How can I get a stale odor out of an old concrete floor?

Question

It's in a bathroom. we removed the carpet and scraped off the old padding, then sprayed Lysol repeatedly - but it keeps coming back. Any ideas will be appreciated.

Answer 1

ok bleach is good. But if you think you may have mold this recipe works its used by professionals. 1 cup of boric acid or borax 1 cup of peroxide and the rest water to make a half gallon of solution. It kills mold and black mold. and leaves it smelling good. good luck oh sorry you spray this all over the area and leave it for 2 days and clean it off and it will be good as new.

Answer 2

My husband and I bought a house that had many pets in it with the prevous owner. This owner was sometimes too lazy to clean cages and let the pets out to go to the bathroom.

We had smells everywhere, the concrete floor especially, and couldn't get rid of them. We talked to a home health care worker who told me they use a product called PUSH. We bought it at a party supply store but they sell it at janitorial stores. It is not dangerous, but must be used according to directions, or it will not work, because it is a living thing.

PUSH contains a bacteria that eats other bacteria. Bad bacterias are what cause the odor you are smelling. So, if you use it, it will eat the bacteria and the smell is gone. We put it in a spray bottle. You can spray it on the floor. Once the bacteria is gone, so is the smell.

Then you just clean up the PUSH bacteria.
The only thing is that you have to use the PUSH the way it is directed on the back of the bottle or it won't work. Like, we had to put it on our floor, let it sit for 20 minutes and then dab it up with a sponge. You could see the stuff working and it bubbled up, etc. It killed the pet odor smell.

This worker said they used it on an old woman's mattress who had bladder control issues and it actually turned black from eating all of the bacteria! But, she did say after they did it several times (The mattress was destroyed and had been urinated on for several months) the smell was completely dissipated.

Also, we bought odor trapping bags from Gonzo at Boscovs-our local department store, but they are on line. They are charcoal bags that trap odors To get the odor out when they stop working, you just put them outside in the sun for a few hours. Then rehang them. (They are great for litter box areas, I am told.)

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Concrete floors are extremely porous. You will need to soak the stain with an enzyme solution, which will work on breaking down the organic components of the stain. Then rinse well.

This still may not remove the stains appearance. You may have to scrub with T.S.P. (tri-sodium phosphate). This comes in a powder form available at any hardware store. You can mix it in varying degrees of strength. Follow package instructions.

In may cases when dealing with porous substrates (such as a basement floor) the solution ends up being sealing the floor to seal the stain and odors in. You would do this by painting the floor with a special paint to insure that no stains will leach through.

This paint is also available at any hardware store. The enzyme cleaner can be purchased at any janitorial supply store. Pet stores carry enzyme pet stain removers but they are usually expensive and will not have the strength of a commercial product.

This link is a product I have used in the past when I flip houses and the tenants or previous owners were not very conscienscious with cleaning up after their pets.

http://www.doggoneit.biz/Odor_Remover.htm

Use a stiff bristled broom (if floor is quite large) or just a stiff bristled hand brush to clean the floor. Let this stand on your floor at least 15 minutes. Repeat as needed.

Answer 4

You could try to wash the area with a solution of 1 part bleach ten parts water. If it is a moldy smell you should repeat this process every few days for 2-3 weeks or until smell is gone completly

Answer 5

A bleach and water mix. Make it a pretty good concentration and use a scrubby brush to really get it in there. That's what they use to get mold off, and if it gets rid of mold it should get rid of ucky odors.

Besides, a "stale odor" is sometimes a sign of mildew or other mold, so this should take care of that actual problem - you may have to do it a few times to really get it taken care of. Good luck.

Answer 6

Scrub with bleach and use a cement sealer
Also a bathroom is the worst place to put carpet.
Never put carpet in a bathroom.

Answer 7

Try either a mixture of bleach and water or lemon juice and water. Regardess, your going to have to get down on your hands and knees with a stiff brush and apply a lot of elbow grease. Best of luck to you!

Answer 8

you may have more than a stale floor. Any idea who owned the house before you? a mobster maybe or psycho serial killer. I wonder WHO is stinking up your bathroom....

Answer 9

Frebreeze works well on fabrics.Does nothing on concrete.Paint the floor the color of your choice.The paint should seal out the smell as well as protect it against future moisture.

Answer 10

I think you may have to use bleach to kill the organisms in the concrete.
Good Luck!