About PetPeePee® & Meir Martin
The PetPeePee Company was invented by an emigrant who migrated to the Great America in 1989. Here is the story of Meir Martin.
In 1989 I immigrated to the Great America with my family, my big dog, my cameras, and a dream to build a new life in the USA. A journey eventually led me to create the PetPeePee system, a method that forever changed how Oriental rugs and draperies are cleaned from urine odor. The process is done organically and naturally, using the secret blended mineral formula that I brought with me from Israel — the Dead Sea Cleaner.
But my story begins in Jerusalem. I was born there, and from a young age I was drawn to photography. At thirteen years old I received my first camera. Not long after, in the Old City of Jerusalem, I saw the photographer David Rubinger, the man who became famous for his iconic photograph of the Israeli paratroopers at the Western Wall after the Six-Day War. I still remember him standing with several cameras across his shoulders, photographing life and history as it happened. That moment inspired me to become a photographer.
By the early 1980s I had turned my lens toward birds and wildlife. Between 1982 and 1986 I traveled across Israel, Africa, and other regions of the world to photograph rare bird species. Some of these birds had never been photographed in Israel before. This dedication, often waiting long hours in the desert or wetlands, led to the publication of my book Desert Birds of Israel, also known as Birds of Israel. The book was the culmination of years of work and remains one of my greatest accomplishments as a wildlife photographer.
When I arrived in the Great America, my English was very poor and I needed to support my family. Because I loved working with wood, I searched the Yellow Pages for a carpenter. After carpenter came carpet, and I noticed a company called Rainbow International Dyeing and Carpet Cleaning. I misunderstood the word “dyeing” as “dying” and thought they were making coffins. I applied, believing I would work as a coffin maker, but instead I found myself in the carpet cleaning industry. I worked there for nine months, and this accident introduced me to an industry I had never imagined.
As I gained experience, I noticed a serious problem. No company had a reliable solution for removing pet urine odor from high-quality Oriental rugs. The industry relied on the same methods: scrubber, centrifuge machine, steam cleaner, dry cleaner, carpet cleaner, chemicals, and equipment. These systems were too harsh and damaged delicate textiles while failing to remove the odor. This challenge pushed me to search for a new way.
In 2002 I founded PetPeePee. I developed a process using the natural Dead Sea minerals I had brought from Israel, blending them into a formula of my own creation. The solution penetrates deep into the fibers, neutralizes the crystals and bacteria that cause urine odor, and leaves no residue or damage. The treatment is completely organic and natural.
At the heart of this process is the XPETPEE machine, a vacuum-floor technology that I designed and built. The rug lies flat on a grated surface while the Dead Sea Cleaner flows through the fibers, and powerful vacuums underneath draw out all contaminants. The process is safe, effective, and permanent, preserving the beauty of heirloom Oriental and Persian rugs. The XPETPEE machine set a new standard in the rug cleaning industry.
Since 2002 PetPeePee has been my life’s work. Customers from across the United States ship their Oriental rugs and draperies to my facility in Florida. Every rug is treated with the care of a conservator. The five-star reviews on Google prove that what I promise I deliver.
At the same time, photography has remained my passion. I transformed my home into the Bird Home Gallery, where I display monumental artwork created from decades of bird photography. My story and my gallery were featured in the Sun Sentinel in the article House of Wings, which shared how my home became filled with birds in art. Visitors and readers often tell me they are inspired not only by the photographs but also by the journey of a boy who admired David Rubinger in Jerusalem, who photographed birds across Israel and Africa, who arrived in the Great America with poor English and a big dream, and who became an inventor, entrepreneur, and artist.