Can I get rid of cat smell?
Susan Ten Pas
We have put in an offer on a farm contingent on the current estate
getting rid of the terrible cat odor in the house. So far they've had
professional cleaning people trying to get rid of it and have removed all
carpetting, drapery, and the smell, while reduced is still there. We're
getting close to closing date and they want to sand the floors and
refinish them. Will this work? Any other advice for getting rid of the
smells?
The house was inhabited by a woman who loved cats and gave them free run
of the house. There must have been hundreds. We love the farm but are
very concerned about the odor problem. Is this resolvable? Anyone know?
Please respond by email as well as the group. Thanks.
omelia
It will help a lot to sand and refinish the floors. You also may need to
paint the walls as much of the odor is probably from male cat spray in the
lower 12" of the walls. Using a sealer such as "Kilz" might be helpful too.
ome...@midwest.net
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John Wooddell
You may have hit on the key to a good cleaning. We recently had a
naughty tenant brak a lease and left us with fairly new carpet with tons
of cat pee stains. The carpet was ruined and had to be replaced. So
did the foam underpad. And, unbelievably, the concrete subfloor had to
be deep-cleaned. Luckily we were able to use our safe buffered indoor
muriatic acid and it deep-cleaned/etched the urine out. But, without
the subfloor being deep-cleaned, whether wood or concrete, you are
leaving the most likely source of permanent odors.
I'd say, Go for it and sand at least a full thirty-second of an inch
off. Be careful with the cracks between the wood members - they may
have cat pee deeply embedded, so you'll need to treat them with a
de-odorizer.
Hope this helps!
John
--
John Wooddell, d...@exclamedia.com
DHS Distributing, Inc. Maker of
Envirosolve (tm) 1000 Safe, Buffered Muriatic Acid
(800) 382-0770 - http://www.exclamedia.com/dhshome.htm
Stephen & Linda Hawkins
>Susan Ten Pas wrote:
>>
>> We have put in an offer on a farm contingent on the current estate
>> getting rid of the terrible cat odor in the house. So far they've had
>> professional cleaning people trying to get rid of it and have removed all
>> carpetting, drapery, and the smell, while reduced is still there. We're
>> getting close to closing date and they want to sand the floors and
>> refinish them. Will this work? Any other advice for getting rid of the
>> smells?
>>
never completely get rid of the odor. If the area isn't humid, you may not
be able to notice it, or at least it won't bother you. However, a good
dose of 85% plus humidity will bring out the smell like you can't believe!
The best deodorizers are enzyme-based, but they only work where they get
access to the embedded urine. Even in concrete, urine can soak in up to 5-7
inches.
Regardless of how thorough the cleaning is, other cats will always be able to
notice the smell. So, if you ever get a cat, expect to have problems litter
training it.
Susan Wood
I had a cat that peed on the basement floor. You can imagine
how it smelled on a warm humid day - yuck. I had tried everything
to clean it and get rid of the odor. Finally, I poured a 1 quart
bottle of white vinegar over the area. I just let it dry into the
concrete. It took about 3 days for the vinegar smell to go away
and fortunately it took the cat pee smell away with it. Now the
basement just smells like a basement - I was really amazed at how
well the vinegar killed the smell. I don't know how well this
would work on wood - maybe try it on a spot to see if it damages
the wood.
Good Luck,
Susan
Curt Hannon
There's also a product that you can purchase at most veterinary outlets
that neutralizes pet odors. It goes by a variety of names, so just
ask for a neutralizer. I've also used vinegar and water with great
success and have had a moderate amount of success with baking soda as
well. As for damaging the wood, anything's better than that smell.
Best of Luck!
Mary