Cat Urine Smell Knocked Me Over...Please HELP! (and I Am Yelling This-sorry!)
About to invest in rehabbing a vacation condo at a ski slope. Realtors and lodge have shown good evidence that resale is approx $155-170k. Most have been resold within 120 days for this unit. There are none on the market currently- contract being signed for $105K.
Problem that I never dealt with before;
The cat odor knocked the realtor and myself over as we opened the door.
Figuring out what color the rugs are is difficult because the layer of animal hair and debris is so thick. Apparently this is ten years in the making- home was built in 1990- this was the only owner. Under the rug is pressboard/particle board.
Should I even consider not ripping out all the carpets? In your experience, is it likely I will have to pull up the particle board sub floor to remove the smell? Will an ozonator rental or the "odor xit" product perform miracles?
Other than the smell and filth, all this house needs is paint, cleaning and cosmetic changes. I'm confident that a good profit is in the making. My fear is that I am taking on a problem that is much greater than it appears. This is my first deal that clearly makes sense on paper.
Your comments and knowledge would be appreciated
thanks- Allan
Allan,At the least the carpet will have to be removed and replaced. Before replacing the sub-floor take a wood sealer and roll it on the floor and see if it covers the odor problem. If this does not work you can call in servicemaster they may be able to solve the problem.
I had a similar problem with dog waste in a sunroom. After trying to de-funk it with many different chemicals, I finally opted to remove the floor and replace it.
Made a world of difference. But this was just a 16 x7 ft area, so the expense wasn't that great.
Cat Urine odor is a lot worst than dog waste odor because of the amount of ammonia in it. I don't own any cats, I've heard that they sometimes will urinate on the walls. I read once that you can use a blacklight to see if they urinated on the walls and you will have to de-odorize the walls too! I'm not sure how much it will cost to remove all the car odor. Good luck with this one...
Tanya
Hey I can elate to your problem with the cat smell. At the apartment complex I work at, we run across this every now and again. SOme things I would look for if I were you. It may not just be in the carpet and subflooring. If the cat wasn't neutered or spayed it probably sprayed on the walls as well meaning some drywall replacement. Alos It is probably always going to have that smell even just a little bit. I have an apartment that we relaced the drywall, the capet and pad, used sealer on the concrete floor and after three ears, when that apartment comes vacant yu can still catch a whiff of it. I would use a black light on he walls so that you know if there is any pee on the walls. ( It will show up as a green glow and don't ever let your wife take a black light in to your bathroom lol). If you can't get rid of the smell I also reccommend Patchuli oil. It is the stuff they use in hospitals you can usually get it at the natural candle stores or anywhere that sells incensce. Good luck
Cat urine is the worst! Had a friend who owned a male cat(not-fixed!). She left it in her car one day as she ran into a fast food joint for a quick stop. The cat sprayed inside the car while she was in the restaurant! She had the whole inside of the car professionally cleaned three times and could not get rid of the smell. She finally had to sell it and took a beating on the trade in because of the smell. Reminds of the "B.O." incident on "Seinfeld"!
The numbers on this deal sound very enticing, and I wouldn't let a little P stop you! Even if you have to replace the sub-floors, it sounds worth it. After you do all the repairs, go rent an air purifier and let it go for a couple days. Even if you can't remove the smell completely, you may find a buyer who has cats and won't notice it.
Good Luck!
Sickdog
Hey Allan,
I had the same problem in a four family that I bought once. One apartment tenant had both cats and dogs, but I think the cats were much worse. It also had a particle board floor. I tore out the carpets and got a 5 gallon bucket of emulsifier from a local janitorial company. Used it to treat the particle board two or three times, letting it soak in pretty well, but not enough to cause any warpage each treatment, then did the same thing again with simple green (which can also be purchased in bulk). When all was done, I couldn't find a trace of the smell anywhere (and believe me, it was horrible to begin with). Just as an added precaution, I sealed the floor also, but I still own the place and haven't had a problem in over ten years, so I guess it's gone for good. I wish I knew what the name of the emusifier was, but I would suggest you ask around at some local janitorial services before walking away from a good deal. Also, you might consider the deal with the cost of replacement of the floor in mind. That way, if this works, you can send me the difference for such wonderful advice. Lol. Good luck.
Hello Allen!
Common sense tells you that you want to make your property as attractive as possible to everyone that walks through that door. You can't choose your buyer. It could be anyone. I wouldnt even question weather or not to rip out the carpet. Do it!!! If you have help it shouldnt take you more than a couple of hours at most to get the carpet and padding out of there. Then you will see what kind of condition that board is in. I would say probably not good. You will probably have to replace some of it. It seems other responders have given you some good tips on treatments. I prefer (with the kind of margin you say you will have) to just take it all out. Just make sure you are prepared in advance for the potential costs. I just completed a house with the same problem. Took out all the carpet and padding. Luckily old style Terrazzo floors underneath (in Florida)....Tiled the whole place. Tile adhesives and grout etc will never reveal that odor again. Of course we did several thorough cleanings first too. But, some carpet stripping was saturated w/P and had to be replaced for the new bedroom carpet. And yes as everyone tells you...Your walls will be stained too. You will never cover that with paint. I have tried. 3 or 4 layers of paint and then Grippers, etc. under and over that. Doesnt work at 15.00-18.00 a Gripper gallon! But because the walls were white I thought.. what about white spray paint. It works! And then I applied a finish coat over that. Remember your "high bidder"/ buyer could be the guy with a sensitive nose or worse yet allergies!
PS...CAt P is so strong that if not completely sealed, eliminated, etc it will even seep through the walls and stain new tile grout in any missed areas around the baseboards.
Steve
Thank you to all the givers of advice-
Ultimately I'm optimistic that the margin I have should give me a flipping profit and also cover the decontamination cost.
Here are some tidbits of advice I got locally-
anyone know of a product called "odor xit"? found it on the web
another suggestion was vinegar and water....hard to believe that would be effective.
I'm hoping that I'm lucky and most of the smell will go out with the carpets.
Thanks all- more comments are always welcome
allanzee
Never seen so many "Viewers" interested in Cat Urine.!!!!! 160+ and growing
If buyers were attracted to Cat Urine like your questions....we'd all be rich!
Sorry cat lovers everywhere....but it seems they're like a cancer to most of us investors.......everywhere.