AI is being pushed as a miracle tool that can answer questions and solve problems quickly, but there’s a problem: It can’t fact-check its answers. So, can you really trust the results? Is it really safe to take AI’s answers at face value? In AI vs Expert, we compare AI’s suggestions to advice from real experts in the field.
It’s happened to the best of us. Your beloved furry friend had an accident on the carpet, and you’re not sure what the best way to clean it is. Sure, you probably know to start by blotting the area to soak up the liquid, but do you know the best way to remove pet stains? And if you don’t, can you trust AI to give you the answers? We looked into what AI had to say and then checked with cleaning experts to get the scoop on what it got right, what it got wrong, and the important information it left out.
What Does AI Say About Pet Stain Removal?
We looked at the answers from two LLMs about pet stain removal: Google AI overview and ChatGPT.
Google AI Overview
Google AI overview (aka Gemini) suggested using a mixture of “1/2 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish soap,” a recipe it claims came from the American Kennel Club. According to the summary, you just need to apply this mixture to the stain, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then blot.
The step-by-step instructions that it generated include other recipes. In these expanded steps, it calls for a first round of equal parts “distilled white vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle.” Once you’ve thoroughly saturated the stain, it says you need to apply a coating of baking soda and let it sit overnight and then vacuum the residue.
The AI suggests a mixture of “1/2 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 cup of blue liquid dish soap (like Dawn).” You’re supposed to spray this mixture over the affected area, “work it in with a clean brush,” and then blot dry with paper towels.
It also included a warning against using ammonia-based cleaners, but according to the sources Gemini pulled from, there’s a chance the ammonia cleaners will attract your pet back to the same spot.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT’s recommended enzymatic cleaners. It did recommend baking soda after the fact to help with odor and a mixture of “1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup warm water, 2 teaspoons dish soap” to help with discoloration. But outside of that, it primarily focused on suggesting products. It included the same warning about ammonia-based cleaners as the Google AI overview.
Initial Issues
While the advice both of these LLMs gave isn’t necessarily dangerous, it is incomplete and inaccurate. For example, the recipe the Google AI overview gave doesn’t match the one on the American Kennel Club site it claims to have pulled from. Rather, it’s a combination of the different recipes listed on that site. Also, while both LLMs advised against ammonia, neither gave any warning about bleach, which can damage your carpet and create toxic gas.
There’s also the issue that the LLMs are trying to sell products. ChatGPT was all too happy to list out machines and products available for purchase, both cleaning solutions and extraction vacuums. While those will help with the job, you can find the specific instructions for any of these products on their packaging, meaning the LLM didn’t provide any extra information. Given that accidents happen from time to time, it’s a safe bet that most pet owners already have at least one of these on hand, rendering the ChatGPT query moot.
What Do the Experts Say About Pet Stain Removal?
Next, we spoke to two experts in the cleaning world, Bruce Vance from Town and Country Cleaning Services and Leslie Riechert, a cleaning expert and author of The Joy of Cleaning, to find out how they’d handle pet stain removal and what they thought about the LLMs’ answers.
Bruce Vance
Your main issue with pet stains is the uric acid, Vance explains. As that oxidizes, it turns to an alkaline, uric salt. He says that the Google AI overview suggestion “isn’t the best possible choice” for dealing with these. He does agree that blotting is the first step if it’s fresh, and that liquid dish soap and water can be useful here, while white vinegar is better if the stain is dry.
However, absolutely do not scrub! Vance says that if you choose to scrub the carpet, you’ll bloom the fibers. This means you’ve wrecked the twists of the carpet material, and at that point, there’s no option aside from a carpet patch. While ChatGPT also advised to avoid rubbing, it only mentioned the possibility of spreading the stain and neglected to mention the carpet damage.
If your carpet is older nylon, it was most likely acid dyed, meaning the color is on the outside of the fibers. When the old urine becomes more alkaline, it can change the dyes’ color, and that discoloration isn’t something that can be cleaned. Newer carpets are solution-dyed, with the color in the fiber itself, so this is less of an issue. But as a general rule, when you’re picking a cleaning solution, avoid going with something too high on the pH scale.
Vance generally prefers to use a hydrogen peroxide-based cleaner. Working for a cleaning service, he has access to a higher concentration than the typical 3% solution you’ll find at the drug store. You can still try that, but at 3%, “it’s a little weak.” Look for 8-12% hydrogen peroxide, as that is strong enough to work well, while still being accessible to people outside the industry.
If you’d prefer to use a spotting agent, Vance says to look for one with the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Seal of Approval because the CRI has “set out standards for cleaners to make sure they’re efficient and work better than just using water.” He also warns against buying a spotting agent that boasts about having something like Teflon or Scotchguard. “They’re great at protecting your carpet,” he explains, “but if you don’t get the whole spot out, you’ve just sealed it in.”
Vance says he can’t confirm the LLMs’ statements that using ammonia-based cleaners can draw your pets back to the spot. However, he says you don’t want to use it most of the time anyway because that’s just using one alkaline product on another. It won’t neutralize anything. He adds that you should not use bleach ever. Bleach and ammonia combined will make mustard gas and you’ll be in danger due to the fumes. He also cautions against mixing bleach with other acids, as you’ll create chlorine gas.
Leslie Riechert
Riechert also grounds her answers in science. “A fresh urine accident has bacteria in it. You want to flush out and dilute the spot,” she begins. She recommends blotting with paper towels until they come up dry, “then spray the area with water. Keep diluting until there’s no trace of yellow.”
Riechert then suggests an enzyme cleaner, which will continue to eat the bacteria as long as the area remains damp. She recommends that you “cover with the enzyme cleaner and a damp cloth. This will let the cleaner work as long as possible and get rid of the bacteria.” She likes enzyme cleaners so much because they “stay dormant in the fabric once they dry. Once they get wet again, they are reactivated and start eating the bacteria. This is great if you have a pet that keeps revisiting a certain spot.”
When it comes to older stains, she reaches for white vinegar to help remove the smell. “After treating with the vinegar, you can flush the area with water,” she says. She does like hydrogen peroxide, but she saves it for “stubborn stains” because it won’t entirely remove the urine on its own. Riechert also vehemently says you should “never use bleach on urine spots.”
Key Takeaways
All things considered, cleaning up pet stains is a relatively low-stakes situation, but that doesn’t mean that the AI shortcomings should be overlooked. If these shortcomings exist here, they’ll likely be worse in higher-stakes situations. The experts, on the other hand, were clear, well-researched, and made sure to include important safety information.
Chemical Mixing
The most dangerous issue here was the failure of both LLMs to provide clear and complete safety warnings about mixing chemicals. Both of our experts were quick to warn against using bleach because of it’s ability to make mustard gas when mixed with something like ammonia. The LLMs, on the other hand, just gave a yet-to-be confirmed claim that ammonia cleaners would cause further pet accidents. Someone who only used AI and didn’t remember their chemistry classes could easily hurt themself.
Sales
As a general rule, I am distrustful of advice that comes with marketing. Whether or not the advice is good, there’s a conflict of interest and therefore a risk that the products offered aren’t the best for the job but rather the ones that will pay the most to the person or entity recommending them. Both experts mentioned types of cleaners but neither tried to sell me any. Meanwhile, the LLMs were eager to suggest product for me to buy.
Incomplete Answers
Both the experts explained what they liked to use and why their options worked. Vance also gave extra advice about how to avoid carpet damage as much as possible, while Riechert talked at length about how different cleaners work to eliminate the bacteria. The LLMs left safety warnings out, mixed recipes, and failed to give complete instructions for how to protect your carpet.
About the Experts
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Can You Trust AI When It Comes to Pet Stain Removal? Experts Weigh In
