Help....My 14 year old cat decided to use my guest room as a litter box. The smell is awful. My house is only 3 years old and this happened approx. 1 year ago. I tried Nature's Miracle (let me tell you....no miracle here) Then I pulled the carpet and pad up and used a product Urine Gone (No urine gone according to my sniffer). Every time I walk by the guest room I swear I am going to get sick. I have friends that are coming in 2 weeks.....Help. And to top things off.....my husband claims he can't smell it.....Bummer I need some suggestions on get rid of the smell. Thanks!
Welcome to DIY!
you said you pulled the pad up and cleaned the subfloor
Did you replace the pad? The subfloor would also need sealed to seal in odors and keep future moisture out. I would also check the lower walls and baseboard..cats can spray pretty high up.
So, my suggestion would be pull the carpet and pad. Replace the pad, reclean and seal the subfloor...in a area larger than what the cat used...as it will spread. If its a wooden subfloor and the damage is really bad. Replacing of the wood may be needed. At any rate, to fix the problem correctly in 2 weeks. Would be pushing it if you are going to DIY. But can be done. Good luck
had the same issue here.....could be 2 things...psychological or actual....
you have a paranoia surrounding the smell that you are possibly making yourself think that the smell is still there OR....
the smell is still there for real...have a 2 or 3 noses that you trust come and tell you....
when you pulled the pad and carpet perhaps you missed other areas under the rug....just pull ALL the carpeting again and look...no other choice unless you get down and smell every square inch of rug..
either way my bet is it sunk through the padding and to the floor itself...hopefully the floor is not that awful MDF or plywood....the smell will stay in there till you replace the wood and padding..sorry about the bad news that if you do have that type of flooring
i had hardwood in my home and the previous owner just let his dog pee everywhere ended up replacing the hardwood floors because they were unsandable...
good luck and remember to get more sniffers in there that you trust more than hubby's and if they tell you they can't smell it either than believe them...you are just gonna make yourself more sick as the days tick down if you don't...
a quick way to get rid of cat urine smell is to fill a water spray bottle with water and put vanilla essence in it as much as you like.. i put about 10 drops.... spray it around and its gone. Cats tend to respray what ever they have previously sprayed so maybe your cat keeps coming back but use that and it will be gone and your floor smells like cookies
Vanilla isn't going to neutralize cat odor. Docduck's suggestions are the way to remove the odor. Even then, cat urine is so difficult that the carpet often has to be replaced if multiple urinations have occurred.
mitch is right...cat urine ranks up there to be one of the toughest odors to remove...the thing with cats...they can spray pretty high up on walls, drapes, furniture, clothes...so sometimes the carpet and padding isnt the only DAMAGE you can see or smell
i use the word damage because as mitch stated after awhile you will need to resort to replacement of the effected surfaces
To eliminate odors, you have to eliminate the source. The use of vanilla or other scents provide a temporary masking of odors and do not eliminate the source. Please follow the expert advice given.
Which is worse; dog or cat urine??
I have/had a problem with dog urine. One problem was he peeded in one spot, but it was so little I never noticed it untill days later. By then, it dried and soaked in.
I have a carpet cleaner (cansiter type) that I use to clean the carpets on a regular basis. Unlike the carpet cleaners that come in and do a poor job, I clean carpet with a non sudsy carpet cleaning liquid, going back and forth in problem areas. I then disconnect the hose going to the bottle of diluted cleaner and go back over where I applied the cleaner with just water. Lost of water and work the area again.
I finish it up by sucking up all that water, going over the same area more than once very slowly to be sure as much water is removed which is the only way to do it correctly.
Leaving liquid and/or water in the rug just leaves the dirt and odor behind.
It is alot of work, but it seems to work for me. The carpet is a level loop Berber, which isn't a deep shag pile which makes cleaning dirt easier, but makes it tougher for spills that have soaked in since it's hard to get down deep since it is a 'stiff' pile. Unlike a 'shag' type of carpet where you can get between the strands (if you know what I mean).
I also don't have wall to wall carpet, so I can lift the carpet up if the area is near the edges.
I tried a few of those urine removers and they aren't as good as they claim.
It was posted in another thread to use white vinegar to neutralize animal urine on concrete.
Can this be used on carpets??
Cat urine is harder to remove - it's more concentrated. The problem with cleaning the carpet from above only is that the urines penetrates deeper than the cleaner can get. Never tried vinegar, we don't spot remove urine (it's always too big a problem by the time we know about it).
Understood regarding 'cleaning from above'. That's why I 'soak' the carpet with the carpet cleaner 'floor wand' so as to get the cleanre down deep. Then saturate it with just water to disolve the cleaner and dirt/urine and then go oiver it mant times just 'sucking up' the water.
Have you tried using an enzime cleaner? It uses the microbiology of naturally occurring multiple teams of self generating bio chemical enzymes to synergistically digest the organic compounds that cause odor, breaking them down to benign, odorless compounds such as carbon dioxide and water. try Atx oder kill and stain remover.
Yes and it did help, but since I didn't discover the problem untill days afterwards, the urine already dried. When it happened elsewhere, there was enough that I saw the 'wet spot' within hours afterwards and was able to 'blot up' much of the urine before it soaked in further.
I did three 'soakings' and three carpet cleanings.
The last time seemed to help the most, but there is still a trace smell when I enter that room (a front hall).
We always clean this kind of problem the same way: Pull up the carpet, replace the pad if the urine penetrated it, seal the subfloor if the urine penetrated it, clean both sides of the carpet before tacking it back down.
Enzyme cleaners work, but they have to get to the urine to work and usually do not work topically on anything other than a fresh stain due to not being able to soak far enough into the carpet. Also, all the enzyme in the world isn't going to help the pad, that's why you need to replace it.
How would I remove the ordor from the sub floor if it is plywood to keep from having a re-occurring problem. Am going to replace the carpet and padding.
if its an older problem and you no longer have the cats....than i would cut out the effected areas of the padding and toss them
i know the next part may sound dumb but...get down on your hands and knees and sniff...the nose knows...take a sharpie and outline the areas..or if its the whole room just rip it out and toss it...most places sell padding by the sq ft
if the plywood is very bad...replace..if its still stable and sound..a oil base primer/sealed kilz or binz will work good...then clean the carpet if its decent if not...toss it..
also check out baseboard and lower 18 inches or wall...if there is a problem there seal and paint as well..or replace the trim
Originally Posted by sharon7978
How would I remove the ordor from the sub floor if it is plywood to keep from having a re-occurring problem. Am going to replace the carpet and padding.
this is something I have used many times always had great luck with it....as to weather it will work on the sub floor, I have no idea...I have never needed to find out.
Get rid of cat pee and dog pee smells forever - Recipe
Ingredients
Baking Soda
White Vinegar
Dishwashing Detergent
3 % Hydrogen Peroxide
Directions:
1. If the cat has recently urinated on the carpet, first absorb as much of the cat urine as possible using paper towels or an old towel. Place clean paper towels over the cat urine area and tread on them so as to absorb as much of the urine as possible. Repeat with dry towels until no more moisture can be absorbed.
If the cat urine has dried and you are not sure where the soiled area is you can use a black light to detect it. In a darkened room the black light will pick up urine and other stains. Hand held black lights can be purchased for between $15 to $25
2. Next, wet the area with a solution of 50% white vinegar and 50% water. Make sure you use enough of the solution to penetrate the fibers deep down. Allow it to almost dry. You can assist drying by blotting with paper towels as described above. If you own a wet and dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture.
The acidity of the vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the cat urine.
3. Apply a liberal amount of baking soda over the affected area and drizzle it with a quarter of a cup of hydrogen peroxide mixed with a teaspoon of liquid dishwashing detergent. (not caustic detergent that you put in a dishwasher) Work it in with a scrubbing brush or your fingers (be sure to wear rubber gloves) to dissolve the baking soda and work it down into the carpet. Allow it to dry. Then vacuum.
The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia and hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizer capable of killing bacteria which cause the urine smells. Baking soda is a well known deodorizer which absorbs odors. Sprinkle it on your carpet monthly then vacuum up to keep your carpet smelling fresh all the time.
Important. Never use ammonia or ammonia-based products on the carpet. One of the ingredients of urine is ammonia and your cat may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area if it detects the smell of ammonia. Many household cleaner cleaners contain ammonia so be sure to read the label.
If you don't have hydrogen peroxide on hand you could substitute it in an emergency for a spray laundry stain remover. Check the bottle. If it says 'Oxy' anywhere on the label then it probably contains hydrogen peroxide.
Caution, you should test your carpet for color fastness in an inconspicuous area.
Use only 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.
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Remove cat urine odor from laundry. Use this method on your clothing, bedding, rugs or anything you think you can stuff in the washer (not including your cat). Simply add ј cup apple cider vinegar along with your normal laundry detergent, start the washer and VOILA!
if the problem has made it to the subfloor..it has soaked in..best thing to do is clean the area...allow to dry and use an oil based primer or shellac and seal the area...this means the carpet...padding and such have to come up
I usually mix in 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to my carpet cleaner. This works well with me, the solution never fails to remove the nasty smell of my cat's urine. As for the other household cleaners, I simply buy from this fantastic *****for avail of their never ending discount privileges.
Hi - sorry you are having pee trouble. I want to tell you what my vet said: my cat's blood and urine work was almost perfect esp. considering her age (12) so there was no medical reason and it was behavioural. AND, that cats are fastidious normally and do not urinate outside the litter unless there's a good reason. And that in discussing possible reasons, we concluded, there must be a bullying cat outdoors peeing. What's more, my cats would NEVER stop the behaviour until the bullying problem was permanently solved. Surely to goodness, I knew it. My front porch was a disaster, and I didn't know the extent until we started cleaning it. Got rid of everything on that porch - now I will be rebuilding the floor boards; they were dilapidated anyway, and I have been soaking them regularly with the enzyme. There's now nothing on the porch and I can see any little piss mark which I immediately remove with enzyme cleaner. I had also seen the back door soaked with piss, and this time I cleaned insanely with the enzyme, repeated and repeated applications, followed by (get ready for some real woo woo) a mirror placed low on the door at cat level with statements on a piece of paper behind the mirror telling those bullies to GET LOST. It's been weeks, and NOT A DROP on that mirror. My own two cats don't seem bothered by the reflection, and get their food right there as well as having their outdoor nap space in that area. My cats seem so much more calm, and I have been having them indoors a lot more. Still repeatedly soaking the problem areas indoors with enzyme cleaner. I have mainly hardwoods, a couple rugs, and the cats thankfully go mainly on the hard floors, so it's easy to spot and clean up. The change in my cats' behaviour has been pretty remarkable - I literally couldn't have them indoors at all before, and there would be marks everywhere - now, favorite marking areas are not touched, my girl kitty lives mainly in my bedroom where she has her box which she has been using. Dramatic difference.
Tags: urine, smell, carpet, carpet padding, hydrogen peroxide, with enzyme, carpet cleaner, much urine, paper towels, your carpet
