Uh oh, what have I done?

kluchetta

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So I'm not known as the most knowledgeable housekeeper around. But I decided to really clean my kitchen floor. I used ammonia straight, and it really made the floor look great. the only problem is that-well, my house now smells like pee. Duh! Why didn't I thibk of that? Anyway-anyone else ever done this? Will it eventually smell better? Is there something else I should've done?
 

lunasmom

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I use to clean with ammonia too... try taking a bucket of hot to warm water and see if you can't delude the smell.
 

dragoriana

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

So I'm not known as the most knowledgeable housekeeper around. But I decided to really clean my kitchen floor. I used ammonia straight, and it really made the floor look great. the only problem is that-well, my house now smells like pee. Duh! Why didn't I thibk of that? Anyway-anyone else ever done this? Will it eventually smell better? Is there something else I should've done?
Did you put it into warm water to dilute it? You should have done that. If you perhaps give your floor another wash, but with another detergent in water, it may take some of the smell away.

Not everyone is a perfect housekeeper. I just vacuumed my bedroom floor and i should have donei t ages ago lol
 

starryeyedtiger

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My mom owns her own cleaning business. Best tip i ever learned to get smells out: White Distilled Vinegar- mix it with hot soapy water and clean your floors with it- it will take a few minutes for the smell to dissipate- but it will GREATLY help
 

kiwideus

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Oh dear! Whatever you do, make sure you don't mix it with bleach! Good luck!!
 
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kluchetta

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Aha...there were directions to "rinse", LOL!
Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Did you put it into warm water to dilute it? You should have done that. If you perhaps give your floor another wash, but with another detergent in water, it may take some of the smell away.

Not everyone is a perfect housekeeper. I just vacuumed my bedroom floor and i should have donei t ages ago lol
 

hilda>^..^<

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

My mom owns her own cleaning business. Best tip i ever learned to get smells out: White Distilled Vinegar- mix it with hot soapy water and clean your floors with it- it will take a few minutes for the smell to dissipate- but it will GREATLY help
Yeah Nikki, I agree...but then her home might smell like vinegar instead of ammonia.

What I'd recommend is that you simply use a clean (by clean I mean rinsed out with no chemicals on it) wet, hot mop. Just go over your floors a couple of times...rinsing your mom out after you've taken a few passes. Uh, this might sound gross but it works...don't use a bucket in which to rinse out your mop because you'll only be using the same ol' water over & over. If you can, rinse it out in a sink or tub...and please be sure to clean and disinfect your sink/tub when you're done with it all!

Also...if you can open your windows and run some fans...that would help rid your home of the smell...ammonia is soooo strong...the fumes I believe can be harmful! If you can't rinse out your floors really well...at the very least, open up your windows and get some fresh air into your home and that chemical-ish air outta there sweets!

Hilda>^..^<
 

sprocket

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This is a linoleum floor correct? Rewash your floors with Nature's Miracle, full strength, and let the Nature's Miracle dry on your floor.

I denatured an entire house when I first rented the house I eventually bought. When I first walked into this 4+2 + den the place overwhelmingly reeked of pee. Black light testing revealed pee stains all over the place and even up on the walls. I removed all the carpet and padding but the pee was in the sub flooring in some places. I rented floor sanders. Sanded about 700 sq ft of wood floor (on the main floor). I think I used about 20 gallons of Nature's Miracle on the sanded wood and got the smell out of most of the flooring with just that, but the smell was still in the livingroom floor in a few spots where the wood was stained almost black. You could barely detect it...and if I had had more time, I would have done another week of soaking with Nature's Miracle. But I had to move in; my lease was up on my old place. So, I went ahead and stained the wood floor then put five coats of polyeurothane on top to "seal in" the smell. Worked perfectly.

It's expensive to treat wood with Nature's Miracle. When I contacted the company for advice they didn't recommend it...they said I needed one gallon for every square yard of wood flooring. I didn't use nearly that much, and it can be done. Just takes time and perseverance.
 
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kluchetta

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Ooh - I thought of the vinegar one. Those are all great suggestions. I'm not finished with the floor so on the next go-round, I'll try some other alternatives. I was texting this from my phone last night while I was at a rehearsal. The house smelled normal when I got home. Whew! But the cats were like, "Jeez, did you have to do this to the floor RIGHT by our WATER???"
 

hilda>^..^<

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This reminds me of the time when Alex Jr decided he was going to help me out and wash the kitchen floor. He was about 5 or 6 at the time! He just took my dishwashing liquid and squirted it all over the floor! Then he 'poured' water all over it and started mopping! OMGoodness! I don't remember now where I was at the time but when I saw what he was up to...well I couldn't decide if I was furious at him or if I was just happy that he'd wanted to help!
He'd poured out at least an inch of water all over the floor! It took a long time and I don't know how many rinsings to get up all that soap!

He's 19 now and I can barely get him to clean up after himself...much less think about doing anything like that!


Hilda>^..^<
 

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My neighbor does this. Usually on Sundays. Oh the smell is unreal! I have to light candles to get rid of the smell.
 
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kluchetta

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Originally Posted by crazyforinfo

My neighbor does this. Usually on Sundays. Oh the smell is unreal! I have to light candles to get rid of the smell.
My floors are unbelieveably shiny!!!
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

I used ammonia straight, and it really made the floor look great. the only problem is that-well, my house now smells like pee.
Not much you can do other than to open the windows and air the place out.

Also, ammonia is a wax stripper and will even remove varnish. You might want to look at applying a coat or two of wax on your floor to protect it.
 

margecat

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

My mom owns her own cleaning business. Best tip i ever learned to get smells out: White Distilled Vinegar- mix it with hot soapy water and clean your floors with it- it will take a few minutes for the smell to dissipate- but it will GREATLY help
Vinegar also makes a great all-purpose cleaner. I mix it with water in a spray bottle, and use it all the time. (I buy huge jugs of white vinegar really cheap at Wal-Mart.) It is a mild disinfectant, and shines up stuff nicely. It also neutralizes smell.

MargeCat
 
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