How do I get smell out of plywood?

Question

I tore up the carpet in my bedroom. The floor underneath is thick plywood--the kind that looks like pressboard. My puppy tinkled several times on it and now I can't get the smell out. I want to put linoleum down, but I'm afraid the smell will linger if I just cover it up. Can I clean it with clorox or something strong like that? Also, my hot water heater is leaking. The heater is only a couple of years old. It's not really leaking, it's constantly draining thru the pipe that goes thru the floor underneath the trailer. I have put a new pop-off valve on it, turned the thermostat down, and turned it off...no luck. Should I just consider it a lost cause and buy another one? Have you noticed how everything falls apart right after Christmas when you're broke...lol!

Answer 1

You could try sprinkling baking soda over the urine area...it works well at absorbing the odor. The water heater pop-ff valve made need to be sealed with plumber's tape to prevent the leaking. I doubt if the leak is anything but the safety valve (pop-off). Sometimes even new ones are faulty. just make sure it has a good seal all-round.

Good luck

Answer 2

There is a product called Urine Gone on the market. I'm sure that it isn't any different than the other similar products you can get at the pet store for just this purpose. If worse comes to worse, I guess you could cut that section of the subfloor out and replace it.

As for the hot water heater, it should still be under warranty. You need to contact whomever installed this. It shouldn't be draining ever. The TPR valve only opens when the pressure or temperature are too high and that isn't a normal occurence. Since this continued to drain even when you turned it off, you can rule out temperature as the problem.

Answer 3

Bleach is good. I would try heavily diluted first. Remember, a strong bleach like straight bleach will start to disintegrate the particle board or the glue holding together a plywood. Kick that puppy's *** so it doesn't do it again!
Try newspaper wrapped around the pipes- it will show easier where exactly it is leaking from. Could be just a loose connection or a pinhole leak you can fix with an epoxy from the hardware store.