Looking for real facts, data, experiences cleaning up Urine. Tired of the marketing....

[catemthree]

New Member here!

I'm in need of help. Looking for the facts when cleaning up urine.  

I've spent 3 days reading every article on I could find online, and found most were either advertising a product or spewing information with no data to back it.
 

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

Backfround info on my kitty:

My cat cat has lived with me for 2 week and is 6 months old (neutered 2 weeks ago).
He uses the litter box 95% of the time, but has urinated and defacated on the sofa 3 times.
I'm unable to keep this spot odor free or clean. The sofa hasnt even dried!
He loves his litterbox, still a bit skittish due to moving to my home, has no UTI or medical issues.

The issue i'm having is properly cleaning the sofa. It is a leather covered sofa, with foam internals and a sofa bed underneith.
I've taken it apart and cleaned it many ways.  - the odor remains.

Please see my questions below and respond with clear, proven advice. science, research, facts, independent studies, anything, would be appreciated.

What household electronics are best for  cleaning a mattress,rug,floor?  Wet vac? Steamer? Nothing?
Does a Enzyme cleaner clean 100% of the odor, or only the small portion that isnt removed by traditional cleaners?
Why dont we know if Vinegar is a good solution for cleaning cat urine? Does Vinegar work? or do the companies that promote enzyme cleaners purposely degrade its value?
I've tried "Keep Off" type of products, but they appear to be a sham' as well having to be applied every 24 hours (thus requiring that you purchase a new bottle every 2 days).
What is the best "keep off" type of product? Which brand works best without making the house smell worse?
Natures Miracle has shown poor results for me.    Padding the area, and spraying a gallon of Natures Miracle over 2 days did not do the trick. The instructions on the box are not clear, and i'm looking for more effective ways to use it.
Should the stained area be cleaned prior with real cleaners, then once dried, cleaned with a Enzyme cleaner?
Does Feliway have any odor? I cant seem to find this!

 

 

[ldg]

Asked by catemthree:

1) What household electronics are best for cleaning a mattress,rug,floor? Wet vac? Steamer? Nothing?

A: I don't know, I've always just used the enzyme cleaner according to instructions. Carpets get cleaned with a steam cleaner unrelated to peeing incidents.

2) Does a Enzyme cleaner clean 100% of the odor, or only the small portion that isnt removed by traditional cleaners?

A: The use of traditional cleaners makes it FAR more difficult for the enzyme cleaner to do the job, and use of traditional cleaners will likely require several repeated applications of enzyme cleaner to fix the problem. Enzyme cleaners are the ONLY thing that will remove the smell of pee permanently (when used properly).

3) Why dont we know if Vinegar is a good solution for cleaning cat urine? Does Vinegar work? or do the companies that promote enzyme cleaners purposely degrade its value?

A: We do know about vinegar. It works temporarily, not permanently, especially in a humid environment, or an environment that becomes humid.

4) I've tried "Keep Off" type of products, but they appear to be a sham' as well having to be applied every 24 hours (thus requiring that you purchase a new bottle every 2 days). What is the best "keep off" type of product? Which brand works best without making the house smell worse?

A: I have no idea. I've never used one. When our Spooky had a peeing problem (she preferred the bed, but did use the couch), we covered the couch with aluminum foil and put throw blankets over it when we wanted to sit on it, and put them away at night. Aluminum foil was not attractive to her to pee on. We cut down a large box and covered the bed during the day, and took it off when we wanted to sleep. Again, the box was not something on which she wanted to pee.

5) Natures Miracle has shown poor results for me. Padding the area, and spraying a gallon of Natures Miracle over 2 days did not do the trick. The instructions on the box are not clear, and i'm looking for more effective ways to use it.

A: Nature's Miracle is not a good quality enzyme cleaner, and is scented with unnecessary stuff

6) Should the stained area be cleaned prior with real cleaners, then once dried, cleaned with a Enzyme cleaner?

A: ABSOLUTELY NOT.

7) Does Feliway have any odor? I cant seem to find this!

A: No. It has a slight touch of a "waxy" smell to a sensitive human nose at first, but dissipates shortly.

Here is a link to the thread where I originally posted the following information: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227354/help-walter-is-peeing-now/30

Because of the repeated advice of people re: using vinegar or hydrogen peroxide mixtures, I did a lot of research on cat pee. This is what I found:

I'll come out and say it---enzyme cleaners are ineffective! PERIOD! (At least in my experience.) Enzymes are activated by moisture and just how much activity will be left in a bottle of enzymes that has been sitting on the store shelf for weeks or more.

My response:

You are so right about the issue re: active enzymes. That's another reason it's important to buy a quality enzyme cleaner.

But there is a strong, legitimate, and chemically important reason to use enzyme cleaners. AJ posted a link to an article that explained it in general terms, but if anyone's interested, here's more detail on why an enzyme cleaner is so important, and home-made mixtures or other cleaners won't solve the problem long term (at least to a kitty's nose). The solution may work better than some enzyme cleaners like Nature's Miracle - temporarily. But it works only as long as there isn't an issue with humidity. I will explain.

Vinegar neutralizes the odor, and hydrogen peroxide is 30% more oxidizing than chlorine - but cat pee is composed of things that REQUIRE enzymes to break down the chemical bonds. Cat pee is composed of:

Urea
Urobilin/Urobilinogin
Uric Acid
Sodium
Other electrolytes
Creatinine
Pheremones
Bacteria - typically 5 different strains.

When cat urine dries, the urea gets broken down by the 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 water soluble, and urobilin is basically the pigment that causes the color. A traditional household or carpet cleaner will deal with these. And this is why hydrogen peroxide and vinegar will appear to be effective at eliminating the problem.

The problem is the uric acid. Uric acid is insoluble and bonds tightly to whatever surface it touches, and the sodium in the urine compounds the problem.

The vinegar and hydrogen peroxide do not - are not chemically capable of - removing the uric acid. It temporarily makes the smell go away, because it does clean up everything else. But when exposed to humidity, the sodium causes the uric acid crystals to reform - and they start to release the smell again. Not always to the human nose, but the cats can smell it.

Because of the uric acid/sodium, cat pee has a half-life of six years. !!!!!!!

The ONLY thing that will break down the uric acid to PERMANENTLY remove the smell is an enzyme cleaner. (Edited to add: the enzymes break down the uric acid).

The problem is that not all enzyme cleaners are equally effective. Good ones are expensive. Cheap ones will work - but need to be reapplied over and over (and probably end up costing as much as the expensive enzyme cleaners).

Having dealt with three different males blocking numerous times, and Spooky peeing outside of the box for months, we've used many solutions, cleaners, and enzyme cleaners. Nok Out works. I haven't used Anti-Icky poo, but I understand it is the "same class" of enzyme cleaner.

Of course ANY cleaner needs to be used properly. Unfortunately, Kara was not using the cleaner properly. "Spraying" doesn't work. DOUSING, POURING, and SOAKING are required.

Nok Out: http://www.nokout.com (Edited to add: now also available through Amazon)
Anti-Icky Poo: http://www.catfaeries.com
Edited to add: other members have recommended an enzyme cleaner available at Petsmart, I think, and I believe it is called Stink Free? Something like that.

**************************

Traditional household cleaners should not be used at all on cat pee. They "set" the bond between the uric acid and whatever it has adhered to. It is best to use the enzyme cleaner.

When treating cushions or mattresses, and I don't know about the leather covered stuff, but we would literally SOAK most of the cushion. Cat pee wicks, and you must get the enzyme cleaner to wick to all of the same places the cat pee did, or it won't work. To use the couch during the process, we took the cushion outside, soaked it by very slowling pouring the enzyme cleaner on/around the affected area. We let it sit for 15 minutes, and squished out what we could, and blotted up what we could (with a lot of towels). If sunny, we left it outside as long as we could to dry. We then laid aluminum foil down over the couch, put the cushion down, put aluminum foil over the top of the cushion, and a throw blanket on that. Before bed, we'd remove the throw blanket so the aluminum foil was left, discouraging the cat from peeing on it until it had the chance to dry. In our experience, cushions/mattresses required 2-3 treatments to fix the problem. The thickness is the issue, and getting the enzyme cleaner to all the same spots the cat pee went is far more difficult on the thick things.

 

[princessesme]

Great post LDG! I also did not have the greatest success with Nature's Miracle, although it did work a little bit. I actually purchased the Petco brand enzyme cleaner along with a black light and I was able to knock out the urine. I also used the Feliway spray, which like LDG says, has kind of a waxy type of smell, but it went away fairly quickly.

Soaking, soaking, soaking was my success to knocking out the urine. It took us a few days, but to keep her from the area to re-soil, we put up a block with cookie sheets (since she wouldn't like the noise, lol).

 

[catemthree]

Fabulous post! Thank you so much for the information. Hopefully it will help other user's as well.

I love the tips on rinsing the mattress outdoors and pressing downward so that excess leaks out, using a detterent on the sofa while it dries, and also the note on enzyme cleansers and their quality,

Would Urine Off count as a high quality cleanser?  I purchased a huge jug on amazon!

 

[sugarcatmom]

Would Urine Off count as a high quality cleanser?  I purchased a huge jug on amazon!

I've had great success with Urine Off, way better than Nature's Miracle. But making sure you soak the area enough (and reapply if necessary) is very important, as mentioned above.
 

 

[ldg]

I think I've seen people talking about having had success with it on here. :nod:

 

[catemthree]

I just used a whole bottle of Urine off on my sofa mattress. I feel much better that it will work.

Should I encourage the product to dry, or encourage it to remain moist?

Ie: Using a Fan to speed up drying, or putting a bag over or "closing" the sofa bed to slow down drying.

 

[momofmany]

I use Nok Out and buy the 2-1/2 gallon jugs of it. I have a household of old cats that sometimes react to one that has chronic bladder illness. Like Laurie said, saturate the area then let it dry. Repeat if necessary. I let it air dry, even if it means sitting elsewhere for a while. If you've saturated it thoroughly, a fan isn't going to get into the padding anyway.

The other reason why I like Nok Out is that you can use it for general purpose freshening. When you order it from the company, you get an e-mail newsletter that gives you ideas on how else to use it. I dilute it 50/50 with water in a spray bottle and use it similar to how people use FeBreeze. Works better and doesn't leave a stinky after smell.

 

[melesine]

I've never had a problem with natures miracle working as long as I actually got it where there is urine. I honestly am not confident you can get the smell out of a mattress though due to how thick the padding is. You do know it can take up to two weeks for natures miracle to get rid of the smell right? Because you have only had the cat for two weeks so I don't see how enough time has passed for natures miracle to have completed it's work, especially on a deep padded area like a mattress. 

For carpet and cloth furniture ( our dog sometimes marks the bottom the couch) we use our steam cleaner with natures miracle for shampooers only 

For hard surfaces I just spray on regular natures miracle

As for protecting the area, I'd put something waterproof over it for now until he is consistent with using his litter box, or keep him out of that room. 

 

[ldg]

You can definitely get the smell out of a couch pad or mattress. I've done both. It just takes some work and patience. And yes, they do take time to dry. :lol3:

As to your question about trying to speed it up - don't. It works best if just left to air dry. That's why we used the aluminum foil on top, but didn't "enclose" the couch seat. :nod:

 

[catemthree]

1 day later after two 32oz bottles of urine off - no smell.  I cant even believe it.  I need one more to get the rest of the mattress. 

What I enjoyed most about Urine Off is the fact that it actually smells good - like soap - whereas other brands actually smelled like more cat urine.

 

[ldg]

Good to know Urine Off works! (But I'm sorry, I had to laugh at your description of the others :lol3: ).

 

[feralvr]

I just want to add that the product I have had excellent results from is StinkFree!!! You can buy this at any Petsmart. Works incredibly well. I have also tried Urine Off which is good but StinkFree is better IMO. I also have an older dog with health issues and if I don't get up fast enough at night to let him out he has an accident. I found the StinkFree also works well for dog urine. You do have to blot up as much urine as you can. Then douse the area. Let it dry completely. Then douse again. Sometimes it take three days for a complete dry out before you can do the second treatment. But StinkFree has not let me down yet

 

[catemthree]

I'm blown away.  After a week of suffering through every cleaning product in my kitchen - I got the smell out!

I took the cleaning method back to basics and followed the recommendations in this post.

The sofa was taken apart, and each component dosed in Urine Off.

The leather, Sofa Cushions, Sofa Bed, and Metal frame were treated with 4 32oz bottles of Urine Off.  My entire house smelled like soap but the following morning... no pee odor!

The leather required 4 applications of Urine Off, possibly because the stains were "old".

The other materials required one treatment plus another for good measure before reassembling the sofa.

Thanks again!