Cat Smell - Park Ridge,IL

Hello T.!

Have you tried straight vinegar? Let me ask my Mom what she used in one of her bedrooms.. she too had this same exact problem. The smell only worsened when the room got hot..

Please feel free to email me : ____@____.com

Take care and talk soon,
~Kim (Winfield)

Cat urine penetrates deep, dries and crystalizes. Nothing will break it down except very harsh specific chemicals. And even then, you may be out of luck.

We bought a condo with a cat urine problem. I found a guy who inspected with black light and sold me a "non-over the counter" chemical product.

We tore up the carpets, ripped up the pergo flooring, chemically treated the hard wood floor and then sanded and sealed them. In the basement before putting new carpeting down again, we rolled on some kind of barrier paint special for keeping moisture down. Running a dehumidifier will help too. Also, in our case, it was a female cat that lived there. So, we did not have to worry as much about the walls. Otherwise, you may have to rip out baseboards or drywall too. It was a lot of work but results were good.

I recommend you really do your homework on finding a good chemical product. Most over the counter products can not actually break down that crystal. I really don't think you'll be able to get rid of the smell with any natural type of product. Sorry.

One other thing you may want to look into because of the allergies is if there is mold in the basement. In our current home, we hired someone to take an air sample and results came back within a week.

Steam cleaning pet smells especially urine with hot water will set the stains and smells. I learned this the hard way, that is why I got new carpet.

Now I use a product called Kids and Pets. You pour it on the stain or clean with it. I have used it many times and works for me. You can but it at Target.

Good Luck to you.

If it's in the carpet, there isn't anything you can do. We had to recarpet our house right after we bought it as the smell was horrible! When we tore up the old stuff, and the padding, we had to replace several of the tile thingy-s underneath as those were stained and definitely damaged. The smell was gone along with the carpet.

You should probably also invest in a professional vent cleaning if your husband is allergic to cats. And change the air filters in your AC and heating units as they capture pet dander.

Good luck!

My experience with cat urine is that it doesn't come out. You can try an enzyme cleaner (Nature's Miracle is one). I'm not sure on the chemical make-up, though. But, cat urine is very strong and I've always seen people (Mom, sister) have to replace the soiled area - even parts of the subfloor in some cases.

If you try the Natures Miracle, be sure to follow the instructions as I remember it saying you need to cover the infected area with a damp cloth so the smell is absorbed into it or something like that.

Good luck (oh and cool name!) ;)

T. S.

If you have central air, change the filters. I end up doing that ever summer because the general pet smell (I have a dog and cat) gets in the system. Mop the entire basement with Nature's Miracle or other enzyme cleaner from the pet store (they come in gallons).

Carpeting you may have to replace. If worst comes to worst, you could refinish the wood floors, but I think the other options will help a lot.

The primer that you can use on the walls is called Kilz. Not sure what you can do about the wood floors - probably have to sand and refinish. Then replace the carpet, of course. If the stairs are completely carpeted, not just a runner, use Kilz on the floor before recarpeting.

Hi, as an experienced Vet tech I get in trouble all the time for telling clients about this home ready. Take equal parts of white vinegar and water and saturate area. Make sure to let it dry then rinse with water. The vinegar enzyme reacts with urine and neutralizes the smell. Hope this helps