If you've been cleaning carpets long enough, you already know when a job needs enzymes. The carpet looks clean, but grease keeps wicking back. Odor hangs on after extraction. Traffic lanes feel oily no matter how much detergent you throw at them. That's when standard chemistry stops being enough.
The question isn't whether to use enzymatic carpet cleaning—it's which enzyme product belongs in the workflow.
Surround OmegaZyme and Surround Waste Away both rely on enzymatic action, but they are built for completely different moments in a job. One is a cleaning detergent. The other is an organic odor contamination treatment. Mixing those roles up is where cleaners lose time, chemistry, and results.
This guide breaks down how to use each product correctly, based on real cleaning scenarios.
The Role of Enzymes in Professional Carpet Cleaning
Enzymes are used when organic material is part of the soil load. That includes proteins, food bases fats, oils, greases and biological residue that standard detergents can loosen but not fully break down.
From a professional standpoint, enzymes matter because:
- Organic soils can remain odor-active after cleaning
- Oils and proteins bind to fiber and top of backing
- Moisture can re-activate untreated residue, causing callbacks
Enzymes work by digesting organic material, not masking it. But they only work when they're used in the right place in the process.
That's the key difference between OmegaZyme and Waste Away.
Surround OmegaZyme: Enzymatic Cleaning Built into the Main Process
Surround OmegaZyme is an enzymatic encapsulation detergent. It is designed to be part of your primary carpet cleaning chemistry, not a corrective treatment.
What OmegaZyme Is Designed to Handle
OmegaZyme is built for carpets with widespread organic contamination, such as:
- Apartment turnovers
- Restaurants and food service areas
- Commercial carpets with body oil and grease buildup
- Residential carpets where organic soil is present
This is not a spotter and not an odor treatment. It's a full-coverage cleaning detergent.
How OmegaZyme Fits Into a Professional Workflow
OmegaZyme is typically:
- Mixed and applied as an encap detergent or pre-spray
- Agitated with pads or brushes
- Give extended dwell time as part of the cleaning process
- If an enzyme dries it dies, they like to stay wet to work longer
- Extracted or bonnet, depending on the method
It works while you're cleaning the entire carpeted area, not before or after the job.
When OmegaZyme Is the Right Choice
Use OmegaZyme when:
- Organic soil is present in spills or across the entire carpet
- Odor is tied to overall soil conditions
- You want enzymatic action without running a separate treatment step
Surround Waste Away: Targeted Enzymatic Contamination Removal
Surround Waste Away is a ready-to-use enzymatic odor remover. It is built to treat specific organic contamination, including:
- Urine (pet or human)
- Vomit
- Feces
- Other biological residues that penetrate fiber, backing, or padding
Its job is simple: digest the source of the odor.
How Waste Away Must Be Used to Work
Waste Away requires:
- Direct application to the contaminated area
- Sufficient moisture
- Extended dwell time
Enzymes stop working when they dry. If Waste Away is misted lightly or rushed, it will underperform. In many cases, extraction after dwell time is necessary to fully remove digested material and other soils.
This is an intentional, controlled application—not a general spray-and-go product.
When Waste Away Is the Right Choice
Use Waste Away when:
- There is a known urine or organic incident
- Odor persists after standard cleaning
- Contamination has reached backing or padding
- The problem is localized, not room-wide
Using OmegaZyme and Waste Away on the Same Job
On many professional jobs, the correct approach is both products, used at different stages.
A common workflow looks like this:
- Treat urine or organic contamination with Waste Away
- Allow proper dwell time while keeping the area wet
- Extract if needed. for heavier cleaning use Yellow LAVA after Waste AWAY
- Clean the entire carpet with OmegaZyme to address overall soil and oils
This prevents encapsulating untreated contamination and reduces the chance of odor returning after cleaning.
The Takeaway for Professional Cleaners
Enzymatic carpet cleaning works when the chemistry matches the problem.
Use OmegaZyme when enzymes need to work across the entire carpet during cleaning.
Use Waste Away when you need to digest a specific organic odor source at the point of contamination.
Knowing when to use each is what keeps jobs efficient, results consistent, and callbacks off your schedule.
