QotW: Can dog urine melt a car tyre?

Urine for a deal with, as a result of Phil Sansom’s been wanting into this ‘wee-lly’ attention-grabbing query from listener Trent…

Phil – Hi Trent. While I don’t doubt your canine’s harmful energy, its wee isn’t going to eat by way of that tyre – not in a lifetime of walkies.

To perceive why, let’s take a look at what occurs when the rubber meets… the move. Starting with the move – that’s, urine.

Urine in mammals is about 95% water. The remaining 5% is varied waste merchandise of metabolism, like urea, mineral salts… and certainly, uric acid. That can imply that urine is barely acidic.

But uric acid isn’t notably sturdy. And in comparison with in birds, the place all that white stuff within the droppings is uric acid, in mammals there isn’t that a lot of it.

The result’s that canine urine usually ranges from solely mildly acidic to even mildly alkaline. And the precise acidity will differ relying on the canine’s age, food plan, and well being.

What concerning the tyre then? Modern pneumatic tyres are normally fabricated from cords of metal or fibre, coated in rubber. 

In truth, our tyres have been made out of rubber ever since Robert William Thomson invented them in 1846 – forty years earlier than even the primary automotive.

The motive being, rubber is agency sufficient to withstand the highway, however versatile sufficient to be comfy on uneven floor – plus, the rubber is vulcanised, that means that cross-links between the lengthy molecular chains make it even more durable.

All that is to say that rubber is a really resilient materials, not recognized for its vulnerability to chemical compounds.

Unfortunately I don’t know if anybody’s executed the precise experiment that may exactly reply your query. You must be the primary! But – the rubber seal producers Mykin do provide a chemical resistance chart to be sure to’re utilizing the precise kind of rubber on your surroundings. SBR (the commonest kind of tyre rubber) has the best doable ranking towards uric acid, that means that they’re anticipating it to be barely affected.

That’s why I’m assured in saying you’re not going to be executed in for vandalism. I additionally requested David Williams, a vet from the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital, who agreed that the wee would don’t have any impact on automotive tyres! He says the extra attention-grabbing query is how your canine is utilizing it to speak with different canines, by way of what he calls ‘pee-mail’.

Thanks on your query Trent. Next time, listener Kelvin has a weight-reduction plan trick he’s considering of making an attempt out…

Kelvin – We are advised to not overcook our greens as a result of this kills the vitamins. Now if that is the case, why do not we simply overcook the meals we take pleasure in and never run the chance of placing on weight?

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