Good morning, I am in the process of putting in new Bamboo floors in a condo. I removed the 1961 particle board subfloor to find 1×6 planks. All is good so far! After closer inspection I noticed signs of cat urine around the edges of the room. I am wonderring if there is anything I can do to eliminte or just seal the smell prior to putting in new 5/8 CDX subfloor? Any ideas are greatly apreaciated!!
First timer
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Replies
I've used white enamel paint to seal in staining on mold abatement, it works well. Must be good quality enamel paint though.
remodeler
One of my 2 cats (both neutered males) had taken to painting all of my walls, furniture, and anything else he could reach. I was horrified when I got a UV light. He never did that in all of the 9 years I've had him and didn't when I got him a buddy (they love each other and did so right away) but when a strange black cat started showing up outside both of my cats went nuts and the older one (9) started his wall painting, as well as the curtains out in the kitty room. I couldn't keep up with it.
My cats are indoor cats so it's not like the stray is actually going to get in here but they both hate him (and he is weird...my neighbor's cats hate him too). I've tried cleaning with a pet urine enzyme and then spraying some "No More Spraying" but that hasn't worked.
He's a sneaky little bugger too; he waits until he thinks I'm not looking and then does it. He's learned that the minute I see him backing his butt up to something he gets yelled at. It wasn't until I found "Cat Spraying No More" that I was able to finally get rid of this tiresome behavior. Now my house doesn't smell like a litter box anymore :)
Here's a link the their site if you're interested in checking it out, I highly recommend this: nomorecatpee.com
Jamie
Kilz Regualr Oil based
Last summer did a remodel and had basically the same situation, Cat piss on the carpet which leached through the padding, down to the plywood. Even after the carpet was out for weeks the room still smelled like piss.
Kilzed the floor and have not had a problem since, this was summer and still is no finished flooring down.
Its was done for a friend who has yet to put the floor down and I have been there pretty regualary with no further sign of the odor.
If you go this route by a cheapy roller and/or brush its not worth trying to clean out
if there's still a smell....douse with vinegar first...
the acids in the vinegar neutralize the bacteria that is causing the smell....
now you have a vinegar smell.....which ya might want to Kilz over after it all dries.
Vinegar works on cloth too.....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Ron,
I had a similiar problem a few years ago in one of my rental properties. Although I don't allow pets the tennant still had a male cat and he left his mark so to speak on the carpets and on a rough sawn cedar paneling section. I got great results from pure citrol. It was expensive (125.00 for 5 gallons). I used it undulited from a pump up sprayer and allowed it to sit for 24 hours then washed it down with clear water. It left an orange fragance for about a week but not a trace of the urine smell. The product should be available from a janitorial supply house.
And where were you when we were running the RENTAL thread ? I tried to get all the lanlords together there in that thread .
Thanks I wrote that down.
I use vinegar and amonia on carpet.
Any oil base primer would take care of the fragerence on wood.
Tim Mooney
Tim,
I just found this site, I wished I had been there for your discussion. I've had my share of tennent problems, some solved, some evicted.
My wife has had as many as 23 cats at one time..................often the "p i s s" smell was nasty. Never found anything that really knocked it out..............UNTIL
Un-DuZ-It
The product is made in Braddock, Pa 1-800-332-6037.....Quick UPS service...full satisfaction guaranteed. It is a Bio-enzymatic pet odor decontaminant and stain remover..............and man does it work!!!!!!!!!!! Be sure to read the directions completely. Forget the sealer....it won't work........vinegar lasts about 12 minutes and changes little, Pinesol is a Wimp, Chlorox is nasty and fails in the end. Get out that VISA card! You Will Be Very Pleased.
.....................Iron Helix
Iron,
I am glad you found a product that works well especially given the large number of cats. But the vinegar/sealer method does work. I bought a house 2 years ago that had a Rotweiler locked in the house for three weeks straight. The tenants were mad at the previous landlord so they moved out, locked the dog in the house and stopped by daily to feed it. Needless to say there was urine and dog poop en-mass. I stripped the carpet, mixed vinegar and water 50-50 and sloshed it throughout the house. Let it dry for 1 week and sealed it with Bins Zinnseer sealer. No more odor. Cost for the whole house was about $30. DanT
Might be okay with the "dogs business", but the vinegar and etc. would not even begin to knock down the "marking" pees that the cats generate when defining territory. Feline scent glands are more potent than the dog...well at least it hits my olfactory that way.
But when the cats are gone, I know I can use vinegar instead of the $30+/gallon stuff.
Thanks for the input.....................................Iron Helix
Iron Helix,
When I first moved out here, I lived in a camper that was made to fit the back of a pickup truck. Very tiny.
My cat was killed by a new dog. Got rid of the dog, and got a new cat. New cat soon presented me with 5 even newer kittens.
It was COLD. I emptied out the "closet", and made a pen for the fuzzblobs there. Folded up a fleece blanket for bedding. Put in a litterbox, but the box was played in, and that's all. At least for their first 5 or 6 weeks of life.
I then promptly zoned out for many weeks from severe depression. So, no cleaning got done.
Bottom line, that closet got SOAKED. Absolutely soaked trough, clear to the bottom of the camper, with urine and feces. Plenty of the feces was runny.
There is no describing the smell. Consider that it was a tiny little, already moist, moldy, and cold camper. Living where I do, of course, when I go outside, I breathe very clean air. If it gets stuffy inside, it doesn't take very long at all, being outside, for you to notice the difference when you come in.
I decided on one kitten to keep. Gave the rest away. Then I cleaned out the closet. Hung the blanket out to weather. Once the closet was cleaned out, it was still very wet. I dried it out the best I could, then waited for it to dry up some more on it's own. Was able to leave the door open for part of the day, because by that time, it was spring. The door to the outside was right beside the closet.
After a couple days, the bottom of the camper was still dripping wet, but the floor inside was fairly dry. Of course, the smell was still just as strong as ever.
I got some apple cider vinegar. Put it in a spray bottle, and sprayed it full strength all over that closet floor and walls. Absolutely soaked the wood. As soon as it looked a little dry, I did it again. Used nearly a half gallon
The vinegar smell was as bad as the cat smell, but within a week, the vinegar smell was gone. With it, it took the cat smell as well. For good measure, I sprayed in there one more time, and let it dry. I also sprayed the underside of the camper.
That fall, just as an experiment, I sprayed some plain tap water into the closet. A lot of those expensive chemical odor removers will do a good job... until the spot gets wet again, and then you smell the cat again.
No cat smell came back at all. Ever.
This was just plain, full strength apple cider vinegar. Nothing else.
Quittin' Time
Luka,
Do you think it makes a difference between the apple cider vin and regualar vin?
The difference is very minimal, but I have seen a difference. Or should I say, smelled ? LOL Actualy, it's seen as well. Because I have seen that even the cats do not go back to an area and 're-mark' it after the apple cider vinegar.
This was, of course, not the only time that I have dealt with cat urine smell. It was kind of accidental that I found out vinegar worked almost 20 years ago. I had contracted to refinish a large number of huge doors on a church. They specified the materials to be used. One of those was vinegar. (Denatured. Or some such word I can't remember. But a gallon bottle of regular vinegar slipped in there.)
I had a gallon of vinegar, with no purpose for it, sitting around. I looked at a house that a woman wanted cleaned up. Had literaly had dozens of cats living in it. She owned the cats. Moved, and wanted the place cleaned so she could sell it. There were a lot of repairs as well, but the cleaning was a major part of the job.
Remembered what a good job that the other vinegar had been doing on the doors, and decided to try it. That's it. It worked way beyond my, (or her), expectations, and I have used it for that purpose ever since. I discovered the apple cider kind worked better when I had some of that, and none of the regular.
It is important, when using the vinegar, that you stop yourself from being sparing with the vinegar. Really soak things. Pool it where the urine pooled before. Etc. When they have gotten dry to the touch, soak them again. And always let them dry by themselves. You don't think those cats worried about getting too much urine down there, do you ? You got to get as deep as they did.
The vinegar is cheap. Especialy when bought by the gallon. And it is not going to do any damage to any surface that the cat urine has not already done, and worse at that.
: )
Most people just wimp out with the stuff. They don't like the smell of the vinegar either. Or, it's too much trouble. Cat urine is a very difficult problem to solve. Or I should say, simple to solve, if you don't mind that the solution stinks as badly for a while, as the problem.
You have to decide to grab the problem by the balls and squeeze until it has a heart attack. I HAVE used those expensive chemicals. Several different kinds. They do work. But invariably, in my experience, the smell comes back later. Vinegar is what will kill the problem. Period.
; )
I have never had to seal over it afterward, either. No Kilz, no Binz, etc.
For clothes... I have found that about a cup of lemon ammonia in a washerload, works well. I have only once still barely smelled the cat odor after taking a seat cover out of the washer. Didn't have any more ammonia, or I might have run it through again. I hung it up to dry, and when dry, no more smell. Subsequently wetting the seat cover did not bring the smell back. Go figure.
(Ok, ok, you asked a simple question and got a novel. LOL So sue me.)
: )
Quittin' Time
Thanks for the info :)
Ive never tried not sealing with kilz or binz, but a gallon or two of vinegar is a lot cheaper then a gallon of sealer
When I was a maintenance sup. at god only knows how many apartments I worked,..we would use muratic acid on the area.Seemed to work.
Muriatic acid is a little to strong for my liking in this application, I try to stay away from it unless necessary
You are wrong.
Vinegar works for cats.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
WRONG.......IMPOSSIBLE..........unless you ask my DW!!!!
The vinegar is a weak acid with direct chemical action with urea.....limited by volume/molal chemical equations. Also limited by how well the cat spray saturated substrate tolerates being saturated with apple cider vinegar for long periods of time.
Concrete and plywood may do okay, but what about carpet and pad, or veneered or upholstered furniture, or drapery, or pillows, or stuffed toys.............the bioenzyme is the ticket. Enzymes promote a chemical reaction without being consummed...sticks around until the end without massive amounts of moisture or staining residues.
Bought a gallon two years ago..........half still remains. Did a 1800 sf basement, twice.
Doctored furniture, carpet, drapes, etc as needed in whole house 5k sf. Plenty left and the cats have been moved to the outdoors!!
Wrong for your application..........but okay for my application .....or yours...if you wish.
Regards........................Iron Helix
Edited 1/25/2003 8:07:10 PM ET by Iron Helix