Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[llundquest]

We are currently looking to purchase a home. Found one that was great! One problem, the current owner has cats... It smells when you enter the home. Is there a proven method to remove the odor from the carpet and or the walls? Please help!!

[mrscleannw]

Hello llundquest,

If the smell is coming from cat urine odors that have not been cleaned correctly or have not been cleaned immediately and left to sit too long, the odors are very hard to remove completely. Sometimes it will require the removal of the carpet and carpet padding. If this is your dream home, maybe you can negotiate for new carpets or the price to be reduced to allow you to install new carpeting prior to moving in.

Another thing to think about with pets urinating in the house is not only can it damage the carpet and carpet pad but the sub-flooring as well. When pet urine has reached the sub-floor, it will need to be treated with Kilz prior to new padding and carpets being laid to eliminate the odor. Kilz will help to lock away the bad odors.

Here is one of our pages that addresses pet odor removal: Pet Stain and Odor Removal

White Vinegar and Water:

For painted walls, you can make a mixture of 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water and wash the walls down, keeping the wash rag clean and changing the water as needed. Vinegar is a natural deodorizer and any smell from the vinegar will dissipate shortly. If the walls are bad you may want to repaint again using Kilz before the final color.

Good luck with your search.
Mrs. Clean

[RosetteDawn]

Use always good quality disinfectant that may be cost but it as well remove odor also the germs.Use less acid for cleaning purpose.

[CarpetGenie]

Baking soda is always a good remedy for odors as well as good ole Frebeeze. However, if the odor is set into the carpets you are going to need to get that out with some deep cleaning and shampooing. Even then, it may take a week or two to really get the odor out. Best of luck to you and let us know what worked the best for you please!

[cleanway]

If this has been in stay for several years, the best thing to do is call in professional and make them handle the cleaning job to get the odour off. There is going to be little or no result if you had your hands on trying this thing.

[monica]

I'm agreeable with that idea of hiring professionals to do the cleaning . If the odor seem not bearable then why settle for just cleaning your own you can rather have someone do the work so that you can have also maximize your time on other things.