Hardwood Floors And Pet Odors

Question:

We are trying to remove dog urine odor from a wood floor where people left the urine for extended periods, maybe even months. Would your “Dual Action” product remedy this problem? We will be putting carpet down soon so we are not concerned about a stain problem.

Please help.

Ron

Answer:

Ron

You have a challenge. Sorry. There are several degrees of severity when dealing with dog urine and this is true with hardwood.  To neutralize the odor you need to get the neutralizer to the urine residue. With wood you will have urine soaked into the grain of the wood and possibly between the slats of the wood and maybe around the edges of the wood floor against the wall.  Dual action or Severe urine neutralizer will neutralize the urine it comes in contact with. The trick is getting it to the urine.  If you just go over the surface of the floor you will neutralize a good percentage of the urine and sometimes this is adequate to  kill the odor. Sometimes it is not. With wood you also have the possibility of the wood warping if it gets to wet. It may be slightly warped from the urine already.
The different methods you can use depending on how severe the urine contamination is, are:

Try a treatment just going over the floor with a good neutralizer and getting the obvious urine areas a little wetter so it can soak
in a little. Then see how the results are.

The next method would be to soak the floor so the neutralizer can soak in deep.This takes a chance of warping the floor in areas. I
have had cases where we ended up sanding and also replacing slats from this.

The next method is to sand the surface of the wood taking off as much wood as needed to remove the urine. Again this will remove most
of the urine residue and sometimes all. If it has run down between the slats you may still have residue remaining. Seal the floor to
lock in any remaining odor if necessary.

Or use a combination of the above.


Pet Stains On Hardwood

pet stains hardwoodI came across a question about pet stains on hardwood. The following comment and question was asked.

“I left my dogs alone for a couple days and they peed EVERYWHERE. The hardwood floor is dark in some spots and after mopping it still smells! Does anyone know a way I can fix this without tearing up the floors????”

In answer to this the following was written.

“From your description it sounds like the urine has soaked into the hardwood. I have hardwood floors that are sealed well with a quality sealer. When our dog was a puppy she would pee on them often. We were lucky because the urine beaded up and we were able to wipe it up and remove it. Eventually I know it would have found its way into the hardwood, had it been in greater volume or left to sit for too long of a time. There are different types of products available that will eliminate the smell but they have to come in contact with the urine residue. This means you have to soak them into the hardwood to reach the urine. Some of these products will also remove the pet stains. One of the challenges with wood is that the moisture from the urine or the chemicals can warp the hardwood and cause additional damage. It might be worth a try though. If you can’t get the smell and stain out to your satisfaction with these products then the next step is to sand it down removing the stain and odor and refinish the hardwood. If this does not work then you are to the replace the floor stage which is usually the most expensive.”