How To Find The Location Of The Source Of The Smell
Sometimes we can clearly see where our little kitties left some mark. However, there are times when we find out too late, and only know for sure that there is urine somewhere because we cannot ignore the smell. A typical location is somewhere near the litter box, so check there first. So how can you tell where the odor is coming from?
How To Get Rid Of Cat Urine Smell Using A Wet Vac
One solution for getting rid of cat urine odor in your house is to use a wet vac. Wet vacs work in a similar way to regular vacuum cleaners but instead spray clean water mixed with cleaning solution and then soak up any dirty liquids into the vacuum.
When using a wet vac to clean up pet stains, make sure you have a phenomenal carpet cleaner for cat pee to go with it. The following recipe is easy to make and can be added to the cleaner compartment on your wet vac.
- 1 teaspoon rosemary essential oil
- 2 ½ cups boiling water
If you havent tried Castile soap yet, youre in for a treat. Castile soap is made with natural ingredients such as olive oil and various vegetable oils. Combine the Castile soap with the boiling water in a large jar with a cap. Stir until they have formed a fully-blended mixture.
Adding to the awesomeness of this cleaning solution is the integration of essential oils. If rosemary isnt your favorite scent, replace it with one you do love and add those essential oils along with the rubbing alcohol to the solution. Shake the mixture thoroughly before adding it to your wet vac.
Dont Want To Use Chemicals Heres How To Clean Pet Urine Stains Naturally
If you dont want to use chemicals, it is possible to clean up pet urine stains with natural ingredients. Many homemade solutions require just vinegar and baking soda. While vinegar is a natural stain lifter, using baking soda is how to get the pee smell out of carpets. A homemade pet stain carpet cleaner made with vinegar can be premixed in a glass spray bottle and stored for immediate use. After you saturate the urine-stained area with the vinegar solution, gently scrub the carpet with a soft-bristled brush. Finally, put baking soda over the area, let it dry, then vacuum the carpet to fully lift all the odors that the baking soda has absorbed.
As mentioned above, cat pee is more stubborn than dog pee. If the smell of cat pee persists, you may have to remove the carpet entirely to get at the wooden subfloor underneath. In this case, the only way to fully ensure that the odor is gone is to clean the floor beneath the carpet using the same method as above and then seal it with a shellac sealant.
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Get A Wet Vac Working Overtime On The Wet Spot
If you have a hearty wet-dry shop vac handy, let it loose on the pee spot quickly and run it until it overheats. Saturate the area with cold water and give the vacuum another session, sucking up as much of the diluted cat pee water as possible. Using warm or hot water expands the cellular fibres in the carpet and could set the smell into the carpet even more. Really let it have it with the shop vac.
S For How To Clean Dried Cat Urine From Carpet And Severe Cat Urine Cleaning
- Locate and identify cat urine in carpet with a black light
- Manually inspect walls and baseboards in affected areas for damage
- Manually inspect for cat urine in carpet and pad
- Depending on severity, clean or remove baseboards and drywall
- Replace affected carpet pad and seal subfloor if necessary
- Thoroughly clean both the carpet fibers and backing with pet enzyme cleaner
- Let dry and reinstall carpet
Locating and Identifying Cat Urine in Carpet
There are a few methods to find the source of the cat urine smell. Our preference, and the preference of many professional carpet cleaning companies, is to use a black light. Cat urine glows under a black light due to the phosphorous contained in urine. This makes it easy to spot.
We recommend using a black light with a wide beam pattern and plenty of LEDs. You do not have to spend a fortune, and a cheap light can still work, it just makes the cat urine harder to see.
Using a Black Light
To use the black light, first turn off the lights and close the blinds. While it does not have to be completely dark in your home, trying to spot pet urine of any kind of daylight or a bright environment will be much tougher.
Next, scan the areas and identify where the cat urine smell is emanating from. Likely what you will find is that your problem may extend beyond simply having cat urine in the carpet. Often the cat pee has been sprayed on the baseboards, drywall, and an entire corner of the room. Take note of affected areas.
Look at the Tack Strips
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Cat Urine Stain & Odor Removal
Test an inconspicuous spot of the carpet with this mixture first to ensure it doesn’t change the color of your carpet, if it passes the test then follow the steps below.1: Using a clean cloth, blot up as much of the urine as possible.2: Apply generous amount of baking soda to the affected area.3: Make a solution of ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of bleach free dish detergent.4: Drizzle concoction over baking soda and the affected area.5: Using a soft bristle brush, using a circular motion, work the solution into the carpet so the baking soda can work its magic! Baking soda is one of the most effective tools in absorbing liquid which is important when removing cat urine.6: Allow mixture to sit on spot until it has dried, then vacuum up the remaining baking soda.7: Repeat if necessary
Clean Up Cat Urine Stains Before They Smell Worse
As bad as cat pee initially smells, the longer that urine sits, the worse the stench becomes. The smell gets more concentrated over time, Dr. Kornreich says.
Additionally, once a urine stain dries, you may no longer see it, but you can still smell it, and so can your cat, leading him or her to mark that area again.
When it comes to cleaning up cat urine, many cat owners make the same mistakenot cleaning it up quickly enough, says Meg Roberts, president of Molly Maid, a residential cleaning company.
Several products can help neutralize cat pee odor, including vinegar or baking soda and;enzymatic;cleaners. Here are some options to help you get rid of the cat pee smell.
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Behavioral Issues Could Be The Cause
Once youve ruled out any illness, determine if theres a behavioral reason why your cat isnt going in their usual spot.;
You need to be a detective and take the time to figure out;why;the cats behavior has changed, says Sandra DeFeo, executive director of the;Humane Society of New York.
According to DeFeo, not using the litter box is one of the most common reasons cats are relinquished to animal shelters. Fortunately, if you can pinpoint the reason behind your cats outside-the-litter-box behavior, you can often deter your cat from staining your carpet or bed linens.
If there is not a medical problem and the problem truly is behavioral, early intervention is key, Dr. George says.;Behavioral issues can sometimes be resolved by adding additional litter boxes around the home, scooping frequently to remove waste, or by moving a litter box from one space in the home to another.
As a general rule, you should keep as many litter boxes as you have cats in the house, plus one.;So, if you have two cats, you should have three litter boxes.
You can also try removing the cover of your cats litter box or changing the type of litter you use to encourage your cat to use his or her box.
How To Get Rid Of That Cat Pee Smell For Good
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Few things are as frustrating for cat parents as when their feline friend decides to pee outside the litter box. Not only does it create a lot of extra work, but that lingering cat pee smell can be really hard to get rid of.
Even worse is the fact that our cats can smell the faintest trace of cat pee , and it will actually draw them back to the same place to pee again.
The good news is that you can get rid of even old, set in cat pee stains and odors. Here are some tips to get the cat pee smell out of your house.
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Simple Ways To Get Rid Of Cat Urine Odor
You love your cat. But that love can be tested when you walk into a room and smell the unmistakable odor of cat urine. Why did your cat pee outside the box? How do you get rid of the cat urine smell? Heres how to clean cat urine and remove the cat pee smell from carpet, non-carpet surfaces and bedding.
First, there are 3 things you should know about why your cat might be peeing outside the litter box:
If youve found cat urine in your home, heres how to clean it up and get rid of the cat pee smell safely and effectively.
How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Carpet
Dealing with the smell of cat pee in your house is off-putting for everyone who lives there, let alone any visitors who want to come by. Luckily, you do not have to live with the smell of cat pee or expose your friends and family to the smell either. There are a few effective, quick, and easy ways to get a cat pee smell out of your carpet. These tactics typically work on fabrics of most types and furniture too. We hash out why cats might urinate on the carpet and what we can do about that smell when they do.
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Use A Steam Cleaner To Sanitize Your Rug
Steam cleaners or another fantastic solution for getting rid of cat urine smell in your home. Steam cleaners are different from other carpet cleaners because they use high-temperatures to kill odor-causing bacteria.
The steam cleaner uses these heat levels to sanitize water and create steam that loosens dirt particles and other elements from the carpet. When using this cleaner to remove pet odor, pair it with an enzymatic cleaner.
- A large container
You can purchase an enzymatic cleaner at your local pet stores, or you can create your own. When using this enzyme cleaner recipe, note that it will take some time before you can use it three months to be exact. However, if these stains are frequent in your house, especially if you have older pets or potty training furbabies, a powerful enzyme cleaner is a necessity.
Start by adding the sugar and citrus peels into a large container with a cap. The citrus peels can be either lemon or orange peels or a combination of both. Add the water and shake up the contents of the container. Uncap the bottle halfway to prevent a build-up of gases while it sits for three months.
Baking Soda And Vinegar
Vinegar, while a bit smelly itself, works to remove the lasting odor of sprayed cat urine because vinegar is an acid that neutralizes the alkaline salts that form in dried urine stains.
A solution of one part water and one part vinegar can be used to clean walls and floors. Proponents say that the vinegar smell subsides after a few days, taking the urine smell with it.
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Spray The Area With Enzyme Cleaner
Enzyme cleaners contain biological enzymes that break down the acid in cat urine. It gets rid of the bad bacteria which causes the stink.
When using an enzyme cleaner, spray it generously around the area. You can also open the bottle itself to splash the cleaner on the spot.
Let it stay for 15 minutes and blot again. Let it dry.
If youre dealing with old spots, you may need to reapply the enzyme cleaner for several times.
How To Get Dog And Cat Pee Smell Out Of Carpet
According to Jones and Gazzo, if you find a puddle of urine, your best bet is to soak up as much as possible before it has a chance to set in. Do this before you use any cleaners. Microfiber cloths are really absorbent, Gazzo says, making them an ideal tool to use.
After soaking up the mess, try a homemade cleaner like a vinegar solution before moving on to an enzymatic one.
Some people recommend initially using a solution that has a greater proportion of white vinegar and leave this to dry, Jones says. As a second step, you can use a second solution that is one part vinegar and three parts water, so that the vinegar smell will not be so strong. Others recommend one or two applications of equal parts water and vinegar.
Once completely dry, lightly sprinkle the area with baking soda. Let it sit about 15 minutes and vacuum it up. For especially tough odors, leave the baking soda overnight and vacuum the next day. But, Jones says, dont be tempted to take a shortcut and mix the vinegar and baking soda together; their acidic and alkaline properties will cancel each other out.
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When You Catch Them In The Act
Ideally, your pup only pees outside or on their pee pad. But beyond that, the best you can hope for is that you’ll be there to clean up the pee before it can set in and become a stain. If you’re able to deal with the accident immediately, blot the liquid with a paper towel or an old T-shirt, both of which tend to be more absorbent than a standard terry cloth towel. Sprinkle the area with baking soda to absorb any lingering odor. Let it sit for about 20 minutes before vacuuming.
Cleaning Cat Urine Odor From Carpet
Getting rid of the smell of cat urine from carpeting can be challenging, because it can soak right through the carpet fibers to the carpet padding. And since cats have a strong sense of smell, its important to clean and deodorize the area completely to prevent a return visit!
For a DIY solution:Scrub the area throroughly with club soda, and let dry. Then sprinkle with ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda. Let it sit so the baking soda can soak up any lingering odors, and then vacuum.
For an easy solution from ARM & HAMMER:Try ARM & HAMMER Pet Stain & Odor Remover Plus OxiClean to remove even the toughest pet stains* and destroy odors on the spot with a combination of ARM & HAMMER deodorizers and OXICLEAN stain fighters.
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Keep Your Cat From Urinating In That Spot In The Future
Once youve cleaned a particular area, prevent a recurrence by changing the significance of that area to your cat. In other words, since cats prefer to eat and eliminate in separate areas, place food bowls and treats in previously soiled areas, or play with your cat in that space and leave toys there.
Try An Enzymatic Cleaner
Uric acid is not soluble in water and this means that a normal cleaning product or water-based solution is generally not effective at removing it, Jones says. Sometimes you may think that you have gotten rid of them. But when the uric acid crystals are exposed to more water , they recrystallize and the smells resurface again with a vengeance.
So if the homemade recipe didnt work after a couple of tries, or the urine dried or sat for awhile before you discovered it, then try an enzymatic cleaner;such as Rocco & Roxie Supply Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator or Natures Miracle. These cleaners break down the uric acid and make it easier to clean up.
Jones recommends really soaking the area, not just spraying it lightly. You can also use a bristle brush to really scrub the fibers . Or cover the area and let it soak for awhile before trying to absorb the mess.
Still missing the mark? Its possible youre not targeting the exact spot. Gazzo recommends using a UV light;to locate the actual stain.
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