Buying a new home can be a stressful experience. The house showings, the offers, and the competition. Finally, you find a great home that you love and are able to afford, but there is one problem. The house has a lingering cat urine odor that you need to get rid of it as soon as possible. For some reason, the previous homeowner failed to fix the issue before moving out of the house. Before you officially move into your new home, it’s critical to eliminate the cat odor. Especially if you’re moving in with a cat of your own. When a cat smells cat urine in a specific spot they will think it is ok to urinate in that area.
The harms of cat urine odor.
Cat urine is harmful for humans to breathe in because it contains a high concentration of ammonia, which can irritate and harm lungs. If a family member or a friend of yours has pet allergies, then cat urine odor can aggravate those allergy symptoms. Symptoms may include dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, coughing, runny and itchy nose. Asthma sufferers can also be harmed by the mildest scent of cat urine odor. With prolonged exposure, it can cause diseases like pneumonia or bronchitis.
Why do cats urinate around the house?
Believe it or not, cats are clean animals. The only reason why they would urinate outside of their litter box is to communicate with their owner that something is wrong.
- The cat litter isn’t comfortable
Cats have a keen sense of smell and if their litter box doesn’t smell pleasant, they will find somewhere else that is more comfortable to urinate. If there is little or too much cat litter the cat will also urinate outside of the litter box.
- Change of behavior
Cats may go through some stress and frustration due to a change of environment. The location of the litter box can cause some frustration for the cat, especially if the litter box is around something loud. The cat will be frightened and will urinate somewhere else. A cat can also be threatened by a new cat in the house and will urinate to mark its territory.
If you’re moving into the new house with your own cat, make sure to make your cat’s environment comfortable. Discomfort for cats in a new home is common and can be another cause for urinating outside the litter box.
- It’s a medical condition
The cat may be suffering from a urinary tract infection or an inflammatory disease of the bladder. Certain medical conditions can make it difficult for a cat to control their bladder and urinate inappropriately. If the cat experiences pain while urinating, it can cause the cat to urinate in other parts of the house. In this case, the cat owner will need to visit the vet to help their cat.
How to eliminate cat urine odor.
Here is how to eliminate cat urine odor so that you can move into your new home. The urine in your home is most likely dried up and you won’t be able to see the urine spots with only your eyes.
- LED blacklight
Blacklight also known as ultraviolet light. Is used to detect counterfeit currency and fraudulent credit cards. It’s also used in crime scene investigations and medical purposes. The technology in blacklight can recognize human and pet bodily fluids.
It’s better to use the blacklight at night when it’s really dark. You can close all the curtains and blinds in your house during the day, but if your house isn’t dark enough wait until night time.
Search one room at a time so that you’re whole house isn’t in complete darkness. Once the room you’re in is in complete darkness use the black light to search for any fluids. Look for splatters or spots on the floors and walls. When you find the urine, mark the spots with tape. Repeat this method in every room.
- Use an enzymatic cleaner
These cleaners contain micro-organisms that eliminate tough odors and soils traditional cleaners can’t clean. Enzymatic cleaners contain non-pathogenic bacteria that can eliminate disease-causing bacteria. The bacteria within the odor is food for the micro-organisms in the enzymatic cleaners. The micro-organisms feeding on the odor bacteria is what will neutralize the smell.
The enzymatic cleaners provide residual cleaning where the chemical is still active up to 80 hours after application.
Spray the enzymatic cleaner over the affected areas. Make sure you soak the areas with the solution and allow it to do its work. You can wait between 10-20 minutes before blotting up the solution. Repeat as much as necessary.
- Create your own solution
Take hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and vinegar. Mix the ingredients in a spray bottle and spray the surface areas. Soak the areas with the solution and scrub the stain until the mixture disappears. Repeat as much as necessary.
You can use this after using the enzymatic cleaner.
If you don’t want to make your own solution you can also use natures miracle products. Their products are specifically designed for pet odors and stains.
Cat urine on carpet and hardwood floor.
If the enzymatic cleaner, hydrogen peroxide mixture, or pet odor products don’t work there is another solution.
Sometimes urine can penetrate the carpet and soak the subfloor underneath. You can rip the affected part of the carpet and use an oil-based stain primer on the subfloor. The primer will neutralize the smell of the urine. After the primer has dried replace the padding and carpeting in that area.
Urine spots can ruin hardwood floors if it isn’t cleaned properly or soon enough. The urine can penetrate the wood flooring and leave a permanent stain. Sometimes regular cleaning methods don’t help to eliminate the stain. Another solution will be to sand and refinish your hardwood floor.
You can rent a wood sander for a day at home depot, and buy the wood stain and polyurethane for the floor finish. You can also outsource this service if you don’t have the time or expertise.
Sand the wood floor to remove the surface layers of the wood and refinish the floor with your desired wood stain. Seal the wood stain with polyurethane and allow it to dry. After the process, the urine odor should be eliminated and you would have a new hardwood floor.
