TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › Bought 3 different black lights, none are working!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Bought 3 different black lights, none are working!

post #1 of 23
3/18/10 at 9:09pm
Thread Starter 
The first one was just a painted light bulb. The second one was from petco, specially made to find urine, the third was this really nice one from amazon. I KNOW one of them peed in here. I can smell it, but nothing shows up. How do we keep buying the wrong one? We even shined it on our pillows and nothing showed up. How can you possibly use a black light wrong? The third one had reviews on amazon saying it worked fine!? UGH!
Reply
post #2 of 23
3/18/10 at 9:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kscatlady View Post
The first one was just a painted light bulb. The second one was from petco, specially made to find urine, the third was this really nice one from amazon. I KNOW one of them peed in here. I can smell it, but nothing shows up. How do we keep buying the wrong one? We even shined it on our pillows and nothing showed up. How can you possibly use a black light wrong? The third one had reviews on amazon saying it worked fine!? UGH!
Are you using these in complete darkness?
Reply
post #3 of 23
3/19/10 at 7:38pm
Did it work when the room was dark?
Reply
post #4 of 23
3/19/10 at 7:54pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, the room is completely dark.
Reply
post #5 of 23
3/19/10 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kscatlady View Post
Yeah, the room is completely dark.
And it still didn't work? Is there any possibility they peed in a red surface? It would be murphy's Law... but it won't show on red...
Reply
post #6 of 23
3/20/10 at 8:58am
Thread Starter 
There's no red on my floor. My carpeting is brown. I just really have no idea how someone could use a blacklight incorrectly, but if it happened to anyone, I guess it would happen to me. I KNOW I smelled pee, strong pee. But now I'm beginning to think I'm nuts.
Reply
post #7 of 23
3/20/10 at 9:19am
Please do not take this wrong... but did you make sure to put the batteries in and also check they were in correctly?
Reply
post #8 of 23
3/20/10 at 12:31pm
Carpet? Maybe it's down in the padding (if you treated the surface already). A black light can't do anything if that's the case. I suggest you rely on your nose to help narrow down the worst of it. Since it's carpet, assume it's soaked all the way down to your subfloor.

If you roll the carpet back then your black lights will show something... but if you do that you probably won't need to use a light - you'll see the stains.
Reply
post #9 of 23
3/20/10 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Please do not take this wrong... but did you make sure to put the batteries in and also check they were in correctly?
lol, the light turns on and everything. Nothing shows up, that's the problem.
Reply
post #10 of 23
3/20/10 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
Carpet? Maybe it's down in the padding (if you treated the surface already). A black light can't do anything if that's the case. I suggest you rely on your nose to help narrow down the worst of it. Since it's carpet, assume it's soaked all the way down to your subfloor.

If you roll the carpet back then your black lights will show something... but if you do that you probably won't need to use a light - you'll see the stains.
Really all I did was spray natures miracle over the whole area.
Reply
post #11 of 23
3/20/10 at 3:17pm
^If that's the case the upper carpet fibers are probably "clean". Find the worst smelling spot and try rolling the carpet back. I hope it's not too bad.
Reply
post #12 of 23
3/21/10 at 8:28am
If you have a man in the house, you can always test the blacklight in your own toilet...... But I must warn you, it's not pretty to see if the light is working.
I've noticed that some materials just don't show the urine well. My livingroom carpets are like that, but my couch shows the stains quite well.
Reply
post #13 of 23
3/21/10 at 8:44am
Unless you have a really strong black light, you won't see anything until the light is right next to the surface - I noticed that with the one I bought from Petsmart.

On the other hand, I have a black light from the 1960's that when you turn that on, it lights up everything within 25 feet. That one was bought for the black light posters they sold back then.....
Reply
post #14 of 23
3/24/10 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momofmany View Post
On the other hand, I have a black light from the 1960's that when you turn that on, it lights up everything within 25 feet. That one was bought for the black light posters they sold back then.....
I have one I bought at Spencer's in the '90s that I use when necessary. That thing lights stuff up like a Christmas tree. Since I have that one, I never bought one of the pet store black lights.
Reply
post #15 of 23
3/25/10 at 9:53am
The larger the black light the better - you did not mention how large the newest one is. I also use a large (3 foot) tube light - from a poster store.

It does need to be dark and the light should be held 6-8 inches away from the surface. Have some chalk handy to mark the spots.

Many things glow under the light - mold, wood glue, spider webs, etc. If you are not seeing anything at all - then it needs to be darker in the room, larger light and light held closer to the target.
Reply
post #16 of 23
3/25/10 at 10:09am
Thread Starter 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B001Q70A0G

This is what I bought.
Reply
post #17 of 23
3/25/10 at 11:34am
Do not take me wrong..... But.... maybe.... could your nose be super duper extra sensitive because of the pregnancy, and actually be no urine there?

Because that lamp will pickup urine... And you have a couple of different models that will (the painted, likely won't)....
just a thought....

Maybe it was in the kitty itself? On the fur?

I mean, pregnant noses are known for being over sensitive...
Reply
post #18 of 23
3/25/10 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
My nose is definitely super sensitive. It's only in two spots though...I'm wondering though, if I'm smelling something else and just think it's cat urine. I don't know. I give up. I spray the areas I smell with nature's miracle and am done with it. I'm not sure if Jon can smell it or if he's just going along with it.
Reply
post #19 of 23
3/26/10 at 2:07am
Well.... lol, this is silly but you could try the lights over the litter box...
Reply
post #20 of 23
3/26/10 at 4:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKisses View Post
Well.... lol, this is silly but you could try the lights over the litter box...
Sounds like a logical test to me, I would have thought that was tried already.

I still think I'm probably correct, though. That the carpet is clean and not showing urine, but that there's a spot in the padding under it holding the smell. If one's nose is good, all it would take is one spot to make you catch those occasional whiffs of urine.
Reply
post #21 of 23
3/26/10 at 10:50am
If you're pregant there is probably no pee at all!

I just had Link 3 months ago and in December I smelled urine all over my house, January none at all - because there never was any.

Your nose is playing tricks on you .
Reply
post #22 of 23
3/27/10 at 6:14pm
I checked your link to the light - the light itself is too small.
Reply
post #23 of 23
3/27/10 at 6:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Traufield View Post
I checked your link to the light - the light itself is too small.
Hers is a different technology, LED, not the normal bulb you would be used to, so the size doesn't apply. She also has one of those (regular bulb) and it didn't work either.

The LED lamp has great reviews, as you probably saw it, which makes you wonder why it works for everybody else but not for her

IMO, her pregnant nose is playing a trick on her... Like Nes said...
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Care & Grooming
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › Bought 3 different black lights, none are working!