Ozone machine to get pet smells out of house?

14 years ago

Hello-I am buying a foreclosed property where the pets peed all over the house and it went down to the floor boards. Replacing them is not an option due to cost. My contractor is telling me about a heavy dute ozone machine that this company brings in that costs $500. and kills any living bacteria, bug etc in the house. They will come back as many times as it takes to get all the smell out. Has anyone had experience with this??? Contractor says a skunk was put in one of his rentals and that the machine worked like a charm.

Any other ideas??? Help. Thanks

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Comments (5)

julietspeaks
14 years ago
I don't have experience with an ozone machine, but have you considered just sealing the existing floorboards before laying new carpet?
mepop
14 years ago
I have about 20 large, commercial ozone generators which I use in a number of different restoration situations and this isnÂt one of them. Yes I have tried ozone on cat urine and it doesnÂt work. The ozone will clean the surface air and make everything smell nice for a week or two but that nasty cat smell is coming back.

Cat urine is super strong and in its dry state its non-soluble salt crystals. These crystals set into most hard surfaces including tile so you can imagine how these crystals embed into carpet, padding and wood subfloor. When humidity hits these crystals, that nasty cat odor comes right back. These salt crystals are resistant to bleach and just about the strongest cleaners.

Cat urine can cause thousands of dollars in damage and thereÂs only one way to solve the problem from my experience. Remove all the effected carpet and pad, which is usually the entire house if the cats have been allowed access. Sand down all areas of the subfloor with an orbital screen so a sealer can be applied to a clean and dry surface. Then apply two good coats of B-I-N Primer by Zinsser. Then relay new carpet after the primer has been allowed to dry and off gas for at least a few days but I prefer a week.

Warnings:

B-I-N Primer is nasty. Make sure you ventilate the area real well and wear the proper respirator. If not your head will be spinning and possibly sick to your stomach from breathing it.

Ozone also occurs in nature such as during a lightning storm. Ozone however is not a friendly gas and care should be taken with true ozone generators. Ozone dissipates rather quickly but in concentrations it will kill plants and pets and can ruin rubber products in the home. You shouldnÂt be in the home breathing ozone.
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kudzu9
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I had an elderly cat that was well-behaved, but would pee in one spot very occasionally whenever there was something disturbing going on, like a houseful of guests. The urine impregnated a spot on the sisal area rug and penetrated to the oak parquet floor. The rug was impossible to get clean, so it got tossed. I tried several of the chemical cleaners available to get the smell out of the oak, but that didn't work. The only solution was to sand down the floor. This may or may not work for you: if a lot of urine has soaked down through the cracks you may still have some residual odor (though a lot less) after you sand and reseal the floor. I agree that an ozone machine will do nothing other than cost you 500 bucks. Sorry.
julietspeaks
14 years ago
I was just going to ask if you had tried Nature's Miracle, but since it's so much area to cover you'll probably spend more trying that and probably not getting very far.

You know, painted floors with throw rugs aren't a bad idea, and might be a lot less expensive if replacing all the carpeting isn't in the budget.
GammyT
14 years ago
erinb007, a skunk is different than pet urine in wood. Spend the $500 sanding and sealing the floors.

Ozone machine to get pet smells out of house?

Comments (5)

julietspeaks

mepop

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