How to eliminate the smell of cat urine? Tips and recommendations

How to eliminate the smell of cat urine? Many pet owners sooner or later ask this question. Often cats refuse to relieve themselves in specialized trays or simply "mark" their territory. Anyway, the smell that remains after that is very sharp and persistent. In this article we will talk about how to eliminate the smell of cat urine. In pet stores, you can see specialized tools to combat this problem in the windows. They can be purchased safely, but you need to take into account the surface from which they remove the smell (fabric, carpet, any surface), since some of these products can easily remove the smell, for example, from the floor, but at the same time harm the carpet. We will talk about simpler and more affordable methods of getting rid of the smell with the help of improvised means.

Why is the cat smell difficult to deduce

The main problem is uric acid, which is contained in the urine of cats. Urea, urobilin, creatinine and sodium salts aggravate the situation. But it is uric acid that rapidly crystallizes in the air and does not dissolve in water. That's why conventional detergents can't cope with it and the cat smell continues to hover in the room.

Contact with water leads to the fact that the bad smell only becomes sharper, it is also enhanced by substances containing chlorine. So forget about the tips to remove the cat smell with ammonia or bleach - nothing good will come of this venture. As with the recommendations to use essential oils or air fresheners. But if nothing is done, ammonia and thiols will appear in the cat's smell. Getting rid of them will be more difficult.

How to eliminate the smell of cat urine?

1. Vinegar. Use it both diluted and pure. It is an excellent remedy for eliminating unpleasant odors. If you use it in its pure form, then be sure to wipe the surface with water after it.
2. Undiluted alcohol, vodka. In addition to the fact that these tools will do a great job with eliminating the sharp smell, they will also help prevent the cat from defecating again in this place.
3. Potassium permanganate. This tool is suitable for any dark-colored surfaces. You need to make a weak solution of potassium permanganate and wipe the "smelly" place with a cloth. It is not recommended to use it for fabrics and carpets, as there is a risk of staining.
4. Bleach. You need to use this universal tool only when you make sure that the surface to be cleaned will withstand contact with chlorine.
5. Soda. It is another great tool. We put the gruel of soda on a fetid place and wait until it dries. After that, we sweep it.
6. Household soap. It can be used both for hard surfaces and for materials, clothing. Removing the smell of cat urine with soap is very effective, it can also cope with other stenches.
7. Hydrogen peroxide. Like the previous remedy for the smell of cat urine, it can also be used for materials and fabrics, including. However, hydrogen peroxide concentrate is an extremely powerful compound that can damage the lacquer coating.

1. Clean the tray

This method should be tried first. If you do not waste time, he will not allow unpleasant odors to spread to the entire apartment. Ideally, you need to clean the tray every day, and if no filler is used, then after each visit of the pet. Clumping fillers made of bentonite or opalkristoballite absorb odors best (when wet, the granules stick together and form dense lumps that retain the smell if they are removed from the tray in time), as well as absorbent silica gel fillers.

It is worth paying attention to the tray itself: for hygiene reasons, even an odorless tray should be changed at least once a year.

2. Vinegar, soda and hydrogen peroxide

Vinegar is a universal remedy, in various combinations it can cope with the cat smell almost everywhere.

• For floor coverings. It is necessary to mix table vinegar with soda 1: 1 and leave on the affected area for five minutes. Remove the moisture with a paper towel and sprinkle the stain with soda. Wait until it dries and remove the residue with a vacuum cleaner.
• For processing clothes. Dilute a tablespoon of 9% acetic essence in a liter of water and soak things in the solution for a couple of hours. Then wash separately from the rest of the laundry in the machine.
• For carpets, curtains, furniture. For 2 tablespoons of vinegar, take 4 tablespoons of soda, and when the reaction is over, pour the mixture into the sprayer. We apply it to contaminated objects and wait for it to be absorbed. Wipe the surface clean. Important: do not use vinegar solution for processing natural stone, untreated wood, as well as silk and wool, as they may lose their presentation.
• For fabric. A more gentle option for the fabric is to get rid of the smell with soda. Put a thick gruel with a small amount of water and rub the mixture where the intended source of the smell is located. Leave it to dry completely and remove dry dust with a vacuum cleaner. To enhance the effect of such treatment, you can use hydrogen peroxide. Dilute a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent in 100 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide and treat the area with the mixture on top of soda.

3. Glycerin

Glycerin treatment is considered gentle and suitable even for things made of genuine leather. However, this option is only suitable for eliminating the smell of fresh cat urine. It is necessary to wipe the contamination with glycerin and leave the product until it dries completely.

4. Potassium permanganate

Dissolve a few crystals of potassium permanganate in water and rinse the desired surface with this mixture, and then rinse with water. This method is suitable for removing odors from carpets and fabrics, but light materials will acquire a characteristic pink hue.

5. Iodine

Iodine will perfectly cope with the cat smell if you dilute 15 drops in a liter of water and treat the right place. Then rinse everything with water and let it dry. This option is also not suitable for light surfaces, as well as a solution of potassium permanganate.

6. Citric acid

Rub the freshly squeezed lemon juice or citric acid into the soiled place and leave for an hour. This method is suitable if the stain is fresh. It is not worth washing off  — cats will bypass this place because of the citrus smell.

7. Special remedies for cat odor

Special products with enzymes  — complex protein compounds that accelerate chemical processes — can replace both a solution with vinegar and potassium permanganate. The compositions can be purchased, for example, at a pet store or ordered online. However, it is important in this case not to treat the stain with other compounds, otherwise they may react and the enzyme remedy will not work.

Such products can be applied to any surface, even on untreated wood or soft toys. The stores offer products to combat cat odor in the form of sprays, solutions, powders. The price varies depending on the manufacturer and volume.

8. Call a room cleaning specialist

Neither folk nor specialized remedies can cope with an old cat smell. Then the specialists of the cleaning service or sanitary disinfection will come to the rescue with a whole arsenal of professional tools and extraction machines. Pay attention to the reviews and experience of the company. The amount for the work can start from 2 thousand rubles. and increase in proportion to the cost of detergents and the area of contamination.

How to eliminate the smell of cat urine from the carpet?

If your pet defecated on the carpet, then you can remove the stain and the smell of urine using the following method:

1. Put toilet paper (or paper towels) in several layers on cover the contaminated area and cover it with some heavy object so that the liquid is better absorbed into it. If the carpet is already dry, that is, the urine has dried, then you must first wet this place with water, and then also attach paper and put a press on top. The procedure should be repeated until the napkin becomes dry.
2. We take a cloth previously soaked in a solution of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, apply it to the fetid area and use the press again. We are waiting for several hours.
3. After that, to remove the stain from the carpet, we use a special carpet cleaner.