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Need hints/tips/suggestions for replacement of 3/4 plywood (glued and screwed) that has soaked up urine from a heavily soiled carpet. Also any ideas short of replacement would be appreciated. The room is approximately 12×14.
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I am guessing the smell is from dogs.We had the same problem in our house whren we bought it. The carpet & pad were so bad I was gagging while I took it up & drug it to the trash. I coated the floor with 2 coats of Kilz & it has worked fine. If that dosen't work or you don't want to take a chance, try a smoke block paint used for fire restorations.
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Don't you wish people would just keep their dogs outside? Or, housebreak them?
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It might be a good idea to drench it with Nature's Miracle, an enzyme available a pet shops, and allowing it to dry before sealing with anything.
*I've dealt with this problem with dogs, and cats. Dogs are nothing, compared to the retained, overpowering, ammonia smell of cat pee.Rob's solution is good. The Kilz is fairly cheap and does a pretty good job. What smell gets through that will eventually dissipate, unless you need to get behind mouldings or up on the walls (cats can spray onto walls too).If it's hardwood floors, I've solved the problem with normal sanding/refinishing with good gymfloor polyurethane. That works even better than the Kilz.If your subfloor is really supersaturated in certain areas, you may need to remove some ply and replace it.Is the area below the room(s) used? That could need some attention too.Good luck. This is a very frustrating problem, but you can take care of it without reframing your house
*I have a fair number of cats and one of my little bastards keeps peeing in my wood pile. I usually spray some bleach on the stain and let it soak for a bit then wipe it off. It completely removes the amonia smell. I suppose the other products mentioned work just aswell and are probably less "nasty" to work with. I don't think you have to replace any of the subfloor if you can completely kill the smell. I'm not familiar with the other products mentioned but bleach is really aggressive and it should work. Be carefull when using bleach(or any chemical for that matter). It's considered a hazardous material. Wear gloves and a mask when using high concentrations.Gaby
*Like my dogs say:"Cat" the other white meat.
*LOL Gaby, "A fair number of cats" bears simile to a zoo having "a fair number of animals" hee hee!
*are you sure it is pee, and not the smell or spill of a renter who had a meth lab, nearly the same smell I have been told.
*Once worked in a hotel where we discovered a guest's body several days after he had expired. (You'd be amazed at the number of people that commit suicide in hotels)The smell was worse than anything I've ever smelled and days after the body was removed, still was strong.We tore out the carpet, mattress (so soaked with blood it was "glued" to the box spring", wallpaper, and bleached everything. No better.We then sealed the walls, floors, and ceilings by spraying Kilz. It worked.
*Natures Miracle is absolutely the ticket here. I was skeptical about using it at first after our male, unneutered cat peed on the carpet and wall. I didn't think anything other than complete removal of building material would work until I tried that product. All you do is completely soak the area and let it air dry. The enzymes do all the work. Completely eliminates the smell - not even a hint is left. I'd definitely try it before ripping up any subfloor.
*ROFLMAO.......I damned near choked on my Cattalloni between gaby's post and yours.I only wish I would have been sitting at the kitchen table next to the fish bowl when Gaby wrote that one.Damn, my gut hasn't got that big of a workout since the last episode of Sanford and Sons.Rip out the damned plywood. "86" the freeking cats.Covering up that stuff is like placing the kitty litter in a tied up plastic bag and stashing it in the broom closet. It'll come back to haunt you another day.Still laughing my A** off Mad Dog!!
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Need hints/tips/suggestions for replacement of 3/4 plywood (glued and screwed) that has soaked up urine from a heavily soiled carpet. Also any ideas short of replacement would be appreciated. The room is approximately 12x14.