Help me get rid of any traces of cat-pee smell

July 22, 2024 9:12 AM

I have a sunroom (concrete floor, glass sliding doors) that used to be where the litterboxes lived. It no longer has litterboxes; and the floor has been vacuumed and mopped with water and soap - is there anything else I can do to make sure that when I hang my clothes to dry on an indoor washing line in there, they don't end up smelling faintly of cat pee?

I don't want to use fragranced products (fragrance gives me migraines and rashes) but am open to other suggestions. It's worth noting that I have a VERY strong sense of smell, so there's a good chance that a cat-pee smell too faint for other people to notice might still bother me.

posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

I should also have mentioned: there are no longer cats in my house, so cats being attracted to pee is not an issue -

the only issue is that I want my laundry to smell fresh and clean.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:16 AM on July 22

You need enzymatic cleaners. Go to a pet store and smell all of them (yes, this will probably give you a migraine and I'm sorry) to find the least offensive one. In my case, that's ALZOO Enzyme Based Stain and Odor Remover, Lavender Vanilla.

Saturate the area where the litter boxes lived, anywhere the litter ended up / got kicked to, and a substantial additional proportion of the room nearest the boxes. For me, I would need to repeat this at least three times. I would likely also need to run an ozone generator in the room for a day, but that comes with substantial risks and should not be done if you have pets or children around.
posted by saveyoursanity at 9:19 AM on July 22

I’ve done this in a basement for the same issue of cat urine in concrete. Go to a cleaning supply store and buy biohazard cleaner (it’s often cinnamon scented, as described in the novel Girlfriend in a Coma). If you are sensitive to smells but able to manage it, I suggest asking the cleaning experts for mitigation techniques as might be used on a job site. This was completely successful the first time we did it.
posted by chuke at 9:42 AM on July 22

It really has to be fragrance free - fragrance can give me a really painful skin rash which can take up to 18 months to heal.

I found this fragrance free enzyme cleaner, would this work?

https://www.amazon.com.au/Enzymatic-Eliminator-probiotic-formulated-fragrance/dp/B08N2T2J6Q
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:46 AM on July 22

If the concrete is currently bare after cleaning an epoxy coating can both seal any lingering odour and brighten the room. It's a pretty straight forward diy for a single colour. But it can also simulate tile or other effects.

If you want to keep it concrete looking there are other concrete sealers including water bas3d ones that go on clear with a matte or shiny finish.
posted by Mitheral at 10:08 AM on July 22

I've used "Kids-N-Pets" to remove cat & dog pee smells in my house. If it has a scent, it has never caused me problems even though I am sensitive to many fragrances. For your situation, I'd buy the biggest jug available & spread it over the floor with a mop, then let it sit for a couple hours.

Do not bother with "Nature's Miracle". It used to be good, but now it is heavily-fragranced.
posted by belladonna at 10:11 AM on July 22

I am a big fan of "Anti-Icky-Poo" enzymatic cleaner, which does come in an unscented version. It was the only thing that worked well when we were dealing with cat pee issues a couple of years ago.
posted by briank at 10:30 AM on July 22

There could be residue on vertical surfaces so don't forget to wash those.
posted by H21 at 11:32 AM on July 22

Enzymatic cleaners work while they're wet. The odor-removal remains effective once they've done their job.
posted by wryly at 12:10 PM on July 22

Nthing Anti-Icky-Poo. That stuff works great.
posted by slkinsey at 1:38 PM on July 22

My two cats once managed to shut themselves into a room while we were away for the weekend. They used the cat bed as a litterbox (which was at least easier to clean up than anything else.

The cat bed contained things somewhat, but not entirely - it was still fabric. The rug beneath was a loss. And the wood floor still had a faint odor in that spot.

What we did was *mound* baking soda - close to half an inch thick - over the spot and leave it there for several days. My husband - who has the stronger sense of smell - said that did the trick.
posted by timepiece at 1:58 PM on July 22

KI rehabbed a house that once had waaaaayyyyy too many cats in it for way too long.

I used gallons of an enzyme cleaner (I think it was nature's miracle) to mop the floors. This helped, but the cleanerhad a fairly strong smell itself which lingered for months (which was better than the cat pee smell but still).

Next I had a company that specializes in cleaning up bad situations. They sealed up the house and ran a gadget which created ozone. That also helped somewhat.

My sense of smell isn't that great, but I could still smell the cat pee.

Ultimately I ended up having all the drywall ripped out and the concrete floor covered with "luxury vinyl" tiles to create a physical barrier (it also looks nice and is warmer than concrete in the winter to walk on). Post-remodel there is no longer any cat pee smell at all.

So in short, getting pee out of concrete may not be possible. A physical barrier is probably your best bet. There's a type of paint that's supposed to be good for this (Kilz?) but I haven't tried it.
posted by DrumsIntheDeep at 10:38 PM on July 22

Had a similar problem years back, and was trying to sell the house at the same time.

My realtor recommended using vinegar to clean the concrete under the carpet and damn if that didn't do the trick.
posted by Thistledown at 9:16 AM on July 23