Need to get bad pee smell out of my hardwood floor

[Kipawa]

Gross!

My sis-in-law's 2 year old, intact male Pom completely peed and marked everywhere in our dining room floor (hardwood) yesterday. When they left, I noticed the smell. Rank! Though all of the areas had dried, I wiped and used an enzyme type cleaner (says on the bottle for cat and dog pee) and THEN just now went over everything with vinegar and water, mopping extensively, but I have just finished and I can still smell her dog's pee!

Any ideas what I can do? I have all the windows open, but the temp is only 42 degrees outside, not really open window weather. Kipawa is disgusted with the smell as well.

[Walter]

Could you possibly rent a steam cleaner that is compatible with hardwood floors? Sometimes if you don't catch dog pee soon enough on hardwood floors it can seep in to the wood or between the boards and perhaps a steam cleaner will kill any bacteria or other organisms that are creating such a lingering odor. I know steam cleaning carpets is quite good for urine.:(

[Kebasmom]

We had the same problem. We put a nice thick layer of good quality kitty litter on it, covered it with a box and let it sit for quite a while. The smell is gone but we still have the grey/black marks where it seeped into the board.

[Therese Leimback]

The best thing to use is white vinegar. If the stain is bad use 50/50 water to vinegar and pour it into the spot. Then use a hand held carpet cleaner to suck out the excess after it sits for a few minutes. I repeat a couple times. The worst thing you'll get is a smell of vinegar but it is usually gone by the next day. The next day I clean with a standard liquid carpet shampoo and it usually takes care of the problem.
Hospitals and such have used vinegar to break down the acid in urine which usually is what causes the smell. Works like a charm for me.
Therese

[tanza]

What about vingar on hardwood? I think that she said this was on a hardwood floor? I agree with using vingar, I have pergo floors and that is what I use to clean most all the time, especially with accidents…

[lisastewart]

vinegar should be fine on hardwood, I've used a vinegar based wash on mine before. My inlaws regifted a steam shark to me that I plan to try out tomorrow, will let you know if that works.

[Therese Leimback]

Yes vinegar will work, you just want to not let it soak into hard wood, just wash the floor with vinegar water solution a few times over. There are also citrus wood cleaners that will also cut the acid in urine and is great for cleaning wood surfaces.
Therese

[DebraDownSouth]

Reminded me of article by a friend… on carpet but thought would share:

How to remove dog urine stains and odors from carpet!
This works for dog, cat, human or any other type of urine.

FOR FRESH WET URINE.

1. Blot dry with a white cotton towel. Soak up as much liquid as possible by blotting.
2. Mix a solution of one tea spoon powdered laundry detergent (do not use bleach) to one quart of HOT water. Stir until all powder is dissolved. Put solution in a clean spray bottle.
3. Wet the carpet thoroughly. Lightly brush area with a soft scrub brush.
4. Blot dry with a dry white cotton towel. Remove as much moisture as possible.
5. Pour out the remaining hot detergent and rinse spray bottle. Fill bottle with hot water. Rinse area and blot dry. Repeat this step at least 3 times.
6. Use a separate spray bottle and fill it with white vinegar. Mist this lightly over the damp carpet. Keep the vinegar for use another time.
7. Allow carpet to dry.

FOR DRY OR OLD URINE.

1. Mix a solution of one tea spoon powdered laundry detergent (do not use bleach) to one quart of HOT water. Stir until all powder is dissolved. Put solution in a clean spray bottle.
2. Wet the carpet thoroughly with detergent solution. Lightly brush area with a soft scrub brush.
3. Blot dry with a dry white cotton towel. Remove as much moisture as possible.
4. Pour out the remaining hot detergent and rinse spray bottle. Fill spray bottle with hot water. Rinse area and blot dry. Repeat this step at least 3 times.
5. Wet area with enough white vinegar to saturate the yellow stain. Gently work the vinegar into the pile of the carpet with a soft scrub brush. Brush the nap of the carpet the same direction as the adjoining carpet and let it dry.
6. After 24 hours inspect the carpet for any remaining yellow stain or odor. Repeat step 5 again if needed. You may repeat this step up to three times if needed.
7. If the stain or odor remain you may attempt to use an enzyme product(Natures Miracle, Anti Ichi Poo, and many others available at pet stores, and mail order houses). CAUTION: Their are some health risk associated with repeated use of enzymes especially for people with respiratory problems. Also many of the enzyme products being sold to clean up pet stains have a very high pH and will destroy the stain resistant properties of your carpet. Who cares? It's not cleaning up anyway right? Retreat the carpet with 3M "Scotchgard" TM carpet protector when you are compleatly finished.
8. Rinse carpet with warm water to remove all other cleaning agents before working with enzymes. Enzymes are living organisms and can be killed by certain chemicals.
9. If their are directions on the bottle follow them if not here is the general method.
   Wet carpet with enzyme solution thoroughly and work solution into the fiber with a soft brush. Allow the enzyme solution to work for at least 24 hours. Be sure to keep the area moist for a 24 hour period by misting with warm water occasionally.
10. Rinse the carpet with hot water . Use a separate spray bottle and fill it with white vinegar. Mist this lightly over the damp carpet and let it dry.
11. Inspect carpet after it is dry. If the stain is still visible repeat steps 9 and 10 up to 3 times.

PERSISTENT ODOR PROBLEMS?
If you have cleaned the carpet face fibers as described and still have an odor problem it probably not originating from the face fibers. Under the carpet are several layers of potentially odor absorbing material.

The Carpet Backing-
Your carpet is glued to a woven backing and sub backing that may be composed of a natural fiber like jute (tan or brown) or a synthetic fiber like action back (white). If you have a carpet with a natural backing it will be much more difficult to rid it of offensive odors. Either way you may treat it the same. Detach carpet from tackless strip and pull up affected area. Apply a DISINFECTANT (Lysol), or an enzyme product, directly to the backing of the carpet. Let the backing dry before it is reinstalled.

The Pad-
If the pad is discolored from pet urine cut out the affected area making straight cuts only. Take a portion of the damaged pad to a carpet retailer and buy matching pad to replace the damaged area. Cut out a new piece to the exact size and lay it in place. Tape the new pieces down with 3 inch wide masking tape.

Sub Flooring-
It may be concrete, wood, ceramic tile, vinyl, or any other number of surfaces. Concrete and wood are the most common and the most absorbent. Apply a disinfectant (Lysol or Bleach if you are very careful to avoid the carpet) to the affected area. Let it dry. Seal the concrete with any concrete sealer available at hardware stores. Seal wood with polyurethane varnish.

Reattach the carpet to the tackless strip. You will probably need to hire a professional for this job. It's harder than it looks.

About the author:
My name is Mark Brackmann and I own Spotless Carpet Cleaning Inc. a professional carpet cleaning service in Jacksonville, Florida. I have used the methods described above, hundreds of times over the years and have charged my good customers thousands of dollars for this fine service. Many times the same customer will call me back several times a year to handle new problem areas or old areas revisited by the pet. Although it is a welcome addition to my income I am always stuck by how utterly unnecessary it is to clean dog urine from carpet. It is always easier, quicker, cheaper, and certainly more sanitary to teach the dog to pee outside.

Copyright 1996, this article may be reproduced only in it's entirety, not for profit purposes, and if the author is given credit. The author will not be responsible for any damage that is done, to the carpet or other property. Caution should be exorcised when using any chemicals around pets, or especially children. The author assumes no responsibility for injury, illness or any other loss.

[Kipawa]

Thank you all for your responses. I am going to increase the proportion of vinegar to water and will let you know how that comes along. I think somewhere in our garage we have citrus hardwood cleaner. I'll get some of that into a spray bottle and use it as well.

[MacPack]

Get that pom a cute little 'belly band' for his next visit!

[Shaye's Mom]

Or a doggie diaper!

[MrBaRooampBitty]

There is a comercial product called Zero Odor that is awesome at neutralizing the urine smell in hardwood floors or carpets. If you have had a male cat in the house you know just how they will spray and how potant the scent can get, Zero Odor really neutralizes the smell on a molecular level. You can find online and it isnt really expensive.

[bewler]

There is a great product I use - "SCOE 10X" (the company name is BioFog). You have to order it on-line and it's not cheap, but it's concentrated (you add water) and I have never used a better product. I think there is a video on their website that shows someone spraying it on a skunk carcass and then taking a big whiff. Seriously - it's that powerful! And no, I have no affliliation with this company. I found it on-line a few years ago while trying to get something to remove the odor of cat pee from a rental property where the tenants had let their cat use the basement as a restroom for a year. And it worked.

[YodelMa]

My husband's a spic & span military type with a horror of Pee Smell, so I had to find something EFFECTIVE to clean up after my fosters dogs that was also safe to use around Basenjis–who are even more sensitive to VOC's in the environment than other breeds. I did a lot of research and the trick is to neutralize the acidic urine with an alkaline substance. Nothing I bought worked very well, or it was crazy expensive and contained questionable ingredients, so I experimented with vinegar, lemon juice, borax, baking soda and washing soda. The following recipe is fabulous at neutralizing urine odour, plus it disinfects and cleans. It even removes the burned coffee smell from plastic coffee machines--give it a try. You can omit the Borax, but it won't work as well and you can easily find Borax in the cleaning section at the hardware store. Try throwing a 1/2 cup in the washer to boost your detergent, it really helps.

1/2 cup baking soda
1 tbsp powdered Borax (eg. “20 Mule Team”—note: NOT Boric Acid, it isn’t the same thing)
1 tsp liquid soap
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Thoroughly dissolve baking soda, Borax & soap in boiling water, then add vinegar & lemon juice. Mixture will fizz, so use a large bowl. Fill spray bottle 2/3 full, allow fizzing to subside, screw top on loosely. Wipe up puddled or dried urine, then spray mixture generously over area & allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, then wipe with damp cloth.

[Krishi Smith]

The stains can be removed by using a stain and odor removal product from your grocery; or get a professional Carpet cleaner to do it properly. Usually I use to keep a liquid in the bottle containing white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it on all the area containing the stains until the carpet is wet and let it stand for several hours so that the odor can be neutralized. Apart from this I used to do regular vacuuming.

http://www.carpetkare.co.uk/wrexham.html

[Drempan]

you need to hire a professional carpet cleaners because carpet cleaning methods rely on the type of carpet you have. The fabric and material of the carpet decides the method and chemicals used for them. Cleaning the carpets on your own by making use of standard methods or machines brought for hire can be harmful for carpets as one isn't totally aware of the right method to be utilized. Therefore in such cases when you are not sure of the method to use and what one is definitely the best, you should consult with professionals. They know the best technique to be utilized for your carpets.

[Alex]

We use rocco and roxie enzyme based pet odor & stain for dog and cats pee. We spray it on our hardwood floors and it works great. There's nothing in it that should harm the wood or stain or seal. Just don't let it sit on there for a long time.

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Strength-Stain-Odor-Eliminator/dp/B00CKFL93K

[MaddyDog]

I recommend Isopropryl Alcohol if it is very bad. Avoid harsh chemicals unless necessary. Follow up though with waterless carwash. It works great on floors and helps protect the varnish surface and the woo
d from scratching and drying.