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Urine odor in walls/floors

16 years ago

We have a 50+ year old house that we haven't done anything to for the last 10+ years or so as far as paint and carpet. There are hardwood floors throughout, but the living room and hallways are carpeted so I don't know what shape the floor is underneath it. If it's like the bedrooms, they should be refinished.

My late beloved kitty (had her for 19 years!) and beloved pup (had him for 16!) were urinating on carpets all over the house in their later years. Now that they are gone, I want to get my house back in order and am afraid that the smell of pet urine has soaked into the hardwood floors through the carpet and permeated into the painted walls.

How should I treat the walls? They'll have to be washed before painting to remove dust and such - what should I use? Should I use a sealer as an undercoat before I paint? Is there a special paint I should use?

I am going to pull up carpet after I paint so I won't have to worry about spills or drips. I've read that the best way to get the odor out of the floor is to sand out the spots, then refinish. I plan to either cover with area rugs or put something like Pergo down, so I have to get the smells out.

Any suggestions?

KJ

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Comments (7)

User
16 years ago
We just bought a repo house where the previous occupants had several inside dogs and carpets on the main floor and in the basement. Even with the carpets mostly removed, the small was horrific.

$30 worth of Natures Miracle sprayed over the entire main floor and carpet removal in the basement and simple mopping of the previously painted concrete floors solved the problem.

I installed maple hardwood floors on the main level over 15 pound felt---no urine or felt smell.
kj927
Original Author
16 years ago
I live in the deep South and we have a LOT of humidity. Did your fix work when it was humid?

KJ
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Tinker....I had a problem so bad that I had to remove all the HWF and subfloor on the first floor. Trust me, if you can smell it, even faintly, the animals will continue to use that spot. My house had a virtual Noah's Ark living here..you couldn't be in the house more than a few minutes before needing to leave. I had to remove the HWF and subfloor, had the basement beams professionally sandblasted, soaked with Kennel Odor Eliminator (KOE) by Thornell, then sealed with polyeurthene...and it did the trick. Not trying to scare the bejeezus out of you, but I learned that urine has ammonia salts that last long after the urine has dried...and every time it gets damp, the salts are reactivated. That's why it smells bad when it's humid. You might start with KOE in the carpet, but be prepared for it to also in the subfloor. So getting rid of the carpet and treating the floor is likely your long term solution. And trust me, although KOE is more expensive than what you can get at Home Depot or Pets R Us, it's what professional kennels use...and it was worth its weight in gold. Good luck! Jen
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Odours can building up once a house has been 'closed up' for a few weeks. The way to deal with it = remove carpets/flooring to find the odour and then deal with what you find. The odour will not go away until you remove the soaked products (usually carpets...sometimes drywall...depends on the animal that made the mess) and replace with clean/fresh products. There is no easy fix. The 'musty' smell is from dampness caused by water or moisture promoting mildew or mold growth. This can be easier to find but much harder to fix. Again, the only way to find it is to search for it. Look for 'water stains' on ceilings, in bathrooms, in the basement, under the sinks, around windows, etc. These are the natural places where moisture damage will show up. Can you take photos of any 'stains' on walls or floors or ceilings?
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User
16 years ago
We often have 60-70% humidity---in a year we have had NO smell problems.

Sometimes one of our dogs(a special diet dog) gets some of the other dogs food and cannot control her bowels---the smellmof that is horrific. She usually eliminates on slate floors, but once in a while she hits a rug. Carpet shampoo for the mess---and Natures Miracle for the odor works every time.
kj927
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks! I'll get some this weekend and keep my fingers crossed! 8*)

KJ
Nancy in Mich
16 years ago
For the walls, you should look for Kilz primer. You may want to wash what you can and let it dry before using the primer. I am having pretty good luck using the formula using hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish washing liquid in the link below.
kayakchik
16 years ago
Urine Contamination Treatment or even better, Microban. Both from JonDon and they WORK. I've tried everything under the sun for 5 years and this is the very first time I have had instant and sustained success,
vieja_gw
16 years ago
we have a rental house & now will not allow tenants to have cats ..

where other cats have been with prior tenants, a new cat can detect where the previous strange cat has been & urinated/sprayed & will urinate there- even if the cat has been neutered, there is another kind of a 'spray' they eject & leave & it went through the carpet, padding & soaked into the concrete floor beneath ... the smell on entering the house was over-powering!! We had to remove the carpet, padding & soak the yellow stain on the floor with chlorox, pet urine spray, etc. & finally was told we had to paint all over the concrete area & molding to get rid of the odor!This was not our first of several experiences with tenants with house cats but hopefully will be the last! Guess if it is your own cat & your own house & no other stray cat in the house there may not be this 'spray' problem!?

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