that has ionic positive (+ve) charging abilities, an active surfactantcy essential for foreign water movement within the inter-fibrillary spaces to redistribute the leather constituents and purging foreign contamination to resurface. This is the last of the wet cleaning process to remove suspended urochrome yellowish compound through visible white tissue paper as an extension of the leather in the wicking process as the leather dries naturally. Only then, without a trace of the urine stain that Fatliquor-5.0 (pH 5.0) replenishing commences. The emulsified fat and oil encased water molecule breaks free when hydrogen bond attraction takes place between the fat and oil with the protein fiber, leaving a breathing space essential for leather transpiration to function naturally. The fat plumps the leather with fullness from easily collapsing into creases and wrinkles during stress or flex, while the oil lubricates the fibers so that they slide over one another like millions of inter-connecting hinges with smoothness. One important unique characteristic of leather is suppleness with strength and much depends on the fatliquor, in this holistic approach to effective leather urine decontamination and restoration. For severe neglected cases with finishes damages as seen in this picture, refinishing commences after leather suppleness restoration.

Roger Koh
Leather Care System Formulator
Consultant / Practitioner / Instructor
web: www.leatherdoctor.com
forum: www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com
email: [email protected]

Hide girl
11-23-2016, 05:17 PM
Hi Roger.
The urine is about 1 month old. It has soaked from the hair to the back/suede.

Hide girl
11-24-2016, 11:14 AM
Here are the photos.
Thanks again.


Hi Roger.
The urine is about 1 month old. It has soaked from the hair to the back/suede.

Roger Koh
11-24-2016, 08:37 PM
Is the urine stains shown as the darker marks on the left side of picture #2?

Can you also show the reverse side?

After about a month, does it still emit a smell?

Has anything being done to it?

Does it feel tacky from the suede side?

Hide girl
11-25-2016, 03:25 AM
Yes. The stain is hard to see but it's the slightly yellow patching on the left side of the second photo. Yes it smells but I had put an enzyme cleaner on the stain to help get rid of the smell. I got the enzyme cleaner at the pet store. The smell is still there but less strong than before. It doesn't feel tacky on the suede side. It's more stiff feeling than anything else. I will send a picture later but there isn't any obvious staining on the suede side.