Odor Problem, Advice Needed...

just moved into my brother's apartment... problem is, my closet in my room was where he kept his litterbox for his cats before i moved in... there was a pretty bad odor emanating from it... the carpet has been removed and replaced, i've scrubbed the walls with soap and water, and used lysol, and Febreeze all over it. I've also got a glade plug in in the vicinity.

There is still a noticable odor coming from the closet. It's not putrid or very foul but it's just noticable and i'd like to eliminate it completely. I was wondering if you people knew of any long term, cost efficient ways to kill an odor.

Thanks for your input

 

Is the floor of the closet wood or cement ?

 

cement, and the walls are plaster not drywall

 

try bleach... and let it soak in!

 

Go to your local veterinarian, or pet supply store. One or the other will have something specially formulated to remove cat urine smell/stains. I used one called 'Out!', from the local pet store.

 

I was going to suggest Hydrogen Peroxide - flood the floor with it ( apply generously, not literally flood the floor) and let it work for at least an hour.
It will bleach colors from cloth and possibly carpet, so put up a barrier if you need to. If you can smell the odor coming out, especially the odor of urine, and it has gotten deep into the cement, you can seal the floor with any number of products ( talk to someone at a hardware store).

DO NOT MIX ANY OTHER CLEANERS WITH THE PEROXIDE !

Cat urine odor is extremely difficult to get out of wood or cement ( small cracks and pores in the cement allow it to "soak in"). I had to replace a wooden floor in a rental we used to own to get rid of the odor. Cement can be a real headache. I don't like to use bleach because of its odor, but that is a personal preferance.

 

If the cat was accurate, it might be the shelving that is holding the odour. Try taking it out for a while...

 

cats were NOT accurate... they probably pissed on the floor some... so hydrogen peroxide would be the best bet?

i would be willing to spend upwards of $25 to handle this dilemma

 

try it yourself with the peroxide
and I am assuming the litterbox was in a corner as well
get the walls and if there are shelves or anything that can absorb odor
pull them as well, and let them air

then check the local vet's office for a cleaner
in fact you could probably call the local vet for advice

 

Do not use bleach to clean up urine!!! The acid from the urine will be in the cement. The chlorine in the bleach will combine with this acid to form poisonous chlorine gas! Try the peroxide or some other non-chlorinated cleaner.

 

This is true, however I don't think the ammounts of urine present will cause that great a discharge of chlorine which can't be dealt with by good airing of the area.

If you were peeing into a loo that just got bleached in an enclosed space, there you have a problem. I may or may not know that from experience

 

i think i'm going to buy some peroxide today and give it a shot... i will put a fan in the window in my room and blast it on high pointint outward to help air the place out...

thanks for your input fellas i'll let u know how it goes

 

one last question, what would be the best way to apply the hydrogen peroxide... it usually comes in a pour bottle right? i've got about a 5' x 3' area to cover.

 

I'd get a sponge and work it around a bit.

 

the hydrogen peroxide didn't work...

i then went to Petco and picked up a 32 oz bottle of this product called Nature's Miracle, specifically for cat odor/urine... it seemed to due a half decent job combatting the odor but it is still lingering.... i'm going to pick up another bottle of it tomorrow and apply again...

 

Sorry. I've had good luck with it in the past. I hope the Petco product does better.

 

*Everything you ever wanted to know about cat urine but were afraid to ask*


Cats urine is very concentrated and extremely pungent.

They don't drink as much as other animals and have very efficient kidneys.

However, when they urinate, it is extremely concentrated and is very high in urea.

It's been a while since I've practised so I can't comment on some of the current commercial products, however a 50/50 white vinegar and lukewarm water solution will help to neutralise the odour and more importantly the acidity.

A lot of products merely try to mask the smell rather than dealing with the problem.

The best commercial products use enzymes to destroy the odour as opposed to just perfume.

Carbon dioxide-based cleaners available from carpet outlets and hardware stores are also good, but no matter which method you use you will need more than one application.

Ammonia-based products will make the smell worse!

If the urine is fresh and you want to see where it is, you can actually see it with a black-light.

 

Friend of ours bought a car on ebay sight unseen. It was in great condition except that it smelled overwhelmingly like cat pee. They went through the febreeze like crazy and it didn't do much. I think it might have finally aired out after a while.

 

Erm, adding an acid to an acid neutralises? That doesn't work I might be getting D's at Chemistry at the moment but I know that acetic acid (vinegar) is definatley.. uhh, acid

Carbonate of soda would make sense, since its a base which when dissolved is alkaline, which would neutralise the acid to make a salt (non-odourous) and water.

Now I never knew that you could see pee with UV.

 

Yes, but perhaps it does something else. You are dealing with a naturally produced liquid that make contain enzymes and such that can be broken down by the vinegar. I know that it works on dog urine, it's the price of having a 14 year old mutt.

 

Try a mixture of ammonia and water in a squirt bottle. it worked for my dog urine issue....

 

True, but urine is acidic, and vinigar weakly acidic, I wouldn't have thought that any enzymes in it would dissolve due to acid. However, it might increace the overal acid concentration, meaning that it would change the point of equilibrium and so cause the reaction to complete. Who knows!

 

Well it's been a while since I've practised Veterinary Medicine, but what I wrote does work.

I don't profess to have any knowledge of chemistry, understand or can explain how it works, but it does.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

 

well, i wound up going through 2 bottles of this Nature's Miracle product specifically for cat odors... then i sealed the floor with this spray on sealant...

after all that and some stress, it seems the odor is finally neutralized... thanks for recommending the sealant Slider i never would have thought about that...

 

Sorry wrong…….you cover it up, by spraying stuff on…….it flaks off, or a few scratches, then the smell will be back with you……good luck, be careful, and it won’t happen to you………..but, the next guy………….wobbles

 

Now this worked for me but the circumstances were just a little different.

Wash area well with a combination of vinegar and water. Let dry to air. After completely dry, sprinlke damp coffee grounds in closet and let sit with door closed. After 24 hours sweep out grounds and leave door open for fresh air.

If you decide to do this, post and let everyone know how it faired out for you. Might save people a few bucks trying costly options.

 

Yuppers, we used to use a vinegar solution for skunk odours too, years ago.



Yeah, I know its acid, but that's not how it works, it's not about neutralizing Ph.)

 

HAHA...the threads on MG never cease to amuse me!

Midget...cats notoriously raise their butts when peeing....especially the male ones (seems misfire is common in any male species )

We bought one of those enclosed cat toilet boxes for ours to eliminate this problem.

*Wanders off to fit black light in bathroom* LOL