The Good: Removes stains just fine
The Bad: Does not adequately discourage cats from returning to soil the area again.
The Basics: This average cleanser utterly fails to earn the respect of a pet owner for discouraging pets from soiling the same areas they have previously used.
Because most of my reviews are in the media areas, it might be something of an obscure fact that I have two beautiful cats named Brillo and Gollum. Brillo is a little heavy Siamese mix with the tendency to whine whenever he is taken from the house and put in the car and to soil areas around the house as an act of rebellion. Gollum is an obedient little black cat who dutifully uses his litterbox. Brillo is the reason I was in the market for a carpet stain remover for pet stains. Brillo is not a fan of me leaving the house for days on end and illustrates this quite well by being sure to urinate somewhere inappropriate within twenty-four hours of my return to the house.
Brillo is a little bit of a jerk, but I do love him. I do not, however, like the way he pees in front of my fireplace (yea, heat and urine smell!) and have gone through many products to try to find one that truly works. This led me to Resolve For Pet Stains, a carpet stain remover that boasts that it removes tough stains, neutralizes pet odors, and discourages resoiling. Well, two out of three isn't bad. But it is not enough for me. Both Brillo and Gollum have shown an affinity for their cat litter, so I know that Brillo's poor behavior occasionally truly is the result of his temperament. I want a product that truly lives up to its promises, especially discouraging my cats from resoiling areas. This is the primary way that Resolve For Pet Stains failed me.
Resolve For Pet Stains comes in a 22 oz. bottle with a spray trigger top. The nozzle ends in a simple, pretty standard, rotating cap that offers three spraying options: Off, Spray and Stream. The "Off" function locks the trigger and prevents anything from being sprayed. This is handy for those who have children kicking around who might otherwise enjoy getting into a bottle like this. So long as the kid has a short attention span, this will thwart them from spraying the product around. The "Spray" setting creates a fine mist that dusts a decent area, about six inches square when held a foot away. The "Stream" option shoots a concentrated beam of fluid out at the target and offers the most force for the cleaner.
The actual product is a clear, slightly yellow, liquid with a faint, soapy smell to it. The scent is inoffensive and almost unnoticeable. Having had plenty of this stuff on my skin - including in an open wound on my hand - I can honestly say that it does not irritate the skin. I'm not tasting it, even for a review!
The directions for use recommend removing as much solid matter as possible before spraying the Resolve For Pet Stains and I have found that to be a good suggestion. Otherwise, the user simply grinds in dirt and poop into one's rug and there is not much point in that. Once the matter is gone - Brillo has been known to drag his butt along one of my carpets just to emphasize his point - simply spray the Resolve on and wait three minutes and blot it off. This is a remarkably easy product to use. I usually use the "Stream" setting simply because this results in the cleanser foaming up and I can see clearly where it has hit and clearly see it working. There have been times I have used the "spray" function, walked away for ten minutes and been unable to find where the stain had been without sticking my hand in it (yea antibacterial soap!).
On my short, tightly woven rug upstairs, which is a lighter rug, the stain removing property works out perfectly. The stains disappear completely with one spraying and/or a minimal amount of blotting/rubbing to get anything lifted off. This is very easy to use and remarkably effective at removing the stain. On the short rug, the scent is gone almost instantly, as well. It is replaced for about three hours with that faint scent of the Resolve cleaner, but even that soon dissipates.
Downstairs, I have a rich red rug with a decent pile to it. This rug extends to in front of the fireplace, which is where Brillo most frequently likes to make his statements of protest. There is no possible way for me to tell if the urine stain is out by coloring as I can never tell that Brillo has peed there by color. The rug is too dark to carry the color of a urine stain. It is, however, clear enough by smell and touch when Brillo has urinated anywhere on that rug. The Resolve For Pet Stains cuts through the odor and eliminates it, permanently. It is very effective at that and within moments of applying it, my living room no longer smells bad.
Unfortunately, the product does nothing to truly discourage Brillo from peeing in front of the fireplace later on. I have used the Resolve For Pet Stains on the rug and - with a sense of hope - on the rocks at the base of the fireplace. Neither of these has had any effect to diminish Brillo's use of this inappropriate area as a place for him to bathroom. Given that this is a key selling point of the Resolve For Pet Stains and it utterly fails at it, this product fails to meet my needs and that earns it its unsatisfactory rating in my book.
There have been times, as well, that both Brillo and Gollum have been known to gorge themselves on Pounce cat treats. This often leads Gollum to vomit and walk around looking embarrassed. Poor Gollum. The Resolve For Pet Stains works wonders on the vomit, when the matter from it is first removed. Sadly, with all my traveling, I am able to say that this product works on such vomit even when it has sat on a rug for at least a day. Though, again, the cleaner does not effectively discourage the cats from vomiting in the same place later on. (Why can't they do it on the tile and make my life easier?!)
The Resolve For Pet Stains does seem to last, even with my disobedient cats. I can usually make a bottle last for six months. The cleaner mentions not to mix it with bleach, which implies it might have an ammonia base, though it does not smell like it. It also notes that it contains no phosphates, but I'm at a loss for what that means. Neither Brillo nor Gollum has ever gotten ill from my using this product and it does effectively eliminate stains and odors.
But given that the key selling point for this product - i.e. the reason it is supposedly formulated specifically for pet-related stains - is that it discourages pets from returning to the same place to soil again and it utterly fails at that, it is a disappointment and not worth a pet owners money.
For other cleaners or pet product reviews, please visit my reviews of:
United Pet Skunk And Tough Odor Eliminator
Speedy White Hearth & Ceramic Glass Cleaner
Synergy Xtreme Catnip Liquid
4.5/10
For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page here!
For other cleanser reviews, please visit my index page here!
© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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