Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
pacmom23

Help! I can't get pet odor out of my new house!

pacmom23
17 years ago

I recently purchased a home in which the sellers kept two large dogs and two cats confined to an unfinished room in the basement. I have bleached the floor, used a commercial fan, and scrubbed and scrubbed. The odor is still present. It is much less overwhelming than before, but still quite unbearable. The rest of the basement has an indoor/outdoor carpet in place. There is no pad underneath. I did shampoo this carpet as well.

What else can I do? Can this odor be in the walls? Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (12)

  • lazy_gardens
    17 years ago

    Aks a vet about kennel odor removing

    And yes, the odor could have permeated the drywall. KILZ (the alcohol-based white smoke damage sealant) seals in many odors.

  • housekeeping
    17 years ago

    I have used just about everything out there, and the best I've found for cat urine stink (and dog, though I no longer have one, and it wasn't such a big problem) is a product called Get Serious! You can buy it online or at Petsmart stores (among others.) It is much better than the more common Nature's Miracle and doesn't leave a bad smell behind like NM does.

    Get Serious is an enzymatic smell remover; you saturate the area then blot it away (buy tons of paper towels if you have large area). Basically you blot and blot and blot and blot (with a fair amount of pressure). Once it's as dry as you can stand to do, leave it. I usually think uh-oh, it's not working for a day or so, then I realize the smell is just gone. Occasionally I have had to redo spots that were very old, and saturated into floor cracks.

    I would also consider painting everything that could be painted, in order to seal in any residual smell. And to be honest I would yank up the carpet, as well. Other people's old carpet always give me the willies.

    BTW, pacmom, I am happy to see that you did close on your new home. I hope it went well. There is a great deal of curiosity over on the Buying and Selling a Home forum as many people followed your saga and were wondering if your closing went OK. If you have a moment you might post an update there.

    Molly~

  • mcgillicuddy
    17 years ago

    We had a similar problem in the basement of our new-to-us house. Removing the carpet REALLY helped. Even if the animals weren't on the carpet all the time, it will have absorbed the general animal odors.

    After we pulled up the carpet, we cleaned the floor with a product called OdoBan, which is used in both residential and commercial environments. It worked very well.

    It's very strong, though, so you need to be able to ventilate the area well when you're using it (and for at least several days following an application). Be prepared for the main floor of your house to smell like the product for several days as well.

    Once the OdoBan smell is gone, the pet odor is gone is well.

    See link below...

    Here is a link that might be useful: OdoBan

  • brutuses
    17 years ago

    I would remove the carpet and use Odor Mute. It's a very inexpensive enzyme product you buy in powdered form and mix with warm water. You can buy unscented or scented. Most online pet supply stores have it. I buy mine at KV Vet Supply. You simply spray and leave it. It eats ordor on contact and doesn't leave a sickening cleaning smell behind.

  • jody_thepetodorspecialist_com
    16 years ago

    Treating pet odors is what I do for a living and I see situations like this on a daily basis. I am going to asume your basement subflooring is concrete which is porous and will absorb urine and its odors. Bleach is the strongest household disinfectant you can use to kill germs and odors and it will do good as a initial clean-up on the surface which is the key word. After the bleach has dried the concrete still has wet urine and odor below the surface that is still off-gassing.

    The next step is get the concrete as dry as possible by using air movers and dehumidifiers together this equipment will also dry the walls if the cats have been spraying on them.

    Finally we use a industrial sealer that has a moisture barrier and a odor barrier once applied we guarantee you will never smell any pet urine odor from any area we treat.

    Kills is designed for smoke odors, as cat and dog urine acids will eventually weaken the product and the urine odor will be back.

    Enzymes are temporary fixes or are for minor problems per the manufacturers instruction the area has to stay wet for up to 3 weeks for best results and @$20-40 gal do the math bleach is better and stronger. Besides you have already cleaned the area now you have to get it sealed. Oh! and toss the carpet It would cost you more for a pet odor treatment then replacement.

    Here is a link that might be useful: thepetodorspecialist.com

  • premier
    16 years ago

    jody...I checked out the website. You advertise ozone machines. In one sentence you say the fix is temporary and then later say it will totally eliminate the odor. I thought ozone would totally remove the odor. What about odor in hardwood floors?

  • exring
    15 years ago

    If you have not painted the floor with "sealers" or paint I have a real solution for you urine odor problem. If you have painted or sealed, you have probably already found out that they work poorly.

    The whole store is on the web site below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: OdorXit Products

  • edarby35_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    I have tried Everything for my basement i have the same problem as all of u so all i need to do is paint it and odorban dont work bleach don't either i have done everything even kilz I'm going to get basement paint hope that works

  • SharperClean
    12 years ago

    This is really a informative post. If it's in the carpet then you may have to steam clean, even then, if the dog has been using the carpet as a potty, it may be hard to get rid of the smell. I'd request that all the carpets be cleaned and all the walls washed. Thanks for sharing.

  • PRO
    Weavers Carpet Cleaning
    5 years ago

    I've found that using a mixture of white vinegar with water does wonders for removing pet odors. To help combat the lingering scent of the vinegar you can mix in some drops of your favorite essential oil.

  • lovetogarden
    4 years ago

    Peroxide. Cheap solution that works. Pour it on and wipe it up. Can be sprayed on too with a spray bottle.