Okay, so I know this little “how to” isn’t for everyone, but there HAS to be some of you out there who are in the same boat, so I thought I would share. We recently had our carpets replaced.
When we were building our house, we thought it would be a great idea to put white berber carpet in. What a stupid idea that was. So, after 8 years, and a few Lucy the “puddle” dog accidents, we had to deal with treating the sub floor before we could lay down the new carpet.
Kilz was recommended by our flooring contractor {make sure to get the oil-based version}. So, that is what we went with.
To use it, first you have to rip up all of the carpet. Try not to beat yourself up when you see what’s underneath. It’s gross. It will make you feel like a dirty person–even if you have vacuumed religiously.
Get a shop vac and clear out any dust, sand, etc. The sub floor should be smooth. Then, put on a mask of some sort, because this stuff has a pretty strong odor. I used one thick coat of Kilz on both the sub floor and the cement.
We let it dry completely. Then, the contractor came in and laid the new carpet. No more smell. No more berber. Life is good.
Have any of you ever had to do this?
~Mavis
Kim says
Yes. A cat. Enough said.
PattyB says
Yes! Only with an old cat who decided to pee everywhere EXCEPT the sand box. We had to have carpet replaced and also used Kilz on the subfloor. Worked like a charm!
Tina B says
This is brilliant! Thanks for sharing this one, Mavis! Now, if you know how to rid the existing (only 3 years old Lees stainmaster carpeting) from smelling like cat urine, you’ll have my undying gratitude for life. I have 3 cats and one has Interstitial Cystitis, which means any stress makes him feel like he has a bladder infection brewing. Bladder infection in a cat means NOT using the litterbox!
Barb says
I’ve used Nok-Out on cat and dog urine on carpets and it’s worked great. Kind of expensive though. The website gives instructions on which of their products to use and how to use it.
Sue says
I like this stuff called Nature’s Miracle Pet Urine Destroyer: http://www.petsmart.com/dog/stain-odor-removers/nature-s-miracle-trade-pet-urine-destroyer-zid36-13658/cat-36-catid-100018;pgid=zQpmcDkOGphSRp3sEn5ldcYw0000C15BD9Bf;sid=RFDseHhqQ3foeCtccUJ9fOBgxYus2fmxBPFcSyJW?var_id=36-13658&_t=pfm%3Dcategory%26pfmvalue%3Dfaceted
Katelyn says
I accomplished the same thing (out of a cement subfloor) by heavy application of an enzyme product called (don’t laugh) Anti Icky Poo. Good option for people in less well-ventilated spaces or who have smaller areas to treat.
Cindy says
Anti-Icky Poo is the absolute best product I’ve found… *much* better for us than even Nature’s Miracle (which helped but not enough). We only wished AIP was sold in stores so we’d have found it a couple of years sooner. :Z We’re finally replacing the carpet though; there’s only so much those products can do, and eventually, they were no match for our little troublemaker. :Z Mavis is right; what you find when you pull up your carpet (and ours is ten years old!) isn’t for the faint of heart. On top of all those pet stains, SO MUCH DIRT! :S
Daniel says
Thank you, It makes sense that would work. Haven’t had that problem in a long time. Had it on some oak hardwood under a carpet. But ripped out carpet,pad and oak flooring. Added new underlayment black craft paper, 1/4″ plywood, and then new pad and carpet over that. Your process sounds easier.
Daniel
Madam Chow says
Best product I’ve used is Nature’s Miracle. Amazing.
CC says
I’ve tried Nature’s Miracle, but unfortunately it’s not working on the wood floors that were damaged by our tenant’s cat. Now we have to live in our house with the stench of cat pee. UGH!!! Sorry, I now despise cats… or should it be the owner who let the animal mark its territory over & over & over & over? Gah.
sean says
Did you ever come up with a solution I have the same issue at my home in several areas I’ve tried multiple things literally soaking the laminate flooring.
Mary Sherlock says
Sounds like the kilz directly on the subfloors will do the trick after you clean most of it up with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and a scrub brush. We started out using a Home Depot product for mildew and mold after the cleaning process, but I’m going to try the kilz on the other spots. We also took out one section of the subfloor due to the mold severity but look forward to trying the kilz so we don’t have to cut and re sub floor the other rough spots.
Karen says
I have five cats and occasional foster cats. There is never a cat odor in my home. Blame the owner for not being diligent in their animal care protocols. I just went to look at a house I was interested in buying yesterday…and the smell knocked me out! (And killed my interest in buying the house). Two little dogs and his incontinent mother who was living with him caused the urine problem.
Cathy says
I swear by PAWS – Pet Accident Washup Solution by Bio-Ox.
A little spendy but in my experience better than anything else I’ve used (and I’ve tried them all). We’ve had multiple dogs and cats and this gets the odors out of everything.( and no, I don’t have any $ interest in them)
Ashley says
The previous home owners obvious locked up a larger male dog in the spare bedroom. We tried natures miracle and bleach and the smell still made your eyes water! We end up ripping out all of the damaged sub floor we could and killzed the remaining subfloor and drywall. What a job! Next time I’m scanning any potential house purchases with a black light before buying!
April Myers says
So this is timely. Our renters apparently decided to take in a stray cat and left a very smelly carpet behind. Was trying to avoid replacing the carpet. So far, I’ve tried spraying every square in which Fabreze, carpet shampooing it with fabreze in the shampoo, professional carpet cleaning . . . it still stinks! Going to try black light to find the spots and vinegar next. And some of the products mentioned here. After that, I guess we just have to replace the carpet, which is too bad since it looks pretty good now. I will sadly never rent to people with pets in the future. There really isn’t enough pet deposit in the world to pay for a new carpet. Ok, a $4,000 pet deposit might cover it.
Alise says
I’m not trying to be rude, just curious, but can you explain to me why landlords would put down carpet in the first place? I mean, it just seems like a bad idea- carpets stain, they absorb odors and they generally are miserable to deal with. Why not put down a neutral laminate or sheet vinyl and let the tenant put down throw rugs if they want?
Mavis says
I just always assumed thin carpet was a much cheaper alternative. But I’ve never priced them or been a landlord!
Brad says
I think it just depends how skilled the landlord is. I recently just priced out flooring for our new home and found that if you need to pay someone to lay the hardwood (or laminate) then you are almost doubling the cost per square foot to lay your flooring. The price for carpet is cheap now, and with the whole installation costing roughly $30-$100 for an entire house its a much more attractive price.
Kevin says
Great comment Alise. As a landlord that’s what I’ll be doing from now on. I recently remodeled an apartment after the former tenant was there for 12 years. It took the next tenant 6 months to trash the living room, hall way, and 2 out of three bedrooms with pet urine. I have 3 other properties that have pets and the carpet is kept spotless. What I did to save the carpet is turn it over and spray from the back side with Oxyclean. (one full scoop to 2 gallons hot water. Let that sit and soaked again with Simple Solutions Urine Destroyer. (8 oz to 2 gallons hot water). Let that sit for 30 minutes or so and soak again. Then turn the carpet over and pull the solution through the carpet side with a carpet vacuum. I also used urine destroyer on the subfloor but after several applications it doesn’t seem to be completely gone. I will be sealing the spots with Kilz.
CC says
We were just unlucky enough to not be able to sell our house, so we rented it out. I agree, $4000 deposit is not enough to cover the potential damages…
Tracy Gibson-Lake says
Vinegar won’t work now that you’ve sprayed a bunch of stuff on it. You’d need to saturate the pad. You are better off pulling up the carpet and using kilz odor primer.
Kim Crinic says
Yes
Jezibels says
For cat smells we used Nok Out on the sub floor, Ive also used Kilz. Right now we are tearing out all our carpet in the entire house, room by room and painting the plywood subfloor with Sherwym Williams Porch and Floor paint in a dark brown color, this looks great and its a temporary fix until we can save for new wood floors.
Barbee says
These are all great tips I have a dog AND cats.
I have a question: can any of these products be used in the laundry?
It’s springtime here and time to wash ALL the winter bedding, clothing, toys and blankies prior to storage for next year.
That doggie smell is the most difficult to clean. Any ideas? Thanks.
Teri says
I found Gain detergent and Oxyclean work great and also adding vinegar to wash water.
Carly says
Do you know if this would work on the wood that was under the carpet?
mommy86 says
for really hard smell like musty smells I have found that if you use lemon juice and ammonia not the yellow kind of ammonia but the white and then use a good soap such as sun, or even Persil and then throw into dryer with about 3 dryer sheets it makes them smell really good. IF the smell is really strong u could possibly rewash. I have been there with the musty smell but never with a really bad smell.
Deanna says
For bedding wash is hot with whatever detergent you like (I use a homemade one with baking soda, oxyclean, borax, and fels naphtha) and add regular white vinegar to the wash – a cup or two per load. Best way to dry for removal of stains and odor is in the sun – the sun is a NATURAL bleach so if bright colors find some shade.
Sarah says
I’ve used Oda Ban. I took in a cat that sprayed and would pee on my kids clothing. I tried everything to get the smell out. I just got to where I was throwing things out cause they smell was still there. I was told by a friend to try the Oda Ban. It worked! . I just it in my floors, my laundry and furniture/beds. U can get it at the hardware store for $10 a gallon. Worth the money!
L says
Simple Solutions in the washing machine with the regular detergent and so forth has always worked for us. We have three indoor beagles and without that, we’d be overwhelmed by it.
Teri says
This is perfect timing. We will soon be replacing all of the flooring in our house before putting it up for sale. Have been worried about the subfloor upstairs.
CathyB says
We are just going through this right now as we replace carpet with a solid surface floor. After ripping out the carpet and pad, I scrubbed the affected sub floor areas with vinegar and baking soda, let it dry, then used an enzymatic cleaner. We then let it dry and air out. We could no longer smell anything after this, but we still went ahead and painted Kilz on the sub floor for extra insurance. I really don’t want the dog to start peeing there again after we put new flooring down.
Autumn says
Did you premix the baking soda and vinegar? Or sprinkle baking soda then scrub with vinegar water? What ratio did you use, roughly? Thank you.
Marie says
So nice to hear of others with this problem. Yes, everyone has a learning curve with animals & ours involved ripping up the carpet, pad and sub flooring too! Our major area was behind a large piano next to a wall so the entire area was hit. Have tried all the products listed but the key is to treat the area, COVER it with an upside down laundry basket for two full weeks as animals instinctfully return to the same location if they catch the scent (their senses are elevated to a higher level than ours) and rewet the area. We have a black light , my personal favorite before treatments & it is “on loan ” constantly . I must admit I have become obsessed with odors since spending $$ on this project. Love my animals & always laugh when I see “cat potty trainers” that fit on top of a human’s toilet seat like a kid’s potty seat! Wonder if they will be an Amazon Gold Box item one day. Then we will know for sure that everyone has come “clean”with this unspoken problem!
Caitlin | The Siren's Tale says
Thanks for the great tips! We are pulling up some carpet in an area that has been a favorite “accident” spot for a cat and 4 puppies over the years. No matter how hard I’ve tried to remove the odor from the subfloor, it sticks. I’m going to purchase some of this… thanks!
Denise says
Yes – more than once! We run an animal rescue from our home and between the dog accidents and the cats who have a “thing” about marking – we had to rip up the entire house of carpet. We used Kilz on the subfloor plus painted a few feet up the walls (for the cat sprays). ***Beware if you are sensitive to chemicals (as I am…). I lived outside in the RV for 5 days to stay away from the fumes….
So now, because we still have cats with “issues”, we are currently living without carpet. In fact, without any flooring….just the white Kilz painted subflooring. I have to say – it cleans up really well~!! It’s just not pretty…
If anyone has any suggestions on how to “train” cats not to spray – that would be greatly appreciated~!!! 🙂
pmr0354 says
We did this, my brother in law was a hoarder of things and cats (63 at one point). It did not work on the heavily stained subfloors. You will have to tear up the subfloors to have success if the damage is really bad.
Sara says
We are getting ready to do this withour spare bedroom where we kept our cats when we had my Husky out in the house since he doesn’t like them
Standsmom says
We need to replace our carpet badly…. but I’m still worried the dogs will do it again. Can anyone say whether treating the subfloor and putting down new stuff helped? Or did they just try to pee again?
doug says
Can I use latex kilz to seal the floors in our house before laying carpet and floating vinyl. And what about a concrete floor.
Denise says
Yes, you can apply Kilz to seal the floor before laying carpet and vinyl. Don’t know about concrete – check the Kilz label.
BUT – I have to agree with the person who said the sub floor may need to be removed. I have applied latex Kilz to our sub floor two times….and the cats still go to the same spots as before! Obviously, their sense of smell is greater than the Kilz. Disappointing…
I have not found a solution to my problem – and since we run a No Kill Rescue, we just live with the daily clean-up. Currently I am taping large doggy pee pads to the wall over favorite spray areas. It’s easier on my body than the constant bending, kneeling and scrubbing! It has not stopped the spraying – just makes my life a little easier.
Am thinking of applying vinyl not only to the floor but half way up the wall as well for easier cleaning of the “sprays” and no cracks for the scent to stick.
Paul says
Hi, I used Kiltz latex primer, but I still have some smell going on. I will let it cure for 2 weeks went with 2 coats on drywall and 1 coat on ceiling. If it still smells I will move up to oil based shellac BIN odor removing primer. It is expensive. I have cologne smell in one room.
The other room has organic dog pee odor, and it came back after I installed the laminate. I will most likely have to remove the laminate, and hit the concrete slab with one of these products.
I have read that heat and friction can bring back the odor if not treated properly, and this has turned into a never ending project
good luck. Never again will I have renters, or pets in those rooms.
Alice says
I had a corner in my house that had cat urine soaked into the subfloor. First I removed that section of carpet then I dumped a whole bottle of Natures Miracle Urine Destroyer directly on the floor and put a fan on it and let it dry over a couple of days and then I painted the subfloor of that whole area with the Zinsser B-I-N Shellac based primer and it completely sealed the smell. It was extremely easy and was dry within an hour. I am very pleased. I probably could have skipped dumping the urine remover on the spot and simply painted it. Once the subfloor is painted, you could probably salvage your carpet with enzyme cleaners and a good shampooing but since I am planning on replacing the carpeting within a few months, I removed that whole section.
Janna says
hi. I was reading everyone’s post. I just moved into a rental and the house was infested with fleas. And the whole house smells of smoke and dog urine. I have wood floors in the living room and vinyl tile in all other rooms,but all has to be pulled up due to smell. What can I do? Pleas someone help.
Denise says
If you don’t have animals that can re-spray the area, just pull up all your flooring and apply Kilz… then put new flooring down.
Unfortunately, we still had lots of animals and they continue to spray/urinate some of the areas we had treated. I have still found NO concrete solutions to this problem…
Your landlord should really be responsible for this situation. No one should have to rent an apartment with fleas and urine smell!!! That is a sign of a slumlord… in my opinion. Complain to the management before you do anything else and look up state code in the state where you live… You have rights as a tenant!!! Good luck to you!!
Sheila says
I just posted about B-I-N in my earlier post here. Not sure what can be done about hardwood floors. Our laminate floors are probably reeking due to the urine and poo making it down to the concrete slab underneath them. Once we seal off the bedroom floors with B-I-N shellac sealer, and IF it works, we’ll know within 24 hours or so. If the smell is coming up in the living room and dining room (laminate flooring), then we might have to tear that up — only about 4 years old. I PRAY we won’t have to go THAT far.
We would have been far better landlords than the person we paid to manage our home while we had to live out of town for 1.5 years. He discouraged us from doing any walk-throughs, and unfortunately we trusted that HE would occasionally do that. So, we’re not slumlords, but we feel we paid a property slumlord.
For those who are considering renting a home or other place out, if at all possible MANAGE IT YOURSELVES or hire a paralegal in a real estate attorney’s office (we just found out about this possibility recently, too late though) — a paralegal can pick up the rent check once a month and do a quick walk-through for the first 6 months or year until the tenants have proven themselves to be responsible and decent people. Just food for thought.
Sheila says
Our former tenants had 4 dogs and a “dying cat”, which our property mgr. never told us about. Almost 2 years later, when they moved out, our carpets and laminate flooring were trashed, and the stench, even after having the whole interior painted including ceilings, is still sickeningly strong. We had the carpets in the 3 bedrooms removed down to the concrete slab floor beneath. I went over the concrete with white vinegar and added bleach in the worst-smelling master bdrm (of course!) I did this yesterday and opened the windows in the back of the house. My carpet guy told me about buying “original” Kilz primer/sealer, but in Calif. they’ve recently BANNED this product. I called around and found out about B-I-N, a water-based shellac that people have been using for years to seal their floors (and prime their walls before painting) to remove odors, especially tobacco smoke. It’s expensive at over $50/gallon, but I’m buying 2 gallons for the 3 rather small bedrooms. I was so disappointed that the oil-based Kilz isn’t available here anymore, as the carpet guy swore by it, but I have hope that painting the concrete with B-I-N shellac will be very similar to Kilz. I’m telling you folks about this in case you run up against the Kilz ORIGINAL oil-based ban in stores now. Landlords are now charging up to $2000 non-refundable pet FEE, and still that’s not enough to go through what we’re going through now. I think we’ll be spending about $8000K to make our home a place we can stand to live in again. I love cats, but I’m going to forget about having any pets for the rest of my life. Need our retirement fund!!!
Jenny says
We used an oil based paint on our garage floor and almost blew up the house so I would never use one inside the house anywhere – I later learned never to use oil based when you have propane heat / fireplace
TMS says
A contractor will charge $3k for this, you can do it for less than $500. First remove the carpet or floor covering – you can’t get to the urine in the sub-floor through carpet and padding or linoleum. If tile just cut out the grout and replace it. Once the carpet is removed take a blacklight flashlight and search the floor for urine spots – they will glow in dim natural light with the black light turned on, Yellow tinted sunglasses may help spot the area. Use a can of spray paint to outline the urine stain(s) so you can be sure your get the whole stain. Check for spray on baseboard and walls and in corners. Once you have the stains marked use SCOE10X to treat the area. SCOE10X is expensive but I have always found it very effective. Let it dry and retreat if the order persists and is deeply embedded. If possible treat the sub-floor from the underneath side also. Let the area dry completely and thoroughly then put on one or two coats of KILZ oil based primer stain killer. As a final precaution I put down an underlayment that is waterproof before the wood or carpet floor goes down (I use Ditra). Process has worked over 100 times for house and condo flips, some with really disgusting stains that I knock 35k off the sales price for. I guarantee the house for six months and never had a buyer call and tell me there was a problem. Last tip – when your doing all that work on the floor be sure to screw down the subfloor to stop squeaks.
Mavis says
This is awesome info! Thanks for your insight and for sharing!
DogHouseOccupant says
That is a great idea! I’ll have to try SCOE10X when I start working on the floors. Thanks!
DogHouseOccupant says
My mother is/was a dog breeder and when I moved in the house had a muggy urine smell so UP came the carpets and there were areas where the sub floor was warping from the years of being wet from urine and the shampooer. We covered the floors with Killz (awesome stuff) but used latex based, not oil based. We then covered the floors with outdoor porch paint until we could get hard wood put in. From continuous mopping, the latex has chipped away and it’s spotted with bare sub floor again. This summer, I’m sanding down all the latex paint and using the oil based Killz then laying hard wood down. The contractor said this would be the best way instead of latex. It’s also going to help kill mold/mildew from the water damage in the master bath. It’s great stuff to invest in.
Lilli says
My 3.5 yr old foreclosure had a master bedroom with carpet saturated in puppy puddles. After pulling everything up, I poured enzyme products on it for a year and let it sit before we moved in. Concrete is porous and wood is worse. It soaks that odor up like a sponge. I have lived with a concrete floor in my room for 3 yrs. Actually, I like it. The bedroom is 10 plus degrees colder. Suits my menopause just fine. I still haven’t decided what I am going to do. I have some wood floors and plan on taking the bathrooms and laundry room. The bedroom and family room and the kitchen\dining need something. I hate cheap carpet. I don’t want to pay and surely have good carpet ruined. I am thinking, I might consider buying a solid piece of vinyl and laying down if I could find something close to the wood floors. People think I have lost my mind. I have a nice house. For thirty years I battled my spouse, children and guests over that beautiful white Berber we had. Last house had custom wood floors. I didn’t like them either. I have one kid living home forever. We have several cats now and college daughters puppy now lives here. I am voting for concrete floors and a sprinkler system. Fred Flintstone furniture and a drain in the floor. Tired of cleaning and having good stuff ruined.
Julie says
I’m in the same situation with, my 400 sq.ft. cottage, and believed that the only way to eliminate future problems was to replace the subfloor. Due to health issues and allergies, I’m thinking of a softer surface solid sheet vinyl floor…
So, I want to know if everyone’s happy with their results? Any added suggestions? I go thru all the steps, will I have confidence that my two 5 lb terrors won’t be remarking every spot? Or should I spend $$ on a new subfloor ? I’m hoping to get the most for my limited $$. Thanks
Kevin says
Hi Julie, I’ve had experience with covering the subfloor with oil based kilz after treating the subfloor multiple times with a urine eliminator. I don’t believe the odor is ever fully eliminated. But I treated it then ran a dehumidifier to get the floor good and dry before painting so it would absorb as much as possible. Also made sure I painted up to the framing 2x4s below the drywall on each wall. I covered with carpet and pad but in the future will only cover areas like that with vinyl or other waterproof flooring.
Shannon Koepsell says
I just rippled up my carpet with the intention of bleaching and then painting kilz on the floor boards to reduce odors from pet problems of the previous owners. unfortunately we did not find sub floor boards, we found vinyl tile. We cannot take up the tile in case it contains some kind of asbestos. Can we still paint kilz over the top of this or is that no longer an option. Possibly best to just clean the tiles as good as we can and place the carpet over the top to encapsulate anything potential problem with the tiles?
Cybergirl says
I bought a flip house that had pet urine everywhere, the house is 3200 sqft, we have cleaned the subfloors with TSP several times, the subfloor is starting to warp from the water, and have used COE 10X and Nature Miracle Destroyer,it did not remove the odor completely the smells is still there just not as strong as before.
Is there a professional out there that can help with this problem? I prefer not to have to change the subfloors, I already install new tile in the first floor, the smell is still there, please help
Digmycart dog cleaning says
Great! Cleaning is essential.