My cats recently expressed their displeasure with the addition of a rowing machine to the household by peeing all over my laundry basket.
Most of the clothes are going quite well down the “soak in bacteria/enzyme” product forever, then wash about a million times afterwards.
However, in the laundry room were some wool items which were awaiting minor repairs before getting put away for the summer - and some of them got hit also.
All of the enzyme/bacteria cleaners state that they are not to be used on wool or leather (some also add velvet but not all).
I have used vinegar before effectively, and can do so again, but I wondered - why is that?
Are the little beneficial enzymes/bacterias so general-use that they attack ANYTHING biological? If that’s the case, then why are silk, cotton, and linen ok? Are they smart enough to know protein? Even then, silk should be out also.
Enzyme cleaners appear to be a mix of protease, amylase, and lipases, so proteins, starches, and fats will be digested, while as Mijin said, cellulose based fibers like cotton or linen won’t be. I found lots of advice to not use these types of cleaners for silks in addition to leather and wool. It’s possible that the bottle you had didn’t list silk since it is less common than the other two?
Well, IIRC wool’s ability to keep you warm and dry even when wet is due to its natural lanolin oils; lanolin-containing wool conditioners (Eucalan is one brand name) are sold to let you renew the lanolin in objects where you really want it, like wool mittens, woolen “soakers” for cloth diapers, and so on. So my wild-ass guess would be that if you used enzymatic cleaners on woolens that you wanted to have that property, you’d strip the hell out of the lanolin and make reconditioning it really tough to deal with.
Maybe it’s similar for leather; enzymatic cleaners might take off any kind of surface sealant/conditioner/softener and make the surface dry out.
See, if the enzyme cleaner is going to strip the lanolin, I can fix that. If it’s going to eat away the proteins themselves… that’s not so fixable.
The not including silk in with the other Do Not Use items is the thing throwing me off. (I checked several (5 or 6 at the pet store) brands, and only one listed silk as contra-indicated)
Would there be a difference between those labeled as using “enzymes” and those labeled as “bacteria” ?
There could very well be a difference, if the “bacteria” cleaners are actually using live bacterial cultures to metabolize the offending organic molecules. I know this is some times the case in bacterial drain cleaners.
However, doing a google search on bacteria / enzyme urine cleaners is bringing up a lot of sites with dubious explanations. Many claim that the odor is caused by strains of bacteria. Some also claim that the culprit is uric acid. In either cause I’m not sure what the enzyme cleaners are supposed to be doing. Seems to me that washing in cold water with soap or detergent would be perfectly fine if these are what’s cause the problems.
