I am going to tell you this right now, know that I am shooting straight (or at least straighter than a certain two cats) — it’s possible to teach an old dog new cat pee tricks.
This old dog is learning the hard way.
Dark picture. That’s a Fresh Wave container in the middle, bravely defending the room from the stink attack.
Finished with the painting of my recently purchased condo, mostly moved in, the place clean and tidy, the to do list whittled down to just a few things. One of the things left on that to do list is to remedy the cat pee stains in the front corner of the master bedroom, where the previous owner kept the cat box. One of the two cats was male and, being the typical male, he apparently missed the toilet now and then most of the time. Let’s just say that it is very obvious where the litter box was placed in the room from the yellow outline in the carpet. The stench was also obvious, not overwhelming, but not pleasant either. Something had to be done.
Old Dog Lesson #1 — Do NOT use steaming hot water in the carpet cleaning machine when attempting to shampoo out cat urine in the carpet.
Remember that I said that the stench was obvious but not overwhelming. After I shampooed the carpet last Saturday, the stench grabbed me by the collar and punched me in the face the next time that I walked through my front door. To say that the scent is strong is an understatement.
Old Dog Lesson #2 — Expensive enzymatic solutions are not always the solution.
Not yet, at least. I soaked the area with a popular enzymatic odor eliminator specifically formulated for cat urine. I will dare to mention the brand as there are likely going to be people who read this blog who will recommend it. Now the manufacturer will likely read it also. The concoction I used is Nature’s Miracle. So far, with the carpet nearly dry, there has been no miracle. The stench might actually be worse. I am not going to blame the cleaner. Perhaps the fact that the area has been recently treated with shampoo caused the NM to be ineffective. I have heard good things about NM, so I am not going to knock the stuff. Unfortunately, the stuff ain’t helping.
If the odor isn’t gone once the cleaner has dried, I am going to try white vinegar. If that doesn’t work, I am going to try baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing liquid. If that doesn’t work, I am going to buy gas masks and hand them to every guest as they walk through my front door.
This old dog is not pissed off. Nor am I going to give up. This does indeed suck, however.
It is finished. It smells finished. It looks finished. After much soaking, scrubbing, and blotting this cat pee conquistador is victorious. The last step was to apply baking soda over the entire area, then a hydrogen peroxide + dishwashing soap mixture over the baking soda. I scrubbed the foaming concoction into the carpet with a brush, waited a few minutes as it soaked in, then blotted it up. I knew it was doing it’s job as the fluid in the towel began to come up clear, not yellow. Crossing my fingers, I left for a few hours ride, came home to the scent of NOTHING. When the carpet dried, the carpet was shampooed with cold water (hot water had been a bad thing earlier). The water in the machine’s waste tank wasn’t clear at first, but it wasn’t dark. No..more..cat..pee.