Asked on Jan 03, 2017

What can I do about pet smells after our renovation?

Jeign
by Jeign
Recently renovated a townhouse. Previous tenant had two cats and an old dog. When we replaced the carpet and padding we used Kilz on subfloors. Replaced all baseboards. Put down laminate floor. There is still a faint but distinct odor of pet urine. Cat I think. Ugh. Spent so much money on the reno. Does anyone know of an odor absorber or odor eliminator that works? I am not looking for legal suggestions and cannot afford to pull up the floors. Just wondering if there is a product to absorb odors that linger. Thank you.
  22 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Jan 03, 2017

    I just use open boxes of baking soda.

  • William William on Jan 03, 2017

    Make an odor neutralizing and fabric spray. This spray does not have any scent but it will neutralize odors. ***** Place 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a spray bottle (preferably with a fine mist). After the foaming action stops, add 2 cups water, then shake well. Spritz the air. Also spritz any water safe fabric/carpet.

  • Sharbearpaintperson Sharbearpaintperson on Jan 03, 2017

    There are two ways, that I am away of. (1) Bin has an oil based product that can be applied over everything, to seal in the odor. (2) If that does not apply, then you can rent a machine, from a rental company, that contractor's use to rid the dwelling of cat and dog odours, it literally sucks the smell away.

  • Joni Kelly Lmt Joni Kelly Lmt on Jan 04, 2017

    If you need something stronger, Nok-Out truly works and doesn't leave an artificial smell behind. I was able to save a new 5" chair cushion that had been peed on by a sick cat.

  • Deanna Dickson Bobbitte Deanna Dickson Bobbitte on Jan 08, 2017

    Check your drywall! Could be a cat sprayed

    • Carroll A Carroll A on Jan 08, 2017

      I was thinking the same thing. Its probably the walls and not the floors if you have sealed the floors and can still smell it. Kilz the walls too. If you find the actually spot where sprayed, there is a product at Walmart called Spot Out that works great.

  • Diane Speer Nelson Diane Speer Nelson on Jan 08, 2017

    Vinegar It's my favorite cleaner deodorize

  • Kathy Stinner Strohecker Kathy Stinner Strohecker on Jan 08, 2017

    take whole coffee beans and spread them the floor. helps with dog and cat odors. You will need to let them there a few days

  • Theresa Theresa on Jan 08, 2017

    I used Zero oder that worked really well you can buy it on line

  • Tammy Bullock Tammy Bullock on Jan 08, 2017

    I put 1 part water and one part vinegar in a spray bottle and spray on the affected area, works like a charm! May have to reapply a few times

  • Psu15926919 Psu15926919 on Jan 08, 2017

    Check out stink freeproducts. Some retail stores carry it. Also amazon and stinkfree.com

  • My old house had the same exact thing. Years later they found there was actually cat urine stained into the lower part of the drywall. They cut it out and patched and the smell went away.

  • Liz Eaddy Liz Eaddy on Jan 09, 2017

    Use a black light to find the urine. I'm betting is in the sheetrock.

  • Denise Martin Denise Martin on Jan 09, 2017

    clean EVERYTHING with a vinegar solution


  • 1na2730552 1na2730552 on Jan 09, 2017

    I was just at Sam's Club yesterday and they had bottles of Clorox in a black and yellow bottle that said it removed urine smell. Not sure if it was for human or pet urine, just noticed it as I walked by and commented on it to my husband. Not sure if it's on the shelves at grocery or not, maybe you can look it up and find out more about it. I was also told by the University of Tennessee Veterinarian's that the only way to rid the smell of cat urine was to wash area down with Citrus cleaner or to use the spray , I think its called Cirtus Magic.

  • 1na2730552 1na2730552 on Jan 09, 2017

    Sorry, should have looked this up before I commented. https://www.clorox.com

  • Maxie Baggett Sumner Maxie Baggett Sumner on Jan 09, 2017

    I don't think you will ever get the "dog" smell out completely. We bought a truck 10 years ago where the previous owner took his two dogs everywhere he went. I have tried vinegar, baking soda, essential oil spray, bought special sprays and it is still there.

    • Joni Kelly Lmt Joni Kelly Lmt on Jan 10, 2017

      If you still have the truck, I still suggest Nok-Out/Sniper products. I moved into a house where the dog was left inside for extended periods of time, PLUS the prior tenant was a heavy smoker. Pulling out the carpet and cleaning and painting the walls, ceilings, fans was not helping by itself. Sniper was sprayed everywhere (I had a tall friend even spray the "popcorn" ceiling) and even before the "A" coil of my AC unit was de-furred the house smelled beautiful. Dog and cigarette smell are both now a thing of the past and people don't realize I have cats till they actually see or hear one of them.

  • Terry Thomas Terry Thomas on Jan 09, 2017

    Could be in air vents. Clean all with white vinegar clean or replace all fans...everything absorbs the cat urine. flush the intake of air conditioner or heater vents also

  • Joni Kelly Lmt Joni Kelly Lmt on Jan 10, 2017

    Also, have a qualified AC tech come to your house and clean the inside unit. That could be harboring a lot of what you couldn't possibly remove just by changing the AC filter.

  • Maxie Baggett Sumner Maxie Baggett Sumner on Jan 10, 2017

    Thank you Joni, I am going to try.

  • PeterVance PeterVance on Sep 20, 2021

    You can't remove smells from the house with an aircon, but you can use it to remove a pet smell. Say you have a room that smells just awful.

  • PeterVance PeterVance on Sep 21, 2021

    You can't remove smells from the house with an aircon, but you can use it to remove a pet smell. Say you have a room that smells just awful. You can use your air-conditioner to remove the odor, but it's not going to solve any fundamental problem. The source of the foul smell may be kitty litter, but the problem is the house itself. Anyway, a sound aircon system will help you to get out of the scent. You can contact the guys from airconservicingsingapore.com. I worked with them when installing the most performant aircon system in my office. They are the best.