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How To Get Rid of Mouse Urine Smell In a Garage In 7 Steps

mouse in the garage

Mouse urine has a powerful and unpleasant odor, and one of the places that mice get into the most is the garage. Garages are large open spaces that protect mice from predators and bad weather. Mice will come into a garage regularly in certain areas, and this can lead to the unpleasant odor of mouse urine. Mouse urine smells strongly of ammonia and can be very pervasive. These smells can lead to stuffy and smelly conditions inside the garage, which can be embarrassing and frustrating.

The good news is that the stench of mouse urine can be eliminated from the space. Removing the pervasive smell from a garage can be difficult, but with a few days and a lot of determination, it can be done. Here is how you can rid yourself of mouse urine smells in seven steps.

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Preparation

Before doing anything else, you must first get rid of the mice that are currently in the garage. Trying to eliminate the smell of mice without eliminating the mice themselves will ultimately be a fruitless venture. The mice have to be dealt with to be successful in the long term. This can be done in a few ways. You can set out traps, put out repellent, let your cat in the garage, or call a professional exterminator. Depending on your individual circumstances, any one or combination of these things might work.

Cleaning up after mice without dislodging them will only lead to your garage getting smelly again in the future. Cleaning out a garage is hard work, and we would hate for you to have to do it more than once because you didn’t get rid of the mice before you started. You have been warned.

In order to eliminate the mouse urine smell from the garage, you will need the following items.

  • Mop
  • Bleach (or another disinfectant)
  • Spray bottle
  • Rag
  • Baking soda or equivalent air freshener
  • Mousetrap
  • Elbow grease

The whole process will take a few days to complete. One day will be dedicated to cleaning the garage, while subsequent days will be spent monitoring the situation and airing out the space.

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The 7 Steps To Get Rid of Mouse Urine Smell In a Garage

1. Air Out The Garage

garage interior with car
Image Credit: studiovin, Shutterstock

The first step to eliminating mouse urine smells from your garage is to air out the garage completely. That means opening the garage door, any side doors that lead to the outside, and any windows. You want to create a good circulating airflow through the space. Garages are notoriously stuffy, and stale, stagnant air can trap smells like nothing else. If you need help circulating the air, setting up a fan to produce a cross-breeze is suggested—air out the garage for a day before you begin hunting down the source of the mouse urine.


2. Mop Thoroughly

mopping garage floor
Image Credit: Sirisak_baokaew, Shutterstock

The first cleaning endeavor should be to mop the whole garage. Move any cars or boxes to clear as much floor space as possible and give everything a good soaking mop. Use strong cleaning supplies on the floor, such as bleach, vinegar, and soap. If possible, push the old water and grime out of the front of the garage and hose it away from the driveway. You want to get as much of the floor as clean as possible.

In garages, unlike inside the home itself, most of the mouse urine is going to accumulate on the floor or on items in the garage. Cleaning the floor is an important first step to eliminating the smells, and many times, a thorough mop job will get most of the smell out.


3. Use Disinfectant Around The Perimeter

Cleaning spray
Image Credit: polina_tankilevitch, Pexels

After you have cleaned the majority of the floor via mopping and scrubbing, the next step is to clean the perimeter of the garage with disinfectants. This can include bleach, vinegar, or your favorite multi-surface cleaner.

The easiest way to do this is to mix up a powerful solution in a spray bottle and then go around and spray the perimeter of the garage. Get the disinfectant into the corners, spray around the doors and make sure you are hitting suspicious-looking spots. Mice like to scurry around the edges of the room, so baseboards and corners are spots that mouse urine is likely to accumulate.


4. Add Baking Soda

baking soda in wooden bowl with wooden spoon near a glass of water
Image Credit: al1962, Shutterstock

To clear out any lingering odors, it is a good idea to place cups of baking soda around. Baking soda pulls odors out of the air and traps them in the powder. Put a few cups of baking soda around the room. If the source of the urine has been eliminated, the baking soda will clean up any leftover odors. You may even consider sprinkling it directly on any stains you find to target their smells.

You can also use a general air freshener as well if it is more to your liking. The point of this step is to freshen the air after the cleaning process.


5. Pay Attention To Accumulated Items

garage full of junk
Image Credit: trekandshoot, Shutterstock

If airing out the garage and cleaning the floors and the perimeters did not eliminate the smell, then there is a good chance that you have items in the garage that have become contaminated with mouse urine. Piles of old items, boxes, or clutter are perfect hiding places for mice. And if mice are nearby, they will pee on your things. Yes, it is gross, but it is true.

One of the only ways to effectively eliminate any lingering mouse urine odors is to go through all of the things in your garage and check them for mouse contamination. Things that contain mouse urine will have dark spots and smells. Some items might need to be washed or thrown away.

Moving the stuff around and cleaning underneath the places they were sitting can also help. Unfortunately, if you have a packed garage, the only way to truly treat the smell is going to be to pull everything out, clean, and reorganize. Refusing to go all the way in this process can leave unfound pockets of mouse waste hiding among your things which will continue to be a source of the bad stench in your garage.


6. Wait & Assess

woman inside the garage
Image Credit: bruce mars, Unsplash

After completing the previous five steps, the next step is to simply wait and assess to see if the process was successful. Let the garage sit for a couple of days after cleaning it out and keep trying to circulate the air as much as possible. After a couple of days, if the mouse smell is gone and has not returned, there is a good chance that you effectively eliminated the smell.

However, if you wait a few days and the smell is still there or has come back, then it is likely that you missed a spot, or you could have an active infestation that is simply replenishing the urine building up in the garage. If you suspect that the odor has not been completely dealt with, additional attention will be required.


7. Target and Clean Areas Where Mice Were Present

rat hole in the garage
Image Credit: SocoXbreed, Shutterstock

The last step is to target any areas where mice were seen or have been suspected of living. The presence of mouse droppings and fresh urine are good indications of where the mice are hiding. Targeting these areas for cleaning (and traps) is a good idea.

Now is also a good time to assess whether or not you still have an active mouse infestation or not. If your garage has mice living in it at this point, further cleaning is useless because you need to get rid of the mouse problem before you can effectively deal with the smell. If you do not get rid of the mice, then the odors will continue to come back as long as the mice are living in the garage.

It will be necessary at this point to back and repeat all of the steps if the problem persists.

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How Can I Keep Mice Out of My Garage?

Since garages have large areas that are relatively open to the outside, they are a source of pests. Many times, mice will simply enter a garage to hide from predators or get out of the weather. Not every mouse incident in a garage is indicative of a full infestation. There are a few things you can do to help keep the mice from coming into the garage.

First, you can get a cat or dog. Letting your pets wander around the garage will deter mice from entering. Mice will smell or see the cat and try to avoid the area in the future. Similarly, cats might be able to hunt mice in the garage if they are in easy to reach places.

You can also set up traps and repellents around the major doors. Keeping mouse traps or putting down mouse repellent near the entry points can help keep the mice from getting into the garage.

Lastly, you can have an exterminator come out and inspect the garage. They will be able to determine the best course of action for lingering mouse infestation problems.

How Can I Tell If I Have An Infestation of Just a Single Mouse?

Not every mouse issue is a full-scale invasion. Sometimes mice wander into the garage but have no intention of staying long term. A mouse infestation will have some very apparent signs over time. When mice are living in a space for long periods of time they tend to chew things. The mice make nests that can be spotted. The mice poop and pee everywhere, leaving piles of droppings or apparent areas of urine. They can be regularly seen and heard when they are present in large numbers.

If you haven’t experienced any of these things but have maybe just spotted one mouse or found a few droppings but no signs of habitation, there is a good chance you simply encountered a wandering mouse and not a family of mice.

mouse inside the cupboard
Image Credit: Landshark1, Shutterstock

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Conclusion

If all goes well, your garage should now be mouse urine free. Furthermore, your garage should smell better than it ever has before. These seven steps are an extremely effective way to root out and destroy any sources of mouse urine smells and will leave your garage fresh and clean for months to come. If you decide to take the additional steps to mouse-proof your garage, you should, hopefully, only have to do this process once.


Featured Image Credit: glenda, Shutterstock

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