I pulled the urine soaked carpet out of a rental house and can`t get the stink out of the subfloor.I`ve tried bleach and kiltz.Any sugestions?
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white vinegar.
and .. is it cat or dog ...
young or old.
spent too many years carpet cleaning ... know more about this than I'd like.
there's also a cleaning product called "odorban".
Has enzymes. The enzymes live by feeding off .. or eating ... the bacteria that cause the odor. If the stain is fairly contained ... they eat it ... till it's all gone .. they they die.
and no more smell.
btw ... cats are worse than dogs ... old is worse than young.
cat urine has more acid than dog ... old has more acid than young.
a yound puppy .. easiest to remove ...
old cat .. hardest.
In my own place .. the former owners cats had a favorite corner.
Couldn't smell it at first ... but my two cats could.
Pulled up the carpet ... found the Kilz painted on.
pulled the baseboard ... it went thru the 3/4 hardwood ... thru the original plank subfloor ... and up into the base ... and into the plaster ...
had to replace a 4x4 section of subfloor and hardwood ... coupla feet of base ... and a chunk of plaster.
Too much over too long for anything to kill it.
Try the vinegar first.
works for clothing and matresses too.
The house smells like a big salad for a week or so ...
then it all goes away.
Jeff
what you said... although I didn't know the young/old part...interesting.
with one exception/question.
I've heard cider vin works better... I think from someone here... thankfully havent had a chance to test it over white yet though.
any thoughts or experience?
haven't heard or tested that ...
could be true.
Jeff
speaking of cats...........my wifes favorite male cat saturated my -30 down sleeping bag and ruined it........pissed on my side of the bed .....and a couple of weeks ago I was laying on the couch watching tv in my shorts and the cat pissed on my foot.
Grabbed my k-bar and started chasing it .........my first beheading.......but my wife raised her hackles and I stood down..............and headed for the tub.
Wonder what the hell that cat is trying to prove.............also wonder if this will bring the neighborhood cats after me when they get the scent.........
We inherited a feral female cat with the house. A night about a month ago, 2AM I feel a warm sensation, the damn cat was pissin on me in bed. They have a cat door but the bedroom door was shut tite..
I didn't mutilate her ...yet, we'll see if it keeps up this stuff, then she might have to disappear.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I was doing a small addition, one of my first jobs and the owners had a cat and a mistrust of contractors. Well didn't the cat piss at the exact place on the floor where old met new. The owners held back a small sum of money until they felt that the place didn't leak as they didn't believe my explanation. I eventually got paid and even later a phone call and a thank-you for a job well done.
How's about you drink a quart of vinegar and then piss on the cat?
No, seriously, I believe cats set up expectations for their humans. If you don't feed them on time or forget to give them affection, they actually get mad at you. Unlike dogs, they hold grudges. One way of letting out their anger is with their urine and excrement. Remember that cats don't like the smell themselves - they try to cover it up normally.Les Barrett Quality Construction
Les......"How about you drink a quart of vinger and then piss on the cat," ......My friend you made my day , reminded me to quit taking myself so seriously........Thanks and be kind to yourself. Nails.
Unlike humans, cats and dogs do not have the complex human emotions we often grant them with. I know, sometimes that is REALLY hard to believe. But it is true.
Soiling outside of the litterbox, especially if the cat is using something with your scent, may be related to a urinary infection or a behavioral problem. Is the cat not using the litterbox at all right now? Have the cat checked out by a vet before you procede.
Q: If the cat has a urinary infection, why is it going a) in my bed, b) on my favorite chair, c) other item with my scent?
A: Cats who have felt pain when using the litterbox will hold it and hold it to avoid pain. They get somewhere cozy with their owner's scent, relax and --uh oh. Big problem.
Q: Vet says cat is fine. So what is problem now?
A: Cats cannot talk. They don't like surprises and they can develop a fear of different things or places. (Just like any animal...it is basic.) Read this about cat behavior around fear, how it affects soiling outside of the box, and what to do about it...
http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/outsidebox_one_2.htm
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/behavior/a/felinesoiling.htm
(Note: We never had a problem with our 9 year Maine Coon Cat, Dave, until we moved into this house. And then...wham! Soiling outside of the box! So frustrating. After weeks of observing Dave in our new house, we noticed.
We contained Dave to a smaller space for awhile to make him comfortable and force him to reconsider his litter box. We cleaned it out more often too. (Twice a day) We did not allow the dog into his "space" and put curtains on the windows of that room. He was allowed out when we could watch him carefully, and put back when we could not. Gradually, we were able to use a "baby gate" with an escape hole in it so he could exit "his" room but the dog could not enter. Anytime contractors came over? To the room. Now, it is comforting to him. We let him exit whenever he wants to but he prefers his room and hanging out there. He will come out to spend time with us, but heads back to curl up on top of a dresser to watch us work in the other rooms from his "safe place". So far, so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Good luck.
All these issues to satisfy a cat.............thank God my wife is potty trained.
Cat's don't have emotions?!?
My BIL and SIL moved in with my inlaws for a few months between house selling and new house completion. BIL dislikes cats, so would literally toss inlaws cat off couch so he could sit in that spot. The cat started pissing on his clean clothes in the bedroom, no one elses. The cat had never had a problem before, and never again after BIL moved to new house. No explanation for that except revenge.
Years ago, my wife's cat pissed on my clothes.
I caught him in the act and chased him around the house with a wood dowel.
I'd cornered him and gave him a good whipping (don't worry, not that bad or my wife would have killed me).
The long and short of it is that he never did it again. Also, spent the rest of his life (another 8 years) sleeping on the bed with me, so it couldn't have worked out better.
Try a product called Odor Mute. Seems to do a good job.
Jeff
And this may very well have worked because you caught him in the act. (Although I wouldn't recommend whipping any animal with a wooden dowel. Especially when you are HOW much bigger than he is? Good God! That's like shooting fish in a barrel!) After the act? Good luck. Rubbing their nose in it doesn't have the effect you intended because they aren't associating their ACT with your act. By then, you just have a result.
Catching them in the act is pretty key, and a really good scare is generally enough to do it. Then removing them to a contained area for awhile. However, "punishing" them by containing them and never going into that area to interact with them in a positive way is just going to make them more anxious.
If he was just using urine, he was probably marking and trying to assert his dominance over you in the house or in relation to your wife.
jmo
I'm well versed in animal behavior, as I train them.
Yes, I agree, catching them in the act is important.
This particular cat was living with us for years and we just needed a meeting of the minds.
And no, I didn't whip him, mostly chased him around to scare him.
And I cried terribly when I had to put him asleep a few years ago.
Jeff
Sorry that he's gone...sounds like he was a good ol' cat.
And sorry to put you on the defensive. I can only respond to what I read, and when I read "chased him around the house with a dowel rod...I'd cornered him and gave him a good whipping", I didn't have any cause to doubt that you hadn't. Goodness knows, it isn't anything I haven't THOUGHT about doing (before I put the thought aside) when any animal creates a mess for somewhat mysterious reasons.
Sounds like we both like animals and spend a bit of time training them. Here are our most recent two...Dave is 9. Coco is 13. Both were adopted as adult pets and had to be worked with when they came to stay. Both turned out to be fantastic pets.
And yes, the cat is really that enormous. Maine Coon monster. If you consider that the dog is a Chocolate Lab and compare her to Dave the Cat, you can see why the dog is terrified of the cat.
jmo
Big Guy, and your dog looks very soulfull.
My current cat (Rambo, who earned his name) is big, but not nearly as much.
He seems to end up sleeping with the newest of the puppies.
He has the strangest habit, when a new pup comes in, after they get used to each other, he curls up and sleeps with the pup.
When a new pup comes in, he abandones the current one and sleeps with the newest.
Funniest thing I've ever seen.
Didn't mean to get the hackles up earlier, I was being partly humorous.
I train dogs for Search and Rescue work here.
Alot of fun, but requires alot of knowledge to solve the problems that people cause because they don't understand the phycology (sp?) of the dogs they have.
Used to work with problem dogs, but here in Vermont no one has money for that.
Jeff
Yes, cats have emotions. But cats don't have the complex human-like emotions that you and I have. We project those emotions onto animals. (I was a docent for Lincoln Park Zoo during the 90's)
For example, "revenge". Cats don't know revenge. They know fear, hunger and so on. BASIC emotions. It's possible the cat was fearful of this guy or was asserting control over his territory against a "threatening intruder" on his territory. That makes a lot more sense.
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/fearful_cat.htm
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/litter_box_problems.htm
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/territorial_marking.htm
I made a related inquiry in about June about raccoon urine, which had soaked thoroughly into a wood ceiling from the attic. The smell permeated the room below, making it unusable. We had already removed the old insulation, cleaned and disinfected the wood and reinsulated, but it didn't get rid of the smell. On this website I was advised to seal the inside surface of the ceiling with shellac and IT WORKED!!! After a summer including plenty of heat and humidity, no more smell:) (The next step was a new ceiling, which was not a nice option)
Thanks much to those who recommended this. And if it helps with the cat urine situation, great.
By the way if you use vinegar on carpet, dilute first to at most 50% vinegar, preferably less or you may damage the carpet. Always test first on an inconspicuous spot.
That cat is telling you "move on buddy I'm top -cat here !".You will just become another feral carpenter pissing in others back yards
Jeff-you sure know alot about piss.Whats the best way to apply vinigar?I have a pump sprayer.Do I dilute/water?Thanks for the pips,I mean tips.
I never diluted it.
just poured it right out of the bottle.
years ago .... right after we moved ... and ... had just bought a new mattress ...
well ... U can guess by now .... cat piss right in the middle.
new expensive mattress ... comforter ... sheets ...
ended up tossing the sheets ... tried to save the comforter and mattress.
got 3 gal bottles ...
slowly poured one on the mattress ... flipped it ... slowly poured the second.
then .. put the comforter over a clean trash can ... poured the third bottle over it ...
then puched it all down to the bottom with a stick.
Let them all sit till dry.
slept down on the couch for about a week.
rented a cheap grocery store carpet cleaner ... steam cleaned to mattress ... to help rid the vinegar smell ... ran the comforter thru the wash a coupla times ...
Still have both.
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
How about dog feces? Just had our carpets cleaned then the dog let loose (literally). Don't really want to pay them to come out again unless I have too. I also don't want the stain.
thanks,
Ken
scrap as much of it off ...
pretty much any of the grocery store/pet store "pet stain" cleaners with a scrubber build into the top of the bottle will work.
dog poop is easy compared to cat pee.
for regular carpet stains ... would work well for the poop too .... I spray on the stain spot spray .... spray more than you'd usually use .... get it wet .... then drive the shop vac nozzle into the carpet and vac it all out ....
get as much liquid out as posible ... then blot even drier.
Kinda like homemade steam cleaning ...
I've even sprayed hot water from a spray bottle on the carpet with some dish soap mixed in ... and sucked it up.
trick is to get the vac nozzle in there tight and move back and forth fast ...
Jeff
Go to the pet store and tell them your problem
They have enzyme solutions and powders to destroy urine
Tell the house owners it is not guaranteed and will cost $300
( you will lose an entire day with all this BS)
Enzyme cleaner will not work if detergents have been used on the spot, it will neutralized the enzymes. I have used a product called Oder Xit with success. You can find it on the web.
Coming to you from beautiful Richmond, Va.
Nothing, including the enzyme stuff will touch it.Dont ask how I know that! The only thing that will work is coating it with shellac and then polyurethane, and seal it in the wood...