I would like to thank Art of Doing Stuff reader, Rose.
Rose, you see, emailed me the other day asking if I'd ever heard of DIY Enzyme Cleaner.
Why no! No, I had not, Rose.
But since you bring it up, now I *have* heard of DIY Enzyme cleaner. And being the kind of OCD, kindda crazy, must try all things at all costs, no matter how busy, tired, overworked I am, ... I'm going to have to make DIY Enzyme Cleaner. Even though, in the back of my mind I think it's kind of pointless, stupid, probably won't work and kindda weird.
So thanks Rose. You're a peach.
I've actually bought Enzyme cleaner before. It's about the only thing that will (help) get rid of the odour of cat or dog pee. The enzyme cleaner spray for cat pee is called "Nature's Miracle" . It does work better than any other product for cleaning animal urine, but I highly doubt this is the kind of miracle that would ever make it up for review in Vatican City.
Especially at around $12 a bottle.
So, weary from work, almost delusional really, I gathered up my ingredients, slapped on some sunscreen and grabbed a bag of chips and a pop and went out the door to work outside, taking pictures of the Enzyme Cleaner in the comfort of my backyard. I also put the radio on.
It's almost saintly what I go through for you people.
The list of ingredients is pretty small for this cleaner. That's not where the "Ack!" comes in. The Ack comes in when you realize that the DIY enzyme cleaner has to ferment for ... 3 months.
Now normally I wouldn't show you a post like this until I'd finished the product and tested it out for myself. But, I thought I couldn't do that to you. If I waited until my DIY enzyme cleaner was finished before telling you about it, that would be 3 months from now. Then if you were to make it, it would be another 3 months before you could try it. That's 6 months. That's the lifetime of most hamsters owned by your average meaty fisted 6-8 year old. I couldn't do that to you.
So, we're gonna do this together. Like a team. A fermenting, rotten, enzyme, stinking, housekeeping team. We'll call ourselves F.R.E.S.H. for short and I think we should start to think about gang colours. Probably not red or blue. Maybe yellow for urine.
Are you ready to make DIY enzyme cleaner? You could very well have everything you need in your kitchen right now. Provided you keep an ample supply of patience in one of the cupboards.
citrus peels
brown sugar
2 litre plastic bottle (big pop bottle or something like that)
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
stuff your bottle with citrus peels
add brown sugar
add water
shake and date
DIY Enzyme Cleaner
Ingredients
2 ½ cups lemon, orange, and/or lime peels (about 3 oranges and 3 lemons)
⅞ths a cup of brown sugar
4 cups of water
Method
Add all ingredients to a 2 litre plastic bottle. Replace the lid and shake everything up. Loosen lid a bit so gas can escape and put it in a cupboard for the next 3 months. Some sites say you're supposed to shake it every day. I happen to know I'll never do that, but I do plan to shake it whenever I think of it.
This recipe makes a concentrate, so once the mixture has fermented you can add ½ cup of it to a litre of water and that is your cleaning solution.
I'm going to say it once more. Loosen the lid so the gas can escape! This stuff is fermenting and becoming quite tooty. Much like yourself, if the gas can't escape it will eventually explode. Happened to an Uncle of mine once. Had to scrape him off the church walls. True story.
I'm touting this cleaner as something for pet urine, but apparently it's great for a lot of things. Most things. In fact, according to the Internet, that uncle who got splattered all over the church walls from not tooting? You could have cleaned the church with it.
So I'll meet you back here in 3 months. Spray bottle in hand, urine on the floor. Go team.
Update: Wanna hear about the results? Read the follow up post, DIY Enzyme Cleaner, The Results Show.
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amy
*utility=uti
Silly autocorrecting
amy
Ann,
I've used the peroxide, baking soda & dish soap too and it really does work on carpet!!!
Have you, or do you know of anyone who has used it on leather?
One of my kitties has had a utility and peed all over my sectional leather cinch! :-(
Tina
Try soaking citrus peels in vinegar for 2 weeks. No shaking or blowing up lol .. I have done this method ...
Mila
Well, I'm guessing if it had worked there would be more to this post right? If nothing else did you try the two week version with yeast? I realize I'm a little late jumping in on this band wagon. By the way, do you think grapefruit would work as well?
Karen
Hi Mila - I did do a results post on it actually! Here you go ... https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/diy-enzyme-cleanerthe-results-show/ ~ karen
Rose
Thanks for your reply, Karen. Hope to hear your feedback soon.
Rose
HI. I wonder if you have already harvested your garbage enzyme. Is it really useful?
Karen
Rose - It has another week or so to go. Frankly I'm not holding my breath for it to be fantastic. It didn't really seem to ferment ... I'm not sure. I'll let you know in a couple of week! ~ karen
tracy
I worry that this may cause ants where I spray it.
Karen
Tracy - It won't. There won't be any sugar left after it has fermented. ~ karen
Sarah {20 State}
I've just tried this...well three months ago according to the recipe...and I ended up with 3 litres of rotted, stinky goop. I have messed up somewhere ;)
Karen
Sarah - Hmm. Well ... can't wait to see what mine's like, LOL. It sounds like yours didn't ferment. Mine doesn't seem to be doing much either! ~ karen
Lisa
I make it and love it. It cleans great especially bathrooms and floors. No fruit flies, no sticky. Smells a little orangy but the house smells fresh when you clean with it.
I have a batch I'm giving to my daughter for cleaning up after a sick dog. I don't have dogs so don't know if it will work.
You can add yeast and speed up the fermenting so it can be used in two weeks time.
I started using it after reading about it on line. I gave it a try because our septic guy said to pour brown sugar and yeast down the drain for the septic. Supposedly this enzyme helps cleans drains
Karen
Thanks for the comment Lisa! I was just looking at my bottle. It doesn't seem to have fermented at all in the past month. No gases have built up at all. (although I do shake and open the cap every day so maybe that has something to do with it). ~ karen!
lemur_lass
FYI: I have officially have found a pet cleaner that works! After years of being unsatisfied with Nature's Miracle, my friend and vet recommended The Equalizer Carpet Stain and Odor Eliminator. It works and isn't nearly as messy as the other stuff. It comes in a pressurized spray bottle and it easily penetrates surfaces for cleaning. It smells pleasant too. It has worked great for my couch, and my concrete basement floors. I have a Bengal cat (a rescue) who marks b/c of neighborhood skunks. You can buy it via Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Equalizer-Carpet-Eliminator-ounces-aerosol/dp/B00061MT7U
Karen
Good to know! ~ karen
Chiropractor Naperville
We used natures miracle when my dog was a puppy... thankfully we no longer need that!
Karen
We'll see how this homemade stuff does. I'll report back in ohhhhhhh .... about 2 months. :) ~ karen
Karen EF
This enzyme cleaner can be used for a wide variety of cleaning. It can be used to replace floor detergents as well as bathroom detergents. It works amazingly well on removing the black grout between the bathroom tiles. It basically replaces most chemical detergents. In asia, this is called both garbage enzymes or eco enzymes. Often the peels or scraps of leftover fruits are used, lemons, limes, oranges and pineapples being most commonly used and most effective, especially for grease removal.
I use the pulp left over from making drinking enzymes (just fruit and honey/brown sugar fermentation - this is a fantastic all natural health supplement) and add a few 'fresh' lemon scraps and the water. This shortens the fermentation time to 1 month.
Have fun with your DIY fruit enzyme projects!
Alyson
Actually... The best thing for cleaning pet smells including urine is Nok Out. Check it out... You won't be able to make this yourself though (I don't think). Bonus is it is a Canadian product made in Midhurst, Ontario. It is all natural, non-flammable,non-toxic and odorless.
Cheers!!
Winegirl
I have to admit, I use as many "green" solutions as I can. But since we are sans pets at this time, you're on your own Chickie!
Now, if you were making homemade wine... ;-D
Lisa
I have made this and do like it. I don't have pets so don't know if it works for pet accidents. I read that it turns into a vinegar. I think it works.
You can speed the process by adding 1 tsp yeast. and wait two weeks. I have made both ways and both seem to work. Whenever we have citrus in our house I make a batch.
Marlene
Hi Karen...LOVE your blog and your irreverent thought process. Do you think this will work on rotten chocolate milk? A small container of chocolate milk (left behind by my 22 year old daughter) exploded inside my husband's car and soaked into the rug and leather chairs. We have tried a lot of stuff and nothing works...the smell is unbearable and sticks to everything...clothes, shoes, people. What to do? We are at our rope's end. HELP!!!
Whozat
Is it supposed to work on human urine? Like, say, that produced by a ostensibly-potty-trained three year old?
Also, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that "loosen the cap" and "shake daily" is a bad combination.
Kristin
I have been suckered into buying Nature's Miracle. It sort-of works, for my idiot dog (he's a rescue, not really an idiot, but that's what I feel like calling him when I'm cleaning up after him) who thinks it's okay to pee in his kennel. I put some in the laundry with his blankies, and spritz the floor of his kennel with some & let it evaporate. But, like I said, it only sort-of works. I'm not sure I want to invest 3 months into something that might sort-of work, and may just explode in my pantry. I'm way too lazy to clean that crap up!
Now, anybody know how to train a dummy dog to NOT pee in his kennel?? This is supposed to be instinctual, not to pee where you sleep. He's translated the idea that if it's okay to pee where he sleeps, it's okay to pee where his (human) sisters sleep. This may just get him hauled back to rescue by the Big Dog (dh) in the house.
Tina
Kristin.. I have a chihuahua matching what you describe!! Have you found any answers yet??? lol