Suggestions For Deep Cleaning To Rid House Of Urine

[photogirl843]

I'm diving in head-long into breaking my cat(s) of spraying/peeing around the house. However, one of my big hurdles is that I'm starting to find places where he/they have peed/sprayed that I didn't realize were a target. I have hardwood floors, and some of the areas now have soaked up urine so the wood is slightly warping, and holding onto the smell I'm sure.

Anyone have suggestions for an ultra deep clean to help me get rid of all the smells so that my work isn't sabotaged as we try to get him out of the cycle? I feel like I need to completely clean from top to bottom, but it's kind of hard to do that with them living in the house.

 

[Jem]

First off, are you going to or have you had him/they neutered? That will help stop the behavior.
When it comes to getting rid of urine, the only thing that will work is getting an enzyme cleaner. Enzymes are the only thing that break down "biological" matter, which is what is left behind with cat urine.
Unfortunately though, if the wood has completely absorbed the urine to the point that it has warped and ruined the wood, you may need to refinish the wood or worst case, depending on how much and how deep the urine soaked in, replace it. The thing with "urine soaked" items, is you need to allow the enzyme cleaner to also soak into the area and dry completely, which is why I say that sometimes, especially with wood or laminate floors, that already have "water" damage, sanding down or replacing may be the only option.
We have that problem right now, there are a few sections of our floor that have been so totally peed on, so many times (usually happened at night, so clean up didn't happen right away) that the floors themselves are finished and no matter how much enzyme spray I use, the smell does not go away. We're saving up to get new floors.
I hope in your situation, this is not the case.

 

[photogirl843]

Everyone is neutered. Calvin, the youngest, has taken to spraying around the house, and he has peed on the bed a few times, and I think Bowie has as well. I know Bowie tends to pee on items left on the floor.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Have you had a chance to look into calming products? Those may help...

 

[vyger]

Something that can help you in finding all the spots is a good UV light. Cat urine glows under UV light and so the light shows up all the splatter places. There has been some research done into the possibility that cats can see some Ultra Violet, much like bees can. Mouse urine glows under UV also so it's possible that not only can they smell it, they can also see it. I have used a spray from Citrus Magic that neutralizes the urine. You can see the urine change as it stops glowing under the UV. Walmart used to carry it but they don't anymore for some reason so I have no idea where to get it anymore.
But you can get a really good UV light on E bay.

Perfeclan Mini Aluminum 100LED UV Torch Ultra Violet Flashlight Blacklight | eBay

The 100 LED model really puts out light. You might find a lot of things glowing that you had no idea where there.By the way, even though you can't see it this light puts out a lot of UV so don't point it at your eyes. You can actually feel the light this puts out because it makes things warm so handle with care.

Something that just ran through my head--- I wonder if using a paint the glows under UV would discourage a cat from marking it since it is already glowing to their eyes?