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cat pee ruined my couch
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Posted by lesliestrunk (My Page) on Fri, Mar 16, 07 at 2:39
| the sad thing is, it wasn't my cat. my cat was locked in my bedroom all day where she has her litterbox and has peace from the dogs. the dogs had the downstairs to themselves, with doggie doors available to go outside. i got home from work and the downstairs positively reeked with that unmistakable MALE CAT smell. the couch was the target - right in the middle so he got both seat cushions and the back of the couch and it went down into the springs. i figure he wandered in while the dogs were snoozing and when they woke up they probably freaked out at the strange cat and that probably freaked him out. i had the cleaners out that crate & barrel recommended(where i bought the beautiful red couch only 5 years ago) and of course they wouldn't guarantee anything and we agreed the foam in the cushions was totally ruined. they did the cleaning and used the deodorizer and it was ok but when i got home and smelled the cushion covers it was just as bad. i don't want to go spend anothe $300 replacing the foam only to have the covers still stink. so i am actually going to have to go out and buy a new couch. i know everyone says natures miracle and the other enzyme cleaners work but i just don't believe it will really get this horrible odor out of my couch...and don't know if i want to spend as much time working on it as i think it would take, for another non-guaranteed result. i'm just venting and looking for sympathy. thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| Did the foam already get replaced? More than likely, that's the source of the ongoing stink. Nature's Miracle does, indeed, work. We babysat our son's two cats for nine months, and they did a number on our guest room carpet. The urine spray was in the carpet, the pad, and even the floor boards and baseboards. The odor kept returning even though we shampooed the carpet several times (We didn't know about Nature's Miracle yet). We eventually had to replace the carpet, pad, & baseboard. The flooring store recommended treating the stained & smelly floorboards with Nature's Miracle. We had to saturate the floor and let it completely dry. Then, if we could still smell the offensive odor, we had to saturate them again. We repeated the process about three times, but eventually the smell went away completely. I think you could eventually get rid of the odor from the couch covers but deoderizing the foam cushions will be a lot harder. I think your best bet there is just to replace them. However, you may have already become overly sensitive to that lovely cat urine smell and will never be satisfied with any deoderizing treatment. In that case, for your peace of mind, I'd go ahead and get a new couch. And for sure, I'd figure out a way to keep stray cats out of your house in the future. I totally sympathize with you. After replacing the guest room carpet, we told our son & daughter that under no circumstances would we ever again baby sit anyone's pets!!! |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| I don't really see there buying a bottle of deodorizer and trying that would take all that much effort? What do you have to loose but a few dollars as opposed to a couple thousand on a new sofa? When I started a thread about the cat my husband had was puking on the furniture...everyone was telling me that the deodorizers really do work. They really are designed to get rid of nasty pet odors such as cat spray...and that is nasty! |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| Natures Miracle is a no-brainer. I've had cats my whole life, and is the ONLY thing I've found that really works. It doesn't mask the odor, it neutralizes it entirely. How it works is you completely saturate the areas and let it dry on its own. Don't run a fan on it or anything. It's the natural drying process that allows the enzymes to neutralize the odors. I love this stuff, and they sell it in gallon jugs. A little pricey, but well worth it. |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| There is also a Nature's Miracle For Cats...I haven't done the research to see how (or even if) it differs from the regular NM (though I do think it's a bit more effective than the the regular NM) but otherwise I have experience with this problem (sofa cushions.) If you want the easiest fix, buy a new sofa. ;~) However, you might try: taking the cushion covers off and (IF they are colorfast, test first to be sure) soak them in Nature's Miracle for a day or so(or wash them several times if they are washable.) Then for the cushion "innards" (the foam and whatever the foam is wrapped in)...try soaking the whole thing or at least the end that has cat pee on it in Nature's Miracle submerged in something like an ice chest. Leave it for a day or so, and then let it dry outside in the sun until it's good and dry (several days.) If the cat pee ran down into cracks between cushions and got the flat "floor" of the sofa (under the cushions, over the springs) smelly, soak that area really well with NM in a spray bottle and then cover it with something like a plastic garbage bag for a couple of days. Part of the trick to NM working is to keep the area wet for a while to give it time to work. If you feel the cushion covers have gotten clean (like maybe they are washable) but the cushion innards still bother you, you could also put the foam cushions into a big garbage bag and then put it back inside the cushion covers.) I saved a very expensive leather sofa this way some years back...yes, it was some trouble for a few days but I found that the navy blue leather didn't get the color ruined by soaking the cushion covers in Nature's Miracle so it was worth the trouble....about $75 to $100 worth of Nature's Miracle all told vs. about $3000 for a new sofa. |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| Unfortunately, nothing I have tried.....and I think I have probably tried ALL of the enzyme cleaners out there....will remove the odor and KEEP it out! In my experience, cat pee odors will ALWAYS return when there are high levels of humidity. I don't know why that is, but that has always been the case for me. In the past, I have cleaned my carpet, got down on my knees and smelled it and it seemed fine...until it rained! Then the smell came back, big time! JMHE ~Jackie |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| Jackie, that's because the urine (and the odor) is now in the carpet padding and probably the subfloor. Unfortunately, most cleaning methods just soak the urine and the odor down deeper (any kind of hand cleaning or carpet shampooers.) Once it has gotten down there, the only permanent fix is to pull up the carpet and tear off and replace that part of the underlying padding, then soak the subfloor with the enzyme product (and cover it with plastic and keep it wet for a couple of days) or paint the subfloor with some type of sealing paint...then use a carpet machine that really sucks, LOL, and repeatedly clean both the top and the backing on the carpet. Keep that area of the carpet soaked for a day or two with the enzyme product and then let everything dry really well before putting down a new piece of padding and replacing the carpet. Cat pee is the WORST! |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| briosafarm, I so agree with you, cat pee IS the worst! I did have to replace my carpet several years ago after I adopted a cat that had spent a lot of time outdoors. I don't have the problem currently, but will keep your wonderful suggestions in mind in the event I do in future. Thanks! ~Jackie |
RE: cat pee ruined my couch
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| Jackie, I hope neither one of us ever has to use those suggestions again! ;~) It was a long time ago but I still remember having to replace the carpet only to deal with it again; it was hard-won knowledge that I sincerely hope to not have to use again, LOL. Debra |
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