problem with hard wood floors...

17 years ago

I thought some of you talented folks out here may be able to help me with this "problem"...I hope!

Hoping someone can help me with this wood floor crisis. I have a very elderly kitty (18yrs old...) who has early stage kidney failure -- which means, (you guessed it!)-- occassional urine accidents. FYI...I love my cat -- so the cat is not going anywhere!

My house was built in 1925 and has the original heart of pine wood floors. Last night I discovered a large puddle of urine soaking into the woodfloor. It had traveled under the litter box and was literally sitting in this puddle for, lord knows, how long!!! UGH!

The wood floor area that was wet now has a litter box shaped damage area. The floor turned black in places and warped a bit where the boards connect to each other.

I use a product -- a miracle product I might add - that removes cat urine and the odor: Anti-Icky Poo (seriously- stupid name but it is the only product that works). My vet recommended it. So...no more cat urine odor problem.

Now - HOW do I fix this floor problem? It's about a 3x3 square of liquid damaged floor. It looks like a water damaged/stained wood floor area. It is up against a wall and the trim board rather than in the middle of the room (thank goodness...). Am I stuck with stripping and resanding? Is there anything else I can do to fix this?

I've read online of people using bleach or peroxide -- personally, that seems like a damaging solution to the wood to me and may alter the chemistry of the wood where it may not accept stain in the future.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

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Comments (9)

kmealy
17 years ago
The uric acids in the urine has probably chemically modified the wood, in a non-reversible way. :-(

If it's not too deep, you may be able to sand it out. Otherwise, you will need to replace boards.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on wood bleaches
kmealy
17 years ago
See below for discussion

Here is a link that might be useful: Urine stains on hardwood floors
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SaintPFLA
Original Author
17 years ago
I am so distraught over this right now. Thank you so much for all of your help and suggestions.

To confirm what you are saying, black wood = permanent damage 'maybe' fixed by sanding...no guarantee..correct?
kmealy
17 years ago
Yes, it depends upon how deeply the urine has soaked in.
brickeyee
17 years ago
You can try some wood bleach to remove the stain, but it is very hit or miss.
It can also remove the natural color of the wood leaving a bland spot in the grain.
I would still try teh wood bleach bofore tearing out the spot.
If the bleach fails or you do not like the result you then just do a tear out.
Look in closets for some replacement wood.
abnorm
17 years ago
We have cats and litter boxes......and 1920 wood floors.......

Since the cats are staying we decided to Paint the small area under the litter pan(s)........a Litter "Welcome Mat"

Preparation is key.....we cleaned and enzymed........Sanded.....Caulked all seams(floorboars and baseboards) with a strong URETHANE caulk (paintable/solvent based).....and then followed with a good brand of Oil-based paint.......(Latex caulk/paint will dissolve in contact with urine....)

It's been almost 10 years (so we're still Beta testing) ......the floor cleans up easily with no lingering odors......we generally leave a small amount of litter on the floor under the pan to absorb any "misses".......when the paint needs attention we just mask and recoat with the same oil-based product.
SaintPFLA
Original Author
17 years ago
(whimper...) I wish I could turn time back before this happened! My floor is ruined in that one spot...a perfect square litter box shaped spot a completely different color than the rest of my floor.

My cat is old (and very sweet) and a bit incontinent and misses the box on occassion, so the litter box was close to where she sleeps so she can make it quickly. Due to this I have several litter boxes. At the moment, they are ALL in the sunroom which has TILE flooring.

I guess I just need to plan to have the floors re-done. How often should you do that any way? It's been about 8 years since they were re-finished.
bullheimer
17 years ago
plan on a kat funeral as well. cats arnt all spozed to live to 21. mine died at sixteen. the one we have now is 17. kidney failure is the first sign of impending death. you certainly have to wait for it to die before you resand your floor, so... sorry to have to say it but it's reality check time.
glennsfc
17 years ago
Just lost my eighteen year old cat also. Really did think he'd go past 19. He outlived two Vets' prognoses by 2 1/2 years and in good spirits until two weeks ago. The candle really does burn brighter right before the final failure.

problem with hard wood floors...

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kmealy

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problem with hard wood floors...

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kmealy

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