How to get rid of cat urine smell on carpet, in house, outside, on concrete, clothes and in car

Naturally cats do not consume as much water as other animals do. As a result, their urine is much more concentrated which gives it a very strong smell. In addition, cat spraying is common in unneutered males and also in households with more than one cat. Unneutered male cats are known to excrete urine containing a lot of hormones making their urine smellier. Cat urine smell can leave your home smelling awful. When this happens, what options are there on how to get rid of cat urine smell in house and other areas within the home? We delve into these giving attention to most problematic areas such as the carpets, clothes, outside, concrete and wood flooring. Get appropriate methods of removing cat pee odor from your home permanently as discussed below.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell In House





When cat urine dries up, it tends to be broken down by bacteria to form ammonia substances thus giving out a terrible odor. The moment your cat urinates in a spot that is inappropriate, it is prudent that you get rid of the pee immediately. This is an important first step on how to get rid of urine smell in house.

Cat urinating on grass leaving urine smell behind
Cat Urinating in lawn causing browning of grass and urine odor

Where this is not done, there is a likelihood that a stain and some urine odor will linger on until action is taken. In case this escapes you and all you can get is the smell without knowing where it is coming from, use a black fluorescent light to spot areas in your house that may have been soiled. Use it on the walls, floor, furniture and carpet to identify the urine stained areas.

Once you are aware what areas need your attention, there are a wide range of products both natural and commercial that can be used on how to get rid of cat urine smell in the house. These include:

Eliminating Cat Pee Odor from Leather Couch and in Closet with Vinegar

With this cat urine smell remover, you will require equal amounts of white vinegar and some warm water. Mix these up in a spray bottle and shake well to attain consistency.

  1. Using some paper towels or old piece of cloth, wipe out the urine from area of concern.
  2. Spray the mixture over the area and rub with some paper towels.
  3. Once the vinegar solution dries up, use some warm water to wipe up the area once more.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda to Remove Smell on Bed and in Mattress

Hydrogen peroxide can be used together with baking soda and liquid hand soap to get rid of the cat urine odor. This is a great way of eliminating odors from mattresses, coaches and sofas.

  1. Mix a cup of hydrogen peroxide with a tablespoon of baking soda and a squirt of liquid soap in a mixing bowl.
  2. Use this solution to clean up the cat sprayed area before rinsing of with warm water.

Enzymatic Cleaners to Remove Cat Urine Odor on Floors and Walls

Enzymatic cleaners help in breaking down the urine odor. They release culture that feed on the urine thus getting rid of the urine smell once the area dries up. Apart from ridding your house off the smell, enzymatic cleaners will also ensure that the cat does not return to the same area.

These products are readily available in home improvement stores. Be sure to use them as directed by the manufacturer. Nature’s Miracle is known to be quite effective in getting rid of pet pee odors. Use these on the floors, walls and even rugs. Enzymatic cleaners are however not to be used on wooden floors and furniture.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell in Carpet

Carpets are normally a bit stubborn when it comes to deodorizing. If allowed to go unattended, cat pee may seep through down to the floor which will cause your home have that awful odor lingering in the air for a very long time. To avoid this, follow the following steps on how to get rid of cat urine smell in carpet. You will need some liquid hand soap, hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar and baking soda.

Get rid of carpet smell with vinegar and baking soda
Use vinegar and baking soda to get rid of urine smell on carpet
  1. Ensure that you blot out as much urine out of carpet immediately the carpet pees. Use some paper towels or an old piece of cloth to absorb as much of the urine as possible. Avoid rubbing the area as this will see you spread the urine further.
  2. Get the vinegar and dilute it with an equal amount of water. Use this solution to saturate the affected part and leave it to soak for a while.
  3. Sprinkle some baking powder around the spot and allow it to rest for a while.
  4. Mix one part of hand wash detergent with four parts of hydrogen peroxide and using this mixture scrub around the urine stained area with an old toothbrush. You can also rub with your gloved fingers and leave it to dry up.
  5. Once dry, use a wet vacuum cleaner to help in rinsing up residuals from the cleaning products. Avoid using a steam cleaner for this as the heat will set in the stain and smell as opposed to clearing them up.
  6. In case you settle for commercial products, get an enzyme cleaner so it can help in getting rid of both the cat urine stain and odor. Follow manufacturer instructions for the entire process then rinse off using warm water and dry.

Video: How to Eliminate Cat Urine Smell PERMANENTLY

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell Outside in the Garden, Yard, Lawn and Pool

The nature of outdoor areas is such that they get exposure to the sun as well as other natural elements that can facilitate the growth of cat urine odor to intolerable levels. Male cats are especially known to spray various areas to mark their territory outside the house causing a lingering smell of pee in the outside air.

In addition to the bad smell, lawns and yards with grass and plantation in gardens will turn to brown due to the acidity of the urine. Areas with flooring are also likely to stain. To effectively neutralize the smell, it is important to know the appropriate methods on how to get rid of cat urine smell outside. Below we discuss some to help you eliminate the odor permanently.

  1. To get rid of cat pee smell in the garden, yard and lawns, spray the soiled patches with lime. You could also mix up vinegar with half its amount lemon dish wash soap and use a garden hose end mixer to spread it around the affected area.
  2. Where areas affected are large, get an oscillating sprinkler to rinse off urine. With time, the urine gets diluted and seeps through the soil.
  3. Another option would be sprinkle baking soda on the area with the smell so it gets absorbed.
  4. In case the area giving you trouble with the smell is the pool, use an oxidizing bleach or a chlorine solution poured into it to rid it off the smell. This though is not to be used anywhere close to vegetation as it will have a drying effect.
  5. For porous outdoor areas such as cemented areas or areas with furniture, you can pick any of the relevant methods discussed here in.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell on Concrete, in Basement and Garage

Cleaning up urine smell can be a tough affair and at times the smell may still linger on after so much effort. The regular cleaning agents do not help in getting rid of cat urine smell as the urine consists of uric acid crystals that cannot bind to them. This makes your cleaning efforts null and void no matter how many times you do it.

Video: how to remove cat urine from upholstery - how to remove cat and dog urine from upholstery

The more the smell remains the longer your cat will continue to pee on the concrete in your balcony, garage, basement as well as other similar surfaces. To eliminate this nasty odor, below is a step by step procedure on how to get rid of cat urine smell on concrete surfaces.

  1. Start off by cleaning up the soiled area. While this will only help in getting rid of cat urine, it is an important step. To achieve this you can dilute some bleach with 10 parts of water, spray on the area and clean it up after 30 seconds.
  2. With the floor all clean and furniture out of the way ensure the floor is dried up before commencing the procedure as some products may not be effective enough if mixed with other products.

    Nature`s Miracle Cat Urine Odor Remover
    Natures Miracle Enzymatic Cleaner

  3. Get an enzymatic cleaner and ensure that you follow manufacturer instructions in mixing it up. Look for one made for removal of pet urine odors. In case you have the time and resources, you could also treat the whole floor as opposed to spot -treating.
  4. Take note of the urine stained areas and saturate them with an enzymatic cleaner. Use enough of the cleaning liquid so that you can leave it standing.
  5. Use some a plastic tarp to slow down the evaporation process and encourage more of the cleaner to permeate the concrete and leave it overnight. This will give time for it to permeate he various layers in the concrete for effective elimination of the odor.
  6. Where it is not possible to leave it standing through the night, leave it on for at least 10 minutes before cleaning it off. You may want to use a brush to scrub the area to work the cleaner into the floor as well
  7. If the first cleansing does not get rid of the foul urine smell, keep repeating procedure until all odor is gone.
  8. To avoid future urine stain smells, consider sealing your concrete floors to make it easy to clean in the future. Only do this after the odor is completely eliminated.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell on Wood Flooring and Furniture

Quite a number of things in our homes are made up of wood. Wood floors are a preferred form of flooring. For cat owners, this may come with some extra work as these easily suck/soak in cat urine. Where a cat urinates on the carpet and the mess is not cleared up fast enough, it soaks in the pad, wood floor ad sub-floor. Bacteria then builds up and a foul smell lingers on.

Dealing with wood flooring is tricky as not all odor removers are appropriate for them. Commercial enzymatic cleaners are discouraged from use on both soft and hard wood surfaces as these could feed on the cellulose fiber found in the wood. Although this does not happen overnight, enzymatic cleaners will get rid of the urine smell but harm your floor in the long run so avoid them.

Vinegar is a great remedy to pet urine smell. It works by binding to the urine molecules and then dissipating in the air. This can be used together with baking soda which works by absorbing the molecules responsible for the bad smell. Here is how to make use of them to get rid of cat pee odor from wood.

  1. To get rid of urine smell on wood flooring, sprinkle some vinegar on the area. Saturate it to ensure that it soaks deep enough to the areas stained with urine and neutralize the smell.
  2. Once the area has been treated with the vinegar, spread some baking soda on it. You may observe some bubbling as the baking soda works into the wood to remove the odor.
  3. Finish up the process by cleaning up with some warm water. In case one round of cleaning does not help, keep repeating.

If cats are allowed to keep spraying in wood, the damage may go beyond repair as no means of cleaning will remove the cat urine smell. When this happens, the only way to permanently eliminate the smell of feline pee from your home will be to replace the hardwood and sub-flooring. This may be expensive so act fast enough.

In case you opt for commercial products such as bleach to get rid of the cat pee urine stain on wood furniture, doors and floors, choose them wisely and opt for products bacterial or chemical products meant for wooden floors. Always test them in a hidden part of the floor to ensure that they will not do any damage. Once you ascertain they are safe, follow manufacturer instructions to the letter in getting out the smell.

How to Get Rid of Cat Pee Smell on Clothes and Shoes

Removing cat urine odor from clothes and shoes involves much more than simple washing. This is because cat urine will remain pungent and linger on even after what you may assume is an appropriate wash.

Lothes with cat urine smell cause repeat accidents
Cats will keep getting attracted to laundry until their urine smell is neutralized

Non protein based fabric deodorizers will mostly not be in a position to handle the smell. As a result, the cat may still get the smell and continue to pee on the laundry. Even worse is when the smell drives your cat to your closet after you have stored your clothes. Here is how to remove the smell on shoes and laundry:

  1. When you notice that your shoes or clothes have been soiled, act immediately. Get a bucket of water and combine one part of vinegar with two parts of water. Use this to rinse out the urine as much as possible.
  2. Let the laundry sit for an hour to enhance the neutralization of the smell.
  3. Follow this up by washing the items with cat urine with lots of detergent. Check if the smell is gone and if not proceed to the next step.
  4. Where the smell does not seem to get off the clothes, you can opt to soak them once more with a stronger vinegar solution and for much longer. Doing so overnight may help. When it’s time to wash them, use an enzyme pet odor removal product.
  5. In case the smell does not go away after a couple of washes, it is probable that you will never get rid of it.

How to Get Rid of Cat Pee Smell in Car

Most cats associate car rides with a visit to the vet. This will most of the times make them anxious and in the process accidents could occur and the pee will leak through the carrier into the car seat. The smell of this urine in a closed car especially when the temperatures are high can be nauseating.

The best way to avoid the seats from getting soaked in urine when you are riding with your feline pet is to line the seat with a trash bag before placing the carrier. In case you do not do this, how can you get rid of the cat urine odor from your car? Use this easy natural method to free your car the smell.

  1. Use paper towels to absorb urine from the seat.
  2. Mix water and vinegar in a spray bottle and sprinkle of the stained part. Allow it to sit for ten minutes so it can work in neutralizing the smell.
  3. Blot the solution use paper towels and sprinkle some baking soda on the seat.
  4. Leave the seat to dry and use a wet vacuum to clear up the baking soda debris.
  5. Check if the odor is gone and if it is not repeat procedure until desired results are achieved.

Reviews & Comments

Related posts