Crawl space
by
Paul Adams
+15
how to get rid of cat urine smell in crawlspace after mold removed and plastic put down
15 answers
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I use a product called SCOE, found on Internet, it works well for me. Also a product called Zero Oder is good.
Karen
on Oct 23, 2014
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I googled "remove cat urine odor" and found this website. https://www.petfinder.com/cats/living-with-your-cat/5-cat-urine-odor-removal-tips/ It seems legit. But first I'd try baking soda. Lots of it. Like several little boxes. I think that if it hasn't removed the smell after a few days, I would wet the baking soda to get down in there. Might not work, but worth a try.
Lillian Santana
on Oct 23, 2014
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I actually don't have cats and it is an odor after encapsulating the crawl space. I had mold removed and a heavy plastic put down as a vapor barrier. I think this is a odor from the plastic. It is terrible and resembles the smell of cat urine. Do you think the Scoe or the product Zero odor would work? thanks
Paul Adams
on Oct 23, 2014
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Your correct Paul, the plastic can off gas with some horrible odors. You can cut a small section off and have it checked at a professional lab that can determine if indeed its the plastic, but I have seen this many times before. We had the same thing in my office many years ago,. plastic runners. Fine until the sun hit the plastic then the odor was horrible. It took some time to figure it out. But once I removed it the odor went away. You will need to remove the plastic and use some other brand or type.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Oct 23, 2014
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If you can't or don't want to replace the plastic, you might try sprinkling kitty litter mixed with baking soda over it. You can buy a really big bag at Sam's club
Grandmaquilts
on Oct 24, 2014
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I found some interesting facts last night doing research on this issue. The smells can be caused by several factors. One is the plastic. It appears that many lower cost plastics are recycled products made into new product. They have a tendency to off gas some strange odors. Also depending upon the type of soils your house was constructed on because the normal moisture that would evaporate into the air it is now condensing under the plastic which triggers odd smells from the soils. The solution is a sub slab or in this case a sub plastic ventilation unit. Much like a radon fan a perforated pipe is placed under the plastic where its then run to the outside of the house to a ventilation fan. Because its drawing soil gasses and possibly radon as well, the vent must be brought to above the roof soffit area. This is the solution to the issue.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Oct 24, 2014
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@woodbridge environmental, I am wondering how expensive this is going to be, and who to get to check this. The company that did the work is coming out today. What should I get them to do. I feel like just tearing all of the plastic out and leaving it. We are on a fixed income and have to be careful. I can't live in my house the way it smells now. Do you think if I rented an izone machine it would take care of it?
Paul Adams
on Oct 25, 2014
- See 2 previous
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When I first moved in to our current home, the master closet had an extreme smell of cat urine. The previous tennets sworn they had never owned cats. I washed the walls and the carpet, but nothing seemed to work. I finally did what I always do before completely moving in, bomb the whole house with foggers. That totally got rid of the smell within a few days!! A few months later, our house got upgraded and new Sheetrock had to be put in our closet. They found a HUGE rat/mice colony inside our walls and inside our ceiling where the insulation should have been. The workers told me the first smell that had lasted years was probably the rat urine. The second smell was probably when they all died. The some of the adults fled, but litters were left behind. It was gross, but it solved our problem. Wonder if you have the same problem of mice between studs.
Letty
on Oct 26, 2014
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I don't think so,because all insulation was removed from crawl space and the mold was sanded off and sprayed and the white plastic was put down to cover soil and up the foundation. We are thinking this is the fumes from the plastic put down,since this is where the smell is coming from. Even the company that did the work seems to be stumped.
Paul Adams
on Oct 26, 2014
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I have cats who occasionally "miss" their litter box; white vinegar takes out the odor.
Barbara
on Oct 28, 2014
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@Barbara , I don't have cats and there aren't any around. This is a crawl space treated for mold and tan 10m whit plastic put down. I am thinking it might be a chemical in the plastic. I wonder if vinegar would help or make it worse.
Paul Adams
on Oct 28, 2014
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Why not test the theory in a small area? Pull the plastic back, spray the vinegar and wait a day or two . . . maybe even longer if the "smell" you currently have is overbearing. Hope it works and good luck!
Barbara
on Oct 29, 2014
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Look at the 2nd video that I posted. It will explain the Kitty odor. It is either the plastic, or the reaction in the soil and the chemicals within it that is reacting to the increase in the dampness in the soil now that it can not evaporate into the space. My guess its the soils.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Oct 29, 2014
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I did watch this, very interesting. Does that mean I need to have this done to my house and is it very expensive? I a very upset about this. I thought when I had the mold removed it would solve the problem, but looks like it just caused another. Wish you where closer, then I would be calling you.
Paul Adams
on Oct 29, 2014
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If your handy this can be a project that you should be able to do on your own. However If the crawl space guy is honest he should at least do this at his cost. After all he/she should have told you there could be another issue. All it takes is some 4 inch plastic perforated pipe placed down under the plastic barrier, Its then run outside upwards where a radon fan is installed. Then a round to square adaptor like you see where gutter pipes connect to the underground pipes. That goes on top then using gutter leader pipe run that up to over the top of the gutter edge and not near any windows. Run a 110 volt power with exterior water proof cable and switch and your done. Perforated pipe needs to run around the exterior edges of the crawl space like a square circle using four 90 degree elbows and a tee that will extend outside and up to the fan. Fan must be located outside. Just in case your house has radon, This will lower the levels if it does. Search in line fans for the fan, Costs are about $125 plus the plastic pipes around $50 and leader pipes another $25 All should cost around $200 If you had this professionally done, cost would be around a grand.
Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com
on Oct 29, 2014
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