I think I bit off more than I can chew.

MY project: to finally carefully lift the carpeting on the side of the room where My beloved Fang has peed on more than one occasion over several years. PEEYEW! I lifted the carpet, and it really stinks, and it doesn't seem that any amount of scrubbing and rinsing is going to help, and I am only doing around a foot of the 3ft. by 5 ft. area.I got rid of the padding, and washed the floor, but the rug is so bulky and I can't lay it on top of the unpeed rug, because then I will be spreading pee.
I can tell you for certain that the bissell spotremover is crap. This is going to be a long project. I am using the hydrogen peroxide solution, but I don't think that works either. I used everytime he peed, and it obviously didn't work then either. boohooooo : (

I'm going to watch this thread for any advice you may get from others. Our carpet needs to be replaced badly, and I know the corners are going to reek. Several male cats who were fighting over territory and 2 dogs that had the occasional accident have left there marks behind. I'm absolutely dreading taking the old carpet and pad up, and have no idea how to try to remove the smell from the wooden floor underneath.
I used the peroxide/baking soda method on different spots, too, and while it seemed to help a little, the smell seemed to creep back.

I once had a cat who tried to wet on a plastic shopping bag laying on the carpet. The carpet was new so I called the manufacturer. I was told test on a hidden place the non sudsing ammonia. I tried it to see if it harmed the carpet and it was fine. So I used it to clean the urine from the rug. The ammonia counteracts the ammonia of the cat urine and takes out the odor so they won't go back and wet it again. It worked for me so you might try that. Even pour some on the floor and let it soak a while. Just be sure to keep the cats off it until it is dry

That's the problem with carpet, the padding under it really works against you. It'll let liquids under but makes it difficult for them to evaporate - so they end up trapped with plenty of time to soak in.

What type of floor is it? Is it hardwood or plywood subfloor? If the latter you may be able to get away with sealing it with kilz paint after it dries. Hardwood would need to be properly sanded and resealed - but if damaged badly, it would be easier just to remove those pieces.

You should get some plastic sheeting or at least some big black plastic garbage bags to lay down under the soiled carpet. You could go over to the paint section of any store (hardware/walmart, etc) and get the really cheap plastic drop cloths (it's just a lightweight plastic sheeting) for $2-$5.

Try soaking the carpet from both sides with an enzyme cleaner while it's sort of losing folded/rolled over? I'd be tempted just to toss the carpet.

the floor is wood, not finished, but I guess it could be, not sure. IT isn't warped or damaged. I am not sure if the pee soaked into the wood. I will give it the smell test tomorrow. I am using some plastic and old towels and rugs, but I like the idea of something larger. I have a tarp in the basement, I could use that, and maybe cover a larger area. I thought amonia was not a good thing cause it smells just like cat urine. I also read to use vinegar. I do have a bottle of the enzyme stuff, but that never seemed to work before either. As potent as cat urine is, you would think someone would have found a good use for it.
It must be good for something.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

As potent as cat urine is, you would think someone would have found a good use for it.
It must be good for something.

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Making cat owners go "bleh!". Try different enzyme cleaner brands? you may have more luck since it's not sitting on the padding now.
Just make sure your tarp doesn't have any holes, otherwise that's perfect since it's a bit heavier than what I was suggesting.

If the urine soaked into the pad, it got to your wood. Wood is so porous that it'll absorb all sorts of smells - I have cabinets in this house that still smell like old lady perfume. Nothing short of crawling inside them (they're large linen closests/cabnets) and painting every nook and cranny with kilz paint will take care of it.

Good luck with it! Again, I think I'd give up.
I have carpet left in my den and in my BIL's room (not ripping it up off the hardwood with how he is). I'll be glad to see all the carpet in my house gone and nothing but wood and tile.

We never had to lift the carpet, but Spooky did stress pee for a while. I took the advice of hissy - who has oodles of experience because of all her rescue work. Amy, MomofMany, has a kitty that has chronic UTI problems, and uses the same product. She had to pull up carpet, padding, and refinish the wood underneath if I remember correctly. Since then she's been using this product, and no more pulling up carpet - because IT WORKS.

The problem with the hydrogen peroxide solution, as I understand it, is that it works for a period of time, but then the smell comes back and it is harder than ever to get rid of it. The unfinished wood is good - this will make it easier.

This isn't cheap - but it isn't cheap for a reason. It works. For a problem like that, you're likely going to need more than one application. In fact, I'd e-mail or contact the company to ask for their advice on how to use it. They are great when it comes to customer service and they will talk you through what to do.

http://www.nokout.com

Once you get this fixed, if you have a pee-outside-the-box problem again, you use the full strength Nok Out and SOAK the area so that it is squishy wet. This is really the key - because cat pee wicks, so you need to soak the area - as you have learned - down to the floor boards. You let it sit for about 15 minutes, soak up the excess with rags, and let it air dry. And it does dry - it takes more time when humid, but even if wet down to the floor boards, it WILL dry.

Edited to add: If you find the pee while it's still wet, you soak up whatever excess pee you can first with paper towels or rags or whatever, then apply the Nok Out, let it soak, then blot up the excess and let it air dry.

To each of these, letting it air dry is a critical part of the process - it doesn't work if you try to speed it up with a heater or hair dryer or something.

We always just laid aluminum foil (loose) over the area until it was dry.

Also note, if you use rags instead of paper towels for any of the blotting, or if kitty pees on bedding, throw rugs, or any clothing or towels or anything, you just add Nok Out to the laundry when you do the wash.

Good luck!

...and I'm glad that ammonia seems to have worked for blueeyedgirl, but this is unusual. The ammonia doesn't counteract the ammonia of cat pee. The only thing that actually removes the smell is an enzymatic cleaner (which is what Nok Out is). You have to break down the bacteria that causes the smell AND destroy the pheremones that act as scent markers in the urine. Ammonia will kill the bacteria, but not destory the pheremones. This is why an enzymatic cleaner - that will destory the bacteria and the pheremones - must be used.

Vinegar may neutralize the odor, but it won't destroy the things that cause the odor. If I remember correctly, cat urine has a half life of like six years or something!!!!!!!!

I found another home recipe online. I am doind this on. It seems to be working, and using the tarp helps.
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm

Gail, if you don't mind my asking, how is this different than the solution you were using before? As Libby pointed out, she was using the peroxide solution - and it works in the short run, but not the long run.

There is a reason for that, as I explained.



Anyway, good luck.

Years ago I had a senior cat who was peeing on our carpeting in a corner of a room.
When we finally remodeled the room I stuck my nose down into the wood sub floor and could still smell urine. One part of the floor was so bad we cut that section out and replaced it entirely. The local paint store didn't recommend Kilz but water based polyurethane which I applied in a 12" swath around the perimeter of the room. We also we with a Odor Eaters type of carpet padding but the seams of the padding had to be specially taped as they could be an entryway for moisture.

Originally Posted by LDG

...and I'm glad that ammonia seems to have worked for blueeyedgirl, but this is unusual. The ammonia doesn't counteract the ammonia of cat pee. The only thing that actually removes the smell is an enzymatic cleaner (which is what Nok Out is). You have to break down the bacteria that causes the smell AND destroy the pheremones that act as scent markers in the urine. Ammonia will kill the bacteria, but not destory the pheremones. This is why an enzymatic cleaner - that will destory the bacteria and the pheremones - must be used.

Vinegar may neutralize the odor, but it won't destroy the things that cause the odor. If I remember correctly, cat urine has a half life of like six years or something!!!!!!!!

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When I talked to the man at the carpet company I was very skeptical about using ammonia. I said to him how could the ammonia work when the cat pee had ammmonia too. He told me it would counteract it and it did. My cat continued to live in the house and never ever went back to that spot to pee.
I think she did it to begin with because there was something about that plastic bag on the floor she didn't like. That was the only time she ever wet the floor even when she was so sick she drug to the litter box. I understand why some of you are questioning this, but it worked and it did not harm my brand new carpet. I don't know how it would do on the unerneath wood but I don't see that it would hurt to try it.

I do believe part of your success lies in the fact that it was a one-time problem to begin with. For people with kitties that have ongoing (or off-and-on) problems with using the litter box for whatever reason, ammonia will not work.

The primary components of cat urine and its smell are:

Urea
Urobilin/Urobilinogin
Uric Acid
sodium
other electrolytes
creatinine
Pheremones
Bacteria (which is part of the marking scent)

When cat urine dries, the urea gets broken down by bacteria - this is what makes it smell like ammonia. As it decomposes further, it releases thiols that make the odor worse. (It is the thiols in skunk spray that make it SO difficult to remove the smell of skunk spray).

The urea and urobilin/urobilogin are not hard to clean. Urea is solubule and urobilin is basically the pigment that causes the color.

A household cleaner or traditional carpet cleaner will deal with these.

The problem is the uric acid. Uric acid is insoluble and bonds tightly to whatever surface it touches. My understanding from all the reading I did is that the sodium in urine is also a trouble-maker when it comes to removing the smell.

Apparently they hydrogen peroxide/vinegar/baking solution can work - if it is a one-time event, not an area that has been exposed to a problem over time. However, depending upon the severity of even a one-time pee (the difference being levels of different components in the pee), this solution may not solve the uric acid problem. It will ALWAYS temporarily solve it - and the oder will appear to go away. But the crystals reform, and over time - especially with humidity or wetness - like from cleaning the carpet - they will start to release the smell again.

The home-made recipe of vinegar/hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is a great money-saving idea if the pee is fresh and not an ongoing problem. But even then it may not always fully do the trick. The smell may come back over time. This means the uric acid is still present.

The only thing that will rid the area of the uric acid is an enzyme cleaner.

Originally Posted by GailC

When we finally remodeled the room I stuck my nose down into the wood sub floor and could still smell urine. One part of the floor was so bad we cut that section out and replaced it entirely.

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oh my. sounds effective, but expensive.

Originally Posted by c1atsite

oh my. sounds effective, but expensive.

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Subfloor is typically plywood. Depending on how thick it is and quality, plywood isn't that expensive. As far as floor repairs go, that's would be one of the cheaper things to do to a floor.

Originally Posted by LDG

Gail, if you don't mind my asking, how is this different than the solution you were using before? As Libby pointed out, she was using the peroxide solution - and it works in the short run, but not the long run.

There is a reason for that, as I explained.

Anyway, good luck.

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I have used the baking powder and peroxide in the past, and as you said, it has temporarily worked. The things that are different now, are I have the entire section of rug up so I can deal with the front, and back, I have removed the contaminated padding and I have washed the floor. I have noticed that soaking the effected areas with the vinegar and sopping as much as possible out, has decreased on the smell, probably because it is rinsing the pee out of the rug. I did the additional scrub with the baking soda and peroxide too, and we do know how that works. I can still smell the pee in the wood floor as well. I realize this is a huge undertaking and I don't intend to put everything back until I am entirelyn satisfied, and I imagine it will take months, as I want to see if it comes back. I did have dealings previously with the NOkout people, and I did not like the way they handeled the situation, plus I am chemically sensitive, and am not sure what I will be subjecting myself to with their product even though they claim it is entirely benign. Plus, I have read the ingredients of "enzyme" cleaners at petsmart, and they are mostly hydrogen peroxide. so I have many reasons for not trusting the enzyme cleaner to work, Oh that and I tried one years ago, and it didn't work. So, trying the enzyme cleaner again, without doing all the above steps first, probably more than once, is not going to happen. I expect I may not get all the smell out to a cats nose, but I will be happy that humans won't smell it. As far as Fang goes, he will never have another opportunity to pee in this room. He is not allowed in this room until after I see a recent pee in his box. Yes, he has his own special pee box. He is the only one that uses it. LOL. It is a little kitty box that he places his backside in and his feet are on the floor. He doesn't like to put his feet in the litter. He doesn't cover either. It is lucky for him, he is the sweetest, nicest cat I ever met. LOL

My floor is hardwood, I guess, so I won't be cutting any of it away. Some of you mentioned painting it with KILZ? I know that is used to cover stains that might leak through a painted surface, and it is used as a primer. It stops odor? I don't have a problem painting the affected area since it will be covered with a carpet. Is there anything else that I should do to the wood before I paint it?
Should I cover the wood with towels soaked in vinegar or peroxide, and maybe cover them with plastic and let that soak a few days? Just an idea.

If you have actual hardwood floors, instead of plywood, it would be better to sand and reseal them. Even a spot touch up would be good enough. The reason for this is because if you sell/move or whatever, the next person in may want to restore them. Hardwood floors are a plus to have in a home so you don't want to ruin them.

If the area is small you could use an orbital sander and ask at your local hardware store if they can help you pick out some polyurethane to seal it with.


If there's urine staining try to lighten it up, carefully, as much as possible. Let the area thoroughly dry then sand it. The resealing should take care of any lingering scent.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

If you have actual hardwood floors, instead of plywood, it would be better to sand and reseal them. Even a spot touch up would be good enough. The reason for this is because if you sell/move or whatever, the next person in may want to restore them. Hardwood floors are a plus to have in a home so you don't want to ruin them.

If the area is small you could use an orbital sander and ask at your local hardware store if they can help you pick out some polyurethane to seal it with.


If there's urine staining try to lighten it up, carefully, as much as possible. Let the area thoroughly dry then sand it. The resealing should take care of any lingering scent.

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I could do that. I have a drill that will take sanding attachements. The wood is dark stained, with splatters of white paint on it. It would have to be finished if someone wanted to have it for the floor, but I could spot refinish.

Has anyone seen the add for SCOE 10X on this website? IT sounds pretty good, they don't try to make money on the shipping, and it is a money back guarantee. I might get some of that after I am finished with all this soaking and scrubbing. After everything is dried, I might just shoot it with this stuff, to hopefully eliminate the return of the stench. I intend to have this rug up for a few months until I am certain I have acheived my goal. thanks all for the suggestions, and please keep them coming. I appreciate the input.