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Urine on a hand-knotted rug is a different problem from urine on carpet. It is alkaline, it attacks the dye chemistry directly, and it sits in a cotton foundation that holds it.
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Oriental Rugs
Fresh urine is mildly acidic and becomes strongly alkaline as it breaks down. That shift attacks the dye bonds in wool, which is why old urine spots on orientals often show as colour change rather than as a stain: a red that has gone orange, a blue turned grey, a defined pale patch. That damage is chemical and permanent. The odour is the secondary problem; the dye is the one that costs money.
Urine passes through the pile in seconds and into the cotton foundation, where it dries into crystalline salts. Those salts are hygroscopic, drawing moisture from the air, which is why the smell returns every humid summer even after the surface has been cleaned. Surface treatment cannot reach the foundation, and a rug is not a carpet where a contaminated pad can simply be replaced.
The only approach that resolves it is complete immersion and flushing, with enough water volume passing through the foundation to carry the salts out rather than redistribute them. That happens flat, off site, with controlled water and full drying afterwards. Where dye damage has already occurred, washing removes the odour and the deposit but cannot restore the colour, and you deserve to know which of the two you are dealing with before paying.
A single recent accident on a stable rug usually cleans completely. Years of repeated use in the same spot on an antique rug with unstable dyes may end with odour resolved and visible colour change remaining. Very occasionally a rug is contaminated to the point where the cost of the work exceeds what the rug is worth, and we will say so. Dye restoration is a specialist service beyond cleaning and is quoted separately if you want to pursue it.
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