Recently purchased a house from the Crazy cat lady who had 18+ cats and other animals. Litter box not changed nearly enough.
Anyways, the cats peed in several spots. The stains can be seen on the bottom side of the floor boards in the basement. I havent used anything yet, but have heard the sanding the floors, www.urinegone.com, amonia and backing soda ideas.
What will work best? I hope it does not come down to replacing the 130+ year floors. Damn crazy cat lady.
2006-10-07 17:19:59 · 10 answers · asked by TAMUGMAN 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
DO NOT get rid of the floors! The boards you are looking at in the basement probably aren't the actual floor boards. They are probably the underlay. They use plywood for it now, but used to use straight dimensional lumber - usually at an angle to the floor boards.
If you really want to get rid of the stains visible from the under side, it really doesn't matter what you do. First try some of those washes you heard about. If they don't work, try sanding. If that doesn't work, either paint over the stain or put up a ceiling in your basement.
If you can't see the stains from up above, they really don't matter.
If the stains are visible on your actual floor, try the same stuff. Start with the cheapest and easiest first. Worst case scenario is you have to rent a floor sander, make some dust, and re-finish the floor. It may sound like a lot of work, but it's well worth it.
If you do decide to tear out the floor, let me know. I'll gladly take the lumber off your hands.
Good luck
2006-10-07 18:41:33 · answer #1 · answered by jeffma807 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wow---don't you just hate it when that happens?
we sorta had the same thing in our house. i'm not sure it was just a cat--i think maybe a dog or two was involved as well. the smell was awful. it did a lot to get rid of the smell when i tore up all the old carpeting and threw it out. discovered some nice hardwood floors underneath that had about 8 coats of paint on it. rented an industrial sander and spent a weekend on it---sanding, sanding, sanding. got down to the bare wood and then sanded that till it was as smooth as a gnat's a s s.
then i put about 9 coats of heavy duty varnish on it. it looks sweet. sanding all the paint off down to the bare wood took care of any residual smell----although my wood was protected by 8 coats of paint and no urine soaked into the wood.
you could try some of the urine-go products to get rid of any residual smell. you may be stuck with stains in the wood if its soaked all the way through---but i really don't think its done that. i'm thinking it must've seeped through the seams in the floor---not soaked directly through the wood. so i think a light sanding may be all you need to get rid of the surface stains.
best of luck to you buddy---been there, done that. my floors were only 85+ years old---wood that old is denser than what we have today---it can take a beating.
2006-10-07 18:26:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ive came across the same thing a time or two. sand the floors, open the windows, and spray the floors with a pump up sprayer full of clorox. this will make some nasty fumes but it will get rid of the ammonia smell. after everything is dry stain and urethane the floor. you might have some odor "bleed thru" the underside. if so spray the bottom of the floors with either urethane or "killz" or "binz" brand oil based primers
have fun
Possum
2006-10-08 01:38:03 · answer #3 · answered by hillbilly named Possum 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since it has gone all the way through the wood you will never get rid of the stains. Never, EVER use ammonia to clean pee. It will only make it worse. Use vinegar instead. I treated a similar stain with vinegar several times and then used Pinesol on it. The smell was gone but the stain remained.
2006-10-07 17:33:26 · answer #4 · answered by theoriginalquestmaker 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Area Rugs!! You might have to stain the floors gain. But start with the remedies first.
2006-10-07 17:29:47 · answer #5 · answered by kitkatish1962 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
light a match! make sure the cat is still in the house when you do!
2006-10-07 17:29:01 · answer #6 · answered by 2Good4U 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Stuff called "Nature's Miracle" that you can get at Petsmart or other pet supply stores - works very well....
2006-10-07 17:28:30 · answer #7 · answered by kbc10 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A good house fire ought to do the trick.
2006-10-07 17:36:20 · answer #8 · answered by fibreglasscar 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
your cat should always be older than your floor.
2006-10-07 17:22:33 · answer #9 · answered by Roscoe P Coletrain..yip yip 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
vinegar or odor ban(purchased at Sam's Club).
2006-10-07 17:24:45 · answer #10 · answered by cheyenecmc 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋