How to Get Dog Pee Smell Out Of Hardwood Floors: 6 Practical Options
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For pet owners and especially dog lovers, our furry friends are an extension of our family and a huge part of our life. However, one of the biggest challenges is potty training.
Before the dog understands potty training, expect a lot of accidents inside the house, which may leave your hardwood floors with some pungent smell. This will not only affect you in the short term by ruining your ambiance, but it may also come with some long-term damage to your floors.
With the right methods and ingredients at hand, you can tackle the issue, reducing your worry every time your pet has a little pee accident inside the house.
Here is how you can do it.
Before You Start
One of the hardest things, especially on a hardwood floor, is finding out where the pet went for a pee. This is so especially if it did so a while ago and the pee has dried up, leaving you with the odor and no pee on the site.
You will have to check for stains on the floor, especially if the pet has chosen a place where they will constantly go for a pee. You can also use some UV or backlight to trace the pee.
Also, try and monitor the dog, especially where they rest after they drink water.
The 6 Ways To Get Dog Pee Smell Out Of Hardwood Floors
There are several ways you can effectively get rid of urine smell on hardwood floors, from home-based methods to industrial based products; you can help maintain the mint condition necessary for hardwood floors.
Let’s check them out!
1. Using Baking Soda
One of the coolest hacks to use if your pet has a little accident is baking soda. It has one of the best effects on dog urine and requires little to no expertise to use.
It will absorb moisture and help kill dog pee odor.
- Baking soda
- Dry towel
- Damp cloth
- Vacuum cleaner
- Soak up as much of the urine as you can with the dry towels.
- Take a damp cloth and clean the area, then rinse and dry the patch.
- Sprinkle baking soda over the whole area covered with dog pee.
- Let it sit there overnight or at least eight hours.
- Vacuum it after.
2. Household Items Mix
If you happen to come across some dog urine, and you cannot go to the shop, there are several products you can use from home to help clean the urine and remove the smell.
This method works for both old pet stains and fresh pee.
- Distilled white vinegar
- Baking soda
- Vacuum cleaner
- Dish soap
- Mix 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1/4 baking soda and a drop of dish soap.
- Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray it on the affected area, covering all the stains.
- Let the mixture sit on the floor for around fifteen minutes.
- Wipe the whole area with a cloth removing both the pee and the mixture used for cleaning.
- Sprinkle baking soda on the whole area and leave it overnight.
- Vacuum after you wake up in the morning.
- Repeat the whole process if the odor persists.
3. How to Get Dog Urine Out of Wood Floor by Sanding the Floors
The worst thing about pet urine is that it seeps through hardwood floors, especially if you have unsealed or unfinished flooring. To get rid of dog pee smell in such a scenario, you may need to sand the hardwood floor.
There are a couple of ways you can use a disc sander or a drum sander for solid hardwood floors. For engineered hardwood floors, a disc sander can come in handy.
- Determine the kind of sanding you want to do, depending on the kind of floors you have. For light sanding, a vibrating floor sander or a disk sander will do the trick. If you decide to go for a deeper sanding, then an edge sander will do the trick.
- Tape up plastic sheets anywhere you think the dust may escape through, including doors and windows.
- Wear protective gear.
- Prep for the sanding by removing the quarter boards and baseboards.
- For painted baseboards, you can leave them and sand as close to them as possible to prevent any damage.
- As you sand the floors, ensure you do not press down too hard, especially with the drum sander, as it may leave some damage.
- Never leave a sander in one place while sanding; keep moving to avoid overdoing it in one area.
- Sweep the floor after sanding.
- Mop the floors at least twice with different mops after sweeping.
- Apply floor finish.
Take precautions if you decide to do sanding, and ensure you do alight sanding as the top layer may be too thin.
Ensure your pet is not around while sanding as it may pose a health risk. Also, ensure you prevent them from peeing on already sanded areas. This can be done by closing off access to the area.
4. Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is more of a cleaner than an odor remover; however, to remove an odor, you will need to ensure the area is clean. A mixture of hydrogen peroxide and an odor cleanse can be a lifesaver for pet owners.
Hydrogen peroxide is widely regarded as the most effective pee cleaner, especially for hardwood floors. Squirt down on the affected area and wipe it down. You can then add an odor remover of your choice.
5. Enzyme Based Cleaners
Several store-based products can be effective for your hardwood floor, removing odor and reducing the chances of your dog reusing the same spot.
Always be careful while choosing store-bought products, as some may ruin your floors.
The best suggestion is to go for enzyme-based formulas as they can break down the proteins that create a foul smell in urine.
Avoid steam cleaners and any abrasive products as they will have a negative effect on your hardwood floors.
Are you looking for an enzyme cleaner that can keep your house clean and your pet happy? We recommend the Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray, which permanently gets rid of the most stubborn stains and smells. There’s even a 100% satisfaction guarantee so you can try this cleaner risk-free! Click here to order your first bottle.
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6. Refinishing the Hardwood Floors
When worst comes to worst, you may have to redo certain areas of the house where the flooring has been adversely affected by dog pee. The best way to go about this is to hire professionals to assess the damage and solve it effectively.
Can Dog Urine Ruin a Hardwood Floor?
The more the dog pees, especially at one part of the floor, the easier it will be for the pet to ruin the hardwood floor. Dog urine will penetrate the wood and will seep into the flooring, which may cause a permanent stench and discoloration of the hardwood floor.
The worst thing about dog pee on hardwood flooring is that you may not even notice the extent of the damage until it’s too late. At that point you will need to replace the flooring where the dog pees.
Prevention is Better Than Cure
Before cleaning up pet urine, you have the option of preventing your pup from peeing; there are several ways you can do this:
- If you have hardwood floors, especially at certain areas of the house, the best thing is to prevent your pup from accessing these areas before being fully house trained. You can use barriers to control your pet’s movement
- If you have hardwood flooring all over the house, you can purchase some puppy pads where they can pee.
- Cover the floor with a sealant to prevent dog urine from seeping through.
- Apply penetrating oil, which strengthens the fiber on the floors, which in turn makes cleaning of urine easier.
- Frequent pee breaks are also a great hack; the more the dog pees outside, the less likely it will be to go inside.
- You can also control the amount of water intake, especially at night.
Conclusion
Accidents do happen; don’t get too angry at the dog if it pees on the floor. With the options listed above, you will no longer have the problem of bad odor resulting from dog urine. You can even create a doggy door or a way for the dog to get out whenever it wants. This will help reduce the need for you to take it out, plus it will reduce the chances of going potty inside the house.
See Also:
- How to Get Dog Pee Smell Out of Brick: 4 Practical Options
- How to Remove Black Urine Stains from Hardwood Floors: 10 Practical Options
Featured Image Credit: New Africa, Shutterstock
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