Howdy from NM, all. Well... I MAY be on the verge of buying the new place; several in the offing. One cute little place with 5 acres out on the windy plains seems to have my name written all over it. Only thing is, it's got an enclosed porch that SMELLS like it was used as the cat's sandbox. If I get this place, that's the first thing I'm going to tackle. Anybody got any ideas how to get cat urine smell out of a plywood floor? Vinegar? Bleach? Thanks so much, debra in nm

-- debra in nm (onegoatgirl@yahoo.com), November 16, 2001

Answers

It'll be virtually impossible to get the smell out, especially since it's plywood. Vinegar or bleach would lessen it but it'd likely remain. It'd probably be less hassle and not much expense to replace the flooring. Replacing plywood flooring should be a fairly simple task. Maybe you could use that situation to your advantage to haggle the price down, at least enough to cover the cost of the floor.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), November 16, 2001.

I'm afraid that it is almost impossible to remove that smell from wood. I have the catalog of a company that specializes in pet products and they may have something that will work. The company is UPCO www.upco.com phone 1-800-254-8726 I've used their products and I find them satisfactory.

(We've been invaded by snerts....be patient as they have no idea what is going on.)

-- Ardie?WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), November 16, 2001.

Ardie.......they call them trolls. Poor babies got locked out of the other forums because people got sick of changing their diapers and now they have landed here.

debra........sure sounds like you are looking and finding some places. I will try and find (in my huge mess called my computer room) the formula I saved from someone who said it had worked for them.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 16, 2001.

debra, There is a product called KILZ that I've used with great success to cover up just that problem. It's also good for covering that "burnt" smell after a fire. Most any paint supply house should have it and it's probably even available at K-Mart or Wal-Mart. The only downside is this is a product that will color whatever surface to which you're applying it so you'll lose the natural wood look and have to go to paint. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), November 16, 2001.

Wal-Mart sells a spray in the pet dept. that's called OUT! It works on carpet to take out cat spray & urine. I don't know why it wouldn't work on wood.

-- ruby (mcfays451@aol.com), November 16, 2001.

Debbie, make sure that the septic tank is not the source of the odor, some people have been known to build over them.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 16, 2001.

KILZ! Why didn't I think of that? And those sprays with the pet enzymes in them... yeah, thanks guys! OK, now, I am armed. Whatever I use, I will end up covering it up with linoleum. It'll stay a pet room/mud room, doesn't have to be pretty, but I gotta get rid of that smell! Of course, assuming I buy THIS house, but it does stick in the back of my mind. Thanks again, y'all are great. dh in nm

-- debra in nm (onegoatgirl@yahoo.com), November 16, 2001.

Id try the solution for removeing skunk smell,,, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, it breaks down the skunk musk,, should work for cats

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 16, 2001.

Debra, when we bought this place, we had the same problem, except it was in every room, on the panelled walls, etc. Some of the floors were rotten, so we tore those out. An insurance company rep told us that the only thing that works to cover the smell is to paint over the wood with at least one coat of marine varnish. That did the trick. We did use the Kiltz paint to cover water stains on the ceilings, which is what it is made for, and it does a great job on those. Good luck, and hope you get a place you like! Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), November 16, 2001.

Debra: take it from an expert on this topic...nothing will get the smell out of the wood. The pet odor remover products will be useless in this case. The only thing you can do is pull up the wood or paint it with KILZ. I'm a one-woman ad campaign for that stuff! Works great.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), November 16, 2001.