We know that you’re madly in love with your cat, but your hardwood floors are also in love. It’s just not a good combination.
The stench of cat urine is distinct, ammonia-like, and unpleasant, and it can pervade the entire house. Whenever you enter the house, the smell of cat urine will greet you.
The porousness of older, more frequently used wood floors exacerbates the problem, allowing urine to seep into the wood.
Cat urine smell removal from wood flooring is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished with the correct cleaning method and preventive measures that we will share with you here.
Pet Urine Penetrates The Deep Layer Of The Floor
Pet urine can damage hardwood floors over time, regardless of whether they are sealed or not. Pet pee can quickly sink into the subfloor, especially if it is urinated on a regular basis in a particular area of the floor.
The ammonia in pet urine has a distinctive odor, but the presence of uric acidic ingredients can weaken the subfloor’s structural integrity.
In the event that pet pee isn’t properly cleaned up, it can stain the subfloors of your home. It’s impossible to get rid of the stink or stains, even with wood bleaching and detergents.
In some cases, your pet’s emotional turmoil or poor potty training could lead to mishaps like peeing on the floor rather than going out or using the litter box.
The notion of being greeted by a noxious odor when you open your door might be demoralizing. The pungent stench of dried pee is caused by crystals that form when urine is dried.
The urine crystallization in the affected wood is causing the foul odor you’re smelling. It is possible that the odor will become more overpowering if the air becomes moist or if the floor becomes sodden.
Eventually, you’ll have to change the plywood or boards because the damage is so extensive that removing the stench will be impossible.
However, if you have a light-colored floor, there is a chance of recovery. In either case, if you need to safeguard your investment, the fastest technique to clean pet urine may be your only option.
Why Is It Difficult To Remove The Stain?
Ultimately, it is about the wood’s intrinsic qualities. Porous and hygroscopic, wood is a perfect building material. It’s like a sponge that absorbs liquids quickly if you don’t wipe them off right after the spill.
Usually, this is plywood or some compressed wood. Because of this, the wood will absorb urine if your cat has an established practice of peeing in the same place repeatedly.
You’ve probably come to this page because the subfloor has been breached even though you have carpet, carpet pad, laminate, or tile on top to assist “catch” some of the irritating liquid.
Ammonia, which is found in urine, will cause this area of the floor to begin emitting an unpleasant stench. In order to get rid of the odor, the more you try to “wipe” it away, you’re merely reactivating the stubborn molecules that cause it.
It can take ages for these molecules to decompose and “fade” away. The wait will be too lengthy. In addition to the unpleasant odor, the acidic nature of cat urine may compromise the structural resilience of your wood subfloor.
This is why you should start seeking solutions as soon as you detect the offensive odor. If cat urine odor is bothering you, you may have explored using detergent or wood bleachers, but these measures will only take you so far before you need to dig deeper.
However, they won’t be able to remove the persistent stains that have clung to the carpet for far too long. As a result of your persistence, you should soon discover the solution to your problem.
How To Get Cat Urine And Odor Out Of Wood Subfloor
It’s common knowledge that enzymatic cleaners, home cleaners, and ion-based treatments are the best way to clean.
Even stains from pet urine can be removed from concrete using the same formula. Removing cat urine smell from wood subfloors can be done in only a few days with these products.
Are you ready to go deeper into the subject? We’ll have odor-free subfloors in no time if you follow these measures.
Ventilate The Room
Get the carpet rolled back if there is one, and open the windows to allow fresh air into the room.
Whether you do it yourself or hire a crew of professionals, cleaning a carpet can be a snap.
To be safe, you should also make your carpet clean from cat urine if this layer was damaged in the mishap. Remove the urine from the subfloors of the house, and we can move on.
Let some fresh air into the room by opening all the windows and doors. There is a good chance that a shift in the air may also remove any floating pee particles.
Nobody likes those to land on their furniture, drapes, walls, or even their noses.
Special Cleaner
In order to remove pet odors and stains from unsealed or factory-made hardwood, you’ll most likely need to use a cleaner specifically designed for this purpose. The enzymes in these cleaners kill the germs responsible for the foul urine smell.
Hydrogen Peroxide
The odor from wooden floors can be removed using hydrogen peroxide, a natural cleanser. The affected area is covered in plastic wrap and soaked in a solution in this approach.
However, will the floor be damaged? ServiceMaster Clean recommends using this procedure; however, keep in mind that it may brighten the floors’ color.
When applying hydrogen peroxide to remove the cat urine smell from your floor, be prepared to sand, stain, and seal your wood floor.
Vinegar
A natural way to address the cat-pee problem is what you’re looking for. An odor neutralizer known as vinegar could be used to get rid of the stench of cat pee.
Make careful to test it out in an unnoticeable location first. Try mixing 1/4 cup baking soda, 3/3 cup distilled vinegar, and 1/4 cup mild dish soap to make up one cup of water.
Then shake the spray container to combine the ingredients. Make sure to let it sit there for a minimum of 15 minutes before rinsing the area thoroughly with a cloth.
Rinse well with water after that. You can harness the power buried in your pantry to remove the scent more efficiently. As if that weren’t enough, these products are also chemical-free.
Afterward, fill a spray bottle with the mixture and shake it thoroughly. Spray a small amount of the solution onto a cloth and use it to remove the urine stain.
Hydrogen peroxide is a great alternative, especially if the stain is new. Apply one cup of the solution to the wood and let it dry. A few hours later, you can use a clean cloth to wipe the urine-soaked surface.
Pet odor cleansing solution has been reported to work for some persons with serious cat urine problems after soaking the region for periods ranging from weeks to multiple months.
Apply a cleanser to the surface, either with or without a wet cloth on top, and then cover the area in plastic wrap to keep it dry.
Using this method, the cleaner will be unable to evaporate as quickly. If the area is completely dry, you will need to reapply the cleaner every couple of days or so.
Ionizer For Any Lingering Smell
As soon as the stains have been effectively cleaned, you may choose to freshen up your room and remove any lingering smells. As a final touch, consider using an ionizer.
In other words, he’s supposed to remove any urine-derived toxins from the air in the room. As a deodorizer, it releases modest ozone concentrations to get rid of odors in the air.
Prevention For Future Stains
Sometimes, your cat’s behavior is beyond your control, as you’ve discovered the hard way.
They may do it all over again.
You can, however, maintain some degree of control over your hardwood floor by refinishing or sealing it.
Is Sealing Really Useful?
Sealing your hardwood floors is a great technique to keep urine from ruining your floors. Choosing a floor sealant or other pre-finishing products for your floor is critical.
Increasing the plywood layer that covers the subfloor is your primary goal. You can consider it as securing your pet’s paws to the hardwood floor with sellotape.
Hardwood flooring, in contrast to tile, is permeable. Even the tiniest amount of moisture can penetrate deep into the wood’s structure.
The damage to the wood fibers is difficult to notice since it is time-consuming. As the moisture seeps into the wood, molds and mildew can grow.
Scratches increase the level of moisture absorption in hardwood flooring from pets’ claws. Urine can seep into the subfloor if the floor seals are scratched.
Even if the outside surface is strong enough to keep liquids out, the small gaps created by nominal scratches can still let in harmful moisture.
Hardwood flooring’ protective finishes and coatings are impermeable by design. They may not be able to avoid scratches, but at least they won’t spread to the wood.
It’s better to apply multiple coats of pet-resistant hardwood flooring rather than just one. Your hardwood floor will be better protected if you use a thick sealer.
Cleaning patterns after a pet has peed on your floor are important when applying a sealant. You should sand the floor before applying multiple coats of floor sealer if the hardwood surface is rough.
Catalyzed cross-linkers can also be used to protect your floor.
Final Verdict
In order to avoid punishing your pet further for making your subfloor stained, you need to find an effective solution. Removing cat urine odor is easier by cleaning up any spills right once to keep them from soaking deeper into the wood.
The cleaning process may necessitate numerous steps if the urine has permeated through the plywood and reached the subfloor level.
Once the urine has been removed, the future step should be to remove the stain. Make sure that you follow all the guidelines and the safety measures to make the job a success.
