View Full Version : Removing Cat Odor from Carpet
What's the most effective way to remove cat odor from carpets and an apartment as a whole? I think my kitten was pissing in the corners at one point. Anyhow, will having a service come in and steam clean the carpets with some sort of chemical work? Anything I can do in advance?
pscates2.0
2004-06-12, 08:39
Have you tried some of those products (I believe Lysol makes one) you can buy, usually a foam, that you can douse the affected areas with, let sit for a while and vacuum? If you go to Target or Wal-Mart and go to the cleaning product section (where all the Lysol, Comet, 409, etc. stuff is), there are usually quite a few carpet-oriented products there, and several of them pet-related.
I keep thinking Lysol (or another big, well-known brand like it) has a product my sister told me about (she has a puppy who's done his "business" in her house) and she seemed pleased with. But I can't remember the exact name. But I'm 85% sure Lysol was the brand.
:confused:
I just hired Sears to come and steam clean my carpets on Thursday. They claim their deoderizer will remove urine, feces, and vomit. Excellent.
That gives you open license to have some fun!! :smokey:
Nature's Miracle. You can get this at any pet store and it really works well.
Hmm. Nature's Miracle, eh? I may have to buy some of that.
Anyway, you'd definitely should have it steam-cleaned, but be warned that unless it's a van-mounted cleaning system, it may not work. Furthermore, cat urine is the worst of all odors to get rid of. In the end they may get "most" of it out, and cover up the rest with some type of enzyme deodorizer.
We had a guy come out to remove fresh dog urine stains from our new couch - seems the dog, after many years of sitting on one of the old couches, felt slighted it could no longer sit on the couches, so it pissed on them :mad: - and we got all of it out except anywhere there was a seem or folded fabric. Sprayed the hell out of it with deodorizer too. Still smells [awful] on humid days, so we had to buy new covers.
Carpet should be a lot easier though, if that's the only areas that smell.
Well, I just need it clean enough for my landlord to be appeased. I'm glad I rent.
Windswept
2004-06-12, 10:09
I'm a pretty big fan of Oxy-Clean. If I were you, I'd treat suspicious areas ahead of time, before Sears gets there. You could let OxyClean soak in, to chemically interact with fluids that soaked into the carpet pad. OC neutralizes those fluids, iirc. OC powder is mixed with *really* hot water. You 'must' have seen tv commercials about it over the last two years - how the brown water in a large glass bowl turns clear with the addition of OC?
They might sell OxyClean at Walgreen's, but I would call ahead of time to check.
I think I tried Nature's Miracle. Maybe I didn't use enough, because my dog went back to that same spot on the carpet. :( (She only went in the house twice though.)
Wrt foams, I would think they'd stay pretty much on the surface. They wouldn't get down deep all the way to the carpet pad. Just a thought.
Your really having problems with your cats aren't you? Your local pet store will have something to get rid of that odour.
Yeah, I saw the OC commercials. That guy was such a tool that I vowed never to buy his product though.
Sorta like the Mentos guy! I never once bought Mentos, because I had an utter disdain for those fekking TV ads. There's a school of thought in advertising that says making a jingle or visual very annoying on purpose, will result in more sales because people will remember the name.
Personally I think it backfires more than it helps and what's more, the dirty bastards who espouse that theory in advertising circles need to be cut down to intern status as a matter of principle. Then maybe no one will listen to their dumbass ideas.
:grumble:
Pet urine's a bitch, if the pet is still around, because guess what one of their "Go here!" triggers is? Yup, the small of urine. Which means you can't cover it up, and you have to get rid of it so *they* can't smell it, not just you... or they'll just go again.
When I was a landlord, I used to get an industrial strength enzyme solution that was *unbelievable*. Someone puked in the hallway one night, and I sprayed some on. In fifteen minutes not only was the the smell gone... so was 90% of the puke. All those chunks? Gone. Scary stuff, but great. Can't recall a name, unfortunately, but if you can find out where your landlord buys his cleaning products in general, you may be able to get some on the sly. Highly useful to have just for the house too.
Windswept
2004-06-12, 15:39
Yeah, I saw the OC commercials. That guy was such a tool that I vowed never to buy his product though.
:lol:
Windswept
2004-06-12, 15:55
Hey Kicks. A few years ago, on the first day of school, in the first 15 minutes of homeroom, a kid sat in his desk and threw up in his hands and onto the desktop. :(
I sent the kid to the nurse, and put the desk out in the hallway. The custodian put some kind of pink stuff on the desktop. Worked like a charm. I didn't think to ask him what it was though.
Were you a mean landlord? Ever evict anyone? :)
If I were a tenant, I would hate (shiver) to have you mad at me. eek! ;)
(I guess the red hair adds a certain forcefulness to the 'landlord' demeanor. :D )
Edit: Get landlord "anti-puke" stuff *on the sly*? Sounds like the smuggling of nuclear materials or something. :)
Yeah, my landlord isn't really much of one. He's a tool also. He owns these two condos in this condominium complex, so he doesn't do any cleaning. He just hires someone to like go over the unit when someone moves out and then bitches about how much it cost.
I can't smell for shit, my sinuses are kind of like non-existent, so I don't really smell anything in my apartment. My landlord can though, so hopefully this steam cleaning shit will work. If anyone can hook me up with the name of some nuclear type enzyme deodorizer shit, let me know. The night before Sears comes I guess I could soak the carpet in some of this stuff and go all world war three on my apartment's carpeting.
Speaking of steam cleaning, do I have to move all of my furniture like off the carpet? I know if I want it cleaned underneath I do, but I mean... are the people going to help me move shit, or am I expected to have done it beforehand? I'm not up to date on my steam cleaning etiquette.
Windswept
2004-06-12, 19:09
No, *you* shouldn't have to move anything. They oughta take care of all that. They'll move stuff, clean the carpet, then move the furniture back onto little blocks of styrofoam or something, so the furniture's all technically 'off' the carpet (during the 'drying time'), but back in place; so all you have to do when everything's dry is remove the little blocks. (You don't want any color from furniture wood-stains to transfer to the carpet.)
If you have fans, they would help speed drying time. If there are windows you can leave open (safely), that might help speed drying time. You don't really want the house tightly closed with wet carpet trying to dry. Fresh air needs to circulate, if possible. Edit: ...but then, if it's even 'more' humid outside than inside...:confused: Just ask the Sears guy. they have all the answers.
If it's fairly humid where you live, I'm not sure soaking spots ahead of time would be such a great idea. If the carpet is too wet, and it takes too long to dry, you could get mildew, or a sour smell. But I would clearly tell them any places the kitten 'went', because they'll pretreat those spots with their own chemicals. You could even put sticky notes on the wall with arrows pointing to the spots. :)
I wouldn't leave small valuables lying around. I would get computer cables up off the carpet so their equipment doesn't get tangled in them.edit: If the closet is carpeted, get all your stuff off the closet floor - if you want the closet floor cleaned. Just throw it all on the bed. If there's any particular thing you're concerned about, just ask them about it before they start. Or, even better, you could call Sears before Thursday and ask them your questions. Make a list so you don't forget anything. I know guys always hate to ask for directions, etc.; but grit your teeth and do it anyway. ;) They don't know you, and they'll never see you again. heh.
Get magazines or anything with unstable dyes off the carpet, and don't put them back on the carpet until it's completely dry.
Are you getting ready to move out or something? Because the kitten will just continue with his naughty ways, won't he? And then you'll have the problem all over again.
If you're going to the supermarket or drugstore, check out any pet stain products they might have. If you want to pretreat, do it this weekend.
Hey Kicks. A few years ago, on the first day of school, in the first 15 minutes of homeroom, a kid sat in his desk and threw up in his hands and onto the desktop. :(
I sent the kid to the nurse, and put the desk out in the hallway. The custodian put some kind of pink stuff on the desktop. Worked like a charm. I didn't think to ask him what it was though.
...[snip]...
This reminds me of a story back in my secondary school days. We had a half day (the morning off - don't ask me how they managed to get the kids to turn up halfway through the day... but anyway), and two guys decided to spend the morning getting tanked and playing a round of golf.
During our first briefing for the day (around lunch time) we figured something was up when one of them started to cheer during the prayer. We all sat in those wooden desks - two to a bench - and we kept our books etc under the hinged lid of the desk. Very old school I know. Anyway, half way through the first period we had to do some group work and were allowed to swap seats so we could work together. At this stage the other "morning booze and golf guy" starts looking a bit green. One of my mates says to him, "Hey, Bruno (nickname) - you're not looking too good. You should tell the teacher and get excused." Bruno replies "Nah I'll be alright" and then proceeds to lift up the desk lid of another student's desk and deposit that morning's breakfast into it. Cracked us up :lol: - but it was bad news for poor old Trav who was left with the unenviable task of cleaning out his desk after Bruno was taken from class. :eek:
Ahhh... school days - what memories! ;)
PS - I don't know what cleaning agents were used to help remove this stuff - I just wanted to share the story.
thuh Freak
2004-06-13, 10:48
This reminds me of a story back in my secondary school days. We had a half day (the morning off - don't ask me how they managed to get the kids to turn up halfway through the day... but anyway), and two guys decided to spend the morning getting tanked and playing a round of golf.
During our first briefing for the day (around lunch time) we figured something was up when one of them started to cheer during the prayer. We all sat in those wooden desks - two to a bench - and we kept our books etc under the hinged lid of the desk. Very old school I know. Anyway, half way through the first period we had to do some group work and were allowed to swap seats so we could work together. At this stage the other "morning booze and golf guy" starts looking a bit green. One of my mates says to him, "Hey, Bruno (nickname) - you're not looking too good. You should tell the teacher and get excused." Bruno replies "Nah I'll be alright" and then proceeds to lift up the desk lid of another student's desk and deposit that morning's breakfast into it. Cracked us up :lol: - but it was bad news for poor old Trav who was left with the unenviable task of cleaning out his desk after Bruno was taken from class. :eek:
Ahhh... school days - what memories! ;)
PS - I don't know what cleaning agents were used to help remove this stuff - I just wanted to share the story.
in freshman year of h.s., i had this two-period biology class. really boring shit. and this kid, 'S', decides to skip the first period and go to the second period. so he shows up like a half hour late in the second period, stumbling, swaggering, and reaking of alcohol. he gets to his desk and his teacher notices him, and is like "why are you so late?" S mumbles incoherently, and shakes his head "no". teacher goes back to the lesson. S becomes drastically ill, vomits all over his bookbag and books, the other person at the table's books (it was one of those wide tables, where two at a time sat), and a hefty amount on the floor. S gets up, and swaggers toward the bathroom, vomiting all over himself and every student he passes on the way. luckily, your humble narrator was not in S's path, but i found it terribly funny.
now to the cat stories.
one of my cats has (or maybe 'had', i aint sure) a urinary tract infection. peeing was painful, and she'd go basically wherever she had the urge. usually, she would be under the coffee table, so she'd come out of there and go to the china closet. and, thanks the to infection, it wasn't just urine, it was blood too. so we come up with this great idea. we block it. there are baskets and books and all kinds of things in the way of the china closet. the little fucker comes around, and doesn't get the urge to pee around there anymore, but now sleeps in one of the baskets. the way all the filler is arranged, she can't even get close enough to the china closet without being in her favorite sleeping basket.
so, my recommendation for you, jack, is to block off your cats' popular pissing areas. after the cleaning of course. rearrange furniture, or just put something in the way. my cat uses the litter box all the time now. she's completely cured.
Trumpetman
2004-06-13, 10:51
Yeah, my landlord isn't really much of one. He's a tool also. He owns these two condos in this condominium complex, so he doesn't do any cleaning. He just hires someone to like go over the unit when someone moves out and then bitches about how much it cost.
I can't smell for shit, my sinuses are kind of like non-existent, so I don't really smell anything in my apartment. My landlord can though, so hopefully this steam cleaning shit will work. If anyone can hook me up with the name of some nuclear type enzyme deodorizer shit, let me know. The night before Sears comes I guess I could soak the carpet in some of this stuff and go all world war three on my apartment's carpeting.
Speaking of steam cleaning, do I have to move all of my furniture like off the carpet? I know if I want it cleaned underneath I do, but I mean... are the people going to help me move shit, or am I expected to have done it beforehand? I'm not up to date on my steam cleaning etiquette.
LoCash, you do realize how bad it looks when complaining that someone won't come clean your piss off the toilet seat and move your furniture when you won't even do it for yourself to insure a good job. Right?
I'm a landlord. I just have the steam cleaners treat it when the come to clean. If after the carpet dries I can still smell it, I replace the carpet and charge it against the tenant. I don't feel bad at all because I don't allow pets or smoking in my rentals. You break the rules, you pay the price.
Carpet cleaners are supposed to move furniture but really don't do more than shift it around. If you have a spot you really want done well, you better have it totally cleared and even ask them to go over it again after they have finished the place but before they pack up to leave.
If you can't even smell the pets in your apartment already, God help you. You better find a nose to borrow and find the worst spots.
Also the cleaning is very expensive because most renters don't seem to do any and as a result there is tremendous build up. I mean it is one thing to make sure the soap dish doesn't have any soap sludge left in it. It is quite another to remove the black ring around your tub that hasn't been cleaned in two years or so.
It also gets expensive because there are so many easy cleaning jobs out there. This is true for lawn care as well. These cleaning ladies have plenty of customers that they work for once a week. They hit their houses for 30-60 minutes and make $25-40 a week. You want to them to come to your house for a couple hours and clean for like $100. But your house is real work. It isn't just wiping away the dirt and dust that accumulated from the last week. So they charge 3-4 hours and usually a minimum of $200+ dollars.
Nick
Windswept
2004-06-13, 12:28
LoCash, you do realize how bad it looks when complaining that someone won't come clean your piss off the toilet seat and move your furniture when you won't even do it for yourself to insure a good job. Right?
Hi Nick. Well, the thing is, LoCash has been having trouble walking because his ankle has been having recurring pain/swelling - apparently aggravated from hours spent at the computer. His mode of transport is by bicycle, which I imagine would also be pretty painful if he can't bear the pain of putting weight on his foot. I'm sure Urgent Care told him to stay off that foot as much as possible.
I hope his ankle is better now, and that he has crutches around for when he needs them. Anyway, this is the relevant thread (http://forums.appleinsider.org/showthread.php?t=414/)
LoCash, you do realize how bad it looks when complaining that someone won't come clean your piss off the toilet seat and move your furniture when you won't even do it for yourself to insure a good job. Right?
Woah there, skipper. I'm asking whether or not I am expected to move furniture, which I am somewhat capable of doing. Have you ever tried to move an eighty inch couch by yourself? It doesn't work out so well. Ergo, I'd like to know if these people help me with that or not. This allows me to determine whether I need to get a friend to come help me beforehand or not. Has nothing to do with me wishing to sit on my ass while these people do whatever magical things it is they do with their cleaning equipment.
God, do all you landlords go to weekend retreats on how to act like bastards? :p I'm just puzzled where you even infer from my question enough to even pose the above quoted line.
And I don't piss on the toilet seat, thanks. I'm a straight shooter. :smokey:
Trumpetman
2004-06-13, 23:40
Woah there, skipper. I'm asking whether or not I am expected to move furniture, which I am somewhat capable of doing. Have you ever tried to move an eighty inch couch by yourself? It doesn't work out so well. Ergo, I'd like to know if these people help me with that or not. This allows me to determine whether I need to get a friend to come help me beforehand or not. Has nothing to do with me wishing to sit on my ass while these people do whatever magical things it is they do with their cleaning equipment.
God, do all you landlords go to weekend retreats on how to act like bastards? :p I'm just puzzled where you even infer from my question enough to even pose the above quoted line.
And I don't piss on the toilet seat, thanks. I'm a straight shooter. :smokey:
This is the part I was addressing specifically.
He's a tool also. He owns these two condos in this condominium complex, so he doesn't do any cleaning. He just hires someone to like go over the unit when someone moves out and then bitches about how much it cost.
The reality is most tenants don't do much cleaning and they expect the cost associated with the lack of cleaning to be minimal.
As for moving stuff, I do it all the time. I'm not being an ass to you. I'm just laying down the reality that real work requires real money. There is simply too much easy money out there. So if you want a decent job for likely easy money, you definately have to watch, point, and help a bit. There are way to many cleaning crews hitting the yuppie houses once a week for $25-40. There are way to many people who fall for carpet cleaning scams that rip them off for a couple hundred bucks.
If you really want to make your landlord happy, simply ask him who he/she uses and call the person. It is very likely that the person they use is someone who will come in and do a very good job for about $100. (Assuming it is say a 2 bedroom condo) It beats the carpet cleaning special "three rooms for $40" but the special upgrades make it $300" guys. It beats the rent a Rug Doctor and do a suck ass job yourself route.
Most landlords are not asses. They just know the true costs of these things. Plenty of people pick up a weekend paper and think they know it all. (Why did that asshole charge me $100-125 for carpet cleaning when this ad right here says I could have had the job done for $40.) The reality is that real work often costs real money.
Nick
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