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Thread: Cat pee stains.

  1. #1
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    Cat pee stains.

    Hello,
    I hope this is the right place and if not please move it.
    I am dealing with task of removing soaked cat urine from hardwood flooring,
    so far I tried the hydrogen peroxide method over the last couple of days but very little success so far.
    Any tips on how to tackle this before bringing out the sander?
    Thank you.

  2. #2
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    Is the problem color staining or odor or both? I assume the flooring is finished; do you know what type of finish is on it?
    --I had my patience tested. I'm negative--

  3. #3
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    The stains are the issue, the floor is finished red oak flooring but I am not sure what they used as a finish.
    E14271C7-45B4-433D-B54E-6BC0C60E32C0.jpg

  4. #4
    I’ve seen a number of online articles using vinegar instead of peroxide but that is for odor. I don’t know if it will remove the stains but it’s worth a try.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Daily View Post
    I’ve seen a number of online articles using vinegar instead of peroxide but that is for odor. I don’t know if it will remove the stains but it’s worth a try.
    That is worth a try, would bleach be also an option?

    Thank you.

  6. #6
    My perwonal experience has been with floors under carpet, but in case it helps, here was the process. After removing the carpet, the floor was doused with at least two applications of Nature's Miracle. Expensive but did the trick. We then sealed it all with Polyurethane and recarpeted. I know you cant follow that with beautiful finished flooring, but i would try the Natures Miracle first. The concern is the urine that gets into wood - side and bottom of the nice wood on top, and into the subfloor.

  7. #7
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    Good call Phil, that reminded me that I have Nature's Miracle leftover from another job somewhere hiding in the shop.
    I will try that tomorrow.

  8. #8
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    When I bought my house (30 years ago) the oak hardwood was stained with dog urine. NOTHING took out the stains. I tried all the chemicals available at the time. Sorry about that.

  9. #9
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    You can't get the stain out. That's no joke, and not idle speculation. You can not get that stain out.

    New pieces will have to be put in. This from first hand experience in my first, and last, house flipping venture. I bought the house cheap, because others had tried, and made good money on it, but it's not something I wanted to do again. I both replaced parts of the floor, and inlaid 1/4" pieces in some of the smaller spots. If I had known how much was involved when I started, I would have just ripped the whole floor out, and replaced it.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Jan Smith View Post
    That is worth a try, would bleach be also an option?

    Thank you.

    Do NOT use bleach. When the bleach mixes with the ammonia in the cat urine, it creates extremely toxic vapor.
    I made this mistake trying to clean cat urine from a cement slab after removing carpet in our lower level and nearly ended up in the hospital. I’ve never been that sick or vomited that violently before or since.

    I've had some success with vinegar on cat urine odor, but the very best I've found is called Anti Icky Poo.

  11. #11
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    Way back in the 60's I worked as a carpet cleaner/installer. It was really common back then to put wall to wall carpet down on top of wood floors because of animal stains, and I both used, and talked to many owners who had used, everything trying to get the stains out.

    Not gonna happen.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  12. #12
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    I think you can get the stain out. The tannins in the wood have reacted with the cat pee and turned black. Oxalic acid should remove that. After you have neutralized the cat odor with Nature's Miracle, apply a mix of oxalic acid in really warm water. Wear an activated charcoal respirator both mixing and using it indoors, and eye protection too. You can make it like a soupy paste so it doesn't run all over the place. It might take several applications to remove it all, or it might not remove it at all, but for $5 and a little of your time it's worth a try before ripping out and replacing the wood.

    John

  13. #13
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    Oxalic acid will only lighten it the slightest bit. Wood Bleach about the same. You can't sand it out either. Been there.....

    Here is a picture of the worst room. We replaced all of this. There were Many more smaller places in other rooms. The house sold for the land cost. Pro floor finishers had redone all the floors, and the house had been shown over 100 times. This room was after we sanded it.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  14. #14
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    The stains resemble iron stains on oak. You might want to try https://www.finewoodworking.com/2018...on-stains-wood

    Before you cut up the floor. You might need to remove the floor finish first to reach the staining.

  15. #15
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    It's much different than iron stain. Find pro floor finishing forums, and see what they have to say about pet stains. You can't get them out. You can't stain over them with the darkest stain known to man, and hide them.

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