Removing Pet Urine Odor from Floors

I just ran into this problem a few days ago. Our sweet kitty managed to ruin a room in our house with his urine! I tried to steam clean it out, but to no avail! No matter what I put on it - enzyme cleaner, deodorizer - it would not work. The smell began to permeate my house, so it was time to take action!

Total Time: 3-4 hours - 2 days

Supplies:

1 box cutter or utility knife ($8.00)
pry bar ($12.00)
sand paper ($1.00)
eye protection ($5.00)
fine particle mask ($5.00)
dishwashing gloves ($2.00)
bleach or bleach spray ($3.00)
Kilz or other primer ($7.00)
dollar store paint brush ($1.00)
new flooring alternative ($300.00)
(optional) black light ($20.00)

Steps:

Sadly, you have to pull up your carpet and padding. Trust me, there is no other way. Using your pry bar, gently pull up a small edge of your carpet. You can pull up the whole carpet in the room, or cut it into small pieces to make it easier to handle. Use a box cutter with a very sharp blade. It is easier to cut from the bottom side, and far easier to cut in a straight line, when possible. Make careful cuts in doorways so you keep the carpet outside of the room intact. Next, use the pry bar to pull up the carpet strips. Be careful, they are full of tiny spikes that held your carpet to the floor.

Get that stinky carpet out of the house! Throw it away. If you cut it in smaller pieces, you might be able to fit it all in the trash can. (That's what I did.) Otherwise, you will need to haul it to a dump. You don't want to reuse any of it. The smell permeates the carpet.
Find the urine spots. Usually, you can see the stains, even old ones, on the sub floor. However, a black light will help you see a few you did not know were there. Turn off the lights and turn on the black light. Have a pencil or piece of chalk handy. Circle the areas that glow, and be sure to circle about an inch around them - just in case.
Turn the lights back on and start sanding. Be sure to use eye protection and a fine particle mask. The dust coming up is hazardous. You can sand by hand or use a sander. It does not need to be a fine grit - whatever you have on hand should work.

Make a mix of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water. This will be strong, so keep on the eye protection and mask. Also, you will want to protect your hands with dish washing gloves. Scrub the area with the solution. Allow it to dry, then repeat. You may do this a 3rd time, if desired. You can also simply use a bleach cleaning spray, as long as it actually contains bleach. Allow the spots to dry overnight. Be sure to leave the house and return, to make sure the odor is really gone (you can get used to it if you don't leave the area for a little bit). If needed, sand and scrub a few more times. (My odor was horrible, but it only took me 3 applications of the bleach cleaner spray).
After allowing the spots to dry, paint over them with Kilz. You can use a cheap brush from the dollar store for the painting. Allow it to dry. The odor should not return!

Now, it is time for some new flooring. You can always have the area re-carpeted. However, if you are worried about a repeat performance from your pet (I was), then you will not want to have to pull up a room of carpet again. I went with seamless carpet squares. These truly are seamless if laid correctly and vacuumed. If the pet stains again, you will only need to remove one or two squares and replace them (be sure to order extra). Other alternatives are vinyl plank "wood" floors. These are completely waterproof and very easy to lay and cut. Tile is another alternative. If you are worried about more stains, choose something waterproof or easily removable, with minimal replacement cost.
Follow the directions for laying your new floors.
Clean up! If your problem is a cat, as mine was, be sure to keep the litter box as clean as possible. If the problem is a dog, crating the dog while you are gone works well - and it does not have to be forever, just a few months should work. Good luck!

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mockvos

November 7, 20160 found this helpful

I have a better solution...shut doors so the cat/door don't use bedrooms for humans as big toilets for pets. Walk your dogs or hire a dog walker.
The stench and amount of work the new owners have to indure is absolutely uncalled for.
We just bought a home and two of the four bedrooms were used as toilets for a dog and cat! The dog was locked in a room all day!!
People who sell their homes with "pet toilets" should inform the new owners! Instead of advertising (say there is acctually 4 bedrooms) just say 2 bedrooms..let just be real..

The previous owners of the house we bought, covered the stench (open doors, fans whatever) ( they were sleeping above the urine..gross!) and said to us "we will be cleaning the carpet" LOL WELL, after we got our keys the damp "cleaned" carpet released the foul/rank dangerous smell.
We pulled the carpet and low and behold, the subfloors were so rank, yellow and with dark yellow stains!!
What is sad is they had a little girl sleep in that room!!
People and their pets!
How they are willing to sleep in a urine soaked room so their pretious "family pet" can pee on a soft carpet instead of grass is beyond me!! It's an animal.
The damage to the floors, the expense it takes to make it even habitable...its just plain wrong!
My husband pulled the carpet/padding and will bleach subfloor today so we can lay new carpet and MOVE IN!!

I'm not the only one discussed by this common occurrence!
If I were the only one, this site would not exist. Think about it.
Thanx to everyone who gave ideas.. =o)

Anonymous

June 2, 20170 found this helpful

Nothing wrong with pets. They should be potty trained and be with Thier owner in every room just as Thier child.

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