Investor · Verona, WI · Member since 2008 · 134 posts · 79 votes
Has anybody dealt with a cat house before? A place that I am tempted to offer on stinks of cat urine. I figure that I would definitely tear out all the carpet flooring and base trim. However, I'm wondering if the subfloor needs to be replaced to get rid of the smell. Or is it possible that it could be sprayed with something, and then coated with a sealing primer?
Real Estate Consultant · Somerville, MA · Member since 2008 · 339 posts · 52 votes
18y
I had a similar problem. You can buy neutralizer at a pet store. It's expensive.
In my case, we had to remove the carpet, the padding, and then tried the odor remover, which didn't work sufficiently. Had to sand, then seal (with polyeurothane) the subfloor in some areas and replace altogether in others. Nasty, nasty, nasty.
The good news is that subfloor isn't too expensive and it's less work than "sand, treat, and seal." I was worried about low level residual smell that other cats/dogs might still detect -- once they start going on one area of the floor, it's very hard to get them to stop. That's why I just replaced a lot of it.
Real Estate Consultant · Somerville, MA · Member since 2008 · 339 posts · 52 votes
18y
Oh, forgot. You'll be able to tell the areas that need replacing when you pull up the carpet and padding because the wood will be deeply stained. I did the sand and seal on most of the rest of the areas, certainly anywhere with a hint of "water damage" on the wood.
You will probably only need to replace a couple subfloor panels per room.
Real Estate Investor · liberty township, OH · Member since 2008 · 149 posts · 6 votes
18y
i do believe that if you go to a pet store they sell some stuff that gets rid of the odor... I personally have never used it, but it might be worth a shot before tearing out sub floors
BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
18y
I had it in a unit with hardwood floors and NOTHING would get rid of the smell. We had to repaint the entire apartment and finally the odors diminished.
Investor · Verona, WI · Member since 2008 · 134 posts · 79 votes
18y
Beachbum, I've heard from others that Kilz works great to seal odors. Do you have personal experience using it on cat urine smells?
Biggerpro, You didn't end up having to remove the hardwood did you? This house actually has hardwood floors in part of the house, but they are covered with padding at carpet. It would be awesome if the hardwood could be refinished once the carpet is pulled up. ...but I have a feeling the hardwood is probably stained and smelly too. It might need to be torn up, or maybe coated in Kilz and then re-carpeted.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
18y
Yes, the oil based Kilz works quite well, you just have to paint EVERYTHING. Clean the areas that you can with TSP and a good stiff brush, then spray it on ...often two coats. It basically seals in the odor. Same thing for fire restorations, gut things out to bare studs and spray it all. Don't leave any old sheet vinyl, or carpet that will hold the odors/smoke particles. Bare wood, heavy dose of Kilz, then move on with rehab. Don't forget the attic too. Over the years I've had 8 or 9 fire restorations of varying degrees, one house with 18 cats, and NO people, I might add...the crazy lady lived in another house up the street! Add a couple DB's, and three in-home refuse stations, I've always had good success with Kilz. Oh yeah, in case you don't know, it also covers crayon and permanent markers so you can paint over without bleeding.
Real Estate Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2008 · 35 posts · 1 vote
18y
Whole-heartedly agreed - Kilz is your best friend.....if it is true hard wood - you do have a choice though.....Start by ripping out the carpet - in a lot of cases - the pad is what is holding a good chunk of the smell....pull the pad & tack strips out - if they are stained....once that's out for a day or so - then you can re-evaluate.....if you're gonna re-carpet - try with the Kilz before replacing the sub floor....you MAY be ok....also - they have a water based Kilz - easier to use than the oil based....JMHO....Thanks - Ken
Contractor · Antioch · Member since 2008 · 22 posts · 0 votes
18y
As a painting contractor I have done extensive work with fire, and water damage, animal/human feces, Kilz is the only thing that works, and that is approved by insurance companies, just remember to reseal any corners or edges that are cut or broken after sealing.
Contractor · Antioch · Member since 2008 · 22 posts · 0 votes
18y
I forgot to add that you should make sure you use original kilz, not the water-base or the interior/exterior brand. And remember to wear a respirator, and have proper ventilation, wicked stuff.
Investor · Verona, WI · Member since 2008 · 134 posts · 79 votes
18y
Thanks for all the tips on the cat smells. I just found out there was an accepted offer on the house (and it wasn't mine). There ended up being 5 offers on this nasty smelly house. Oh well, now I know for next time I run across one of these.
Investor · Verona, WI · Member since 2008 · 134 posts · 79 votes
18y
Well priced REO Rehab properties have been going FAST around here. This is the 5th REO I've offered on in the past 2 months, and all but 1 of them had 3 or more offers.
This house was a case where it had been on the market for 5 weeks with little interest. So, they dropped their price $25,000, and then the investers came rolling in.
Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2008 · 44 posts · 15 votes
18y
I was at a seminar one time, that ended up being a pitch for "coaching", but he spoke of a device that was developed by NASA that removed any odors in just a few hours.
I am researching the .net to find out what it was,
I found a "Cat House" TODAY in my city going for $99,000. Thats a huge discount in these parts.
Check back over the next couple of days, If I have to call the guy I have his contact info somewhere. I got 3 continuing education hours for it, so I can figure it out. I'm on the case.
Investor · Bellefonte, PA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 88 votes
18y
I remember reading at one point that commercial ionizers (ozone generators) are supposed to work. They are way to expensive to purchase but in some areas you may be able to rent them. The ones I was reading about run for two or three days and no one can be in the house while they're running.
Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2008 · 44 posts · 15 votes
18y
Okay, I found it. I have never tried the product for myself but according to Andy Rosas form the Coaching Institute it works great. He offered it as one of his "freebees" during the seminar. Check out this link.
that was a quick search so you might be able to find a better deal somewhere else.
or go to google and search ecoquest. This particular product is the Ozone blaster.
He stated it is dangerous to be around the device while its working, turn it on, and get out, then come back turn it off, and your fowl odor will be gone, for good.
It looks like it costs around $600. According to Andy, you place it in the center of a room, turn it on, and return in a few hours.
I haven't read a whole lot of reivews yet, but If I see a lot of negative stuff, I'll report back.
Specialist · Riverside, CA · Member since 2008 · 382 posts · 72 votes
18y
I picked up a house a few years ago with a concrete foundation. The worst animal smell and conditions I have ever came across. No exageration, the dog urine ate away a metal slider door tract. After ripping out everything so there was nothing left but the drywall we started cleaning.
Kilz-the best paint ever. we coated it 3 times.
Natures miracle - cleand the floors perfect. I put in in a rug doctor and used directly on the floor. Don't tell the local ace hardware.
Sense then I hired a guy that does it for me. If you can find a cleaning service that does commercial they have these huge floor buffers that look like giant SOS pads. works every time.
Real Estate Investor · OK · Member since 2008 · 81 posts · 2 votes
18y
I had a house I was rehabbing once that was exactly like what you describe. Priming the whole place with Kilz oil based primer did the trick! Including the sub floor which was concrete.
I'm about to take possession of a cat house. My main challenge is the crawl space that reeks unbelievably of cat urine.
The crawl space is just under the kitchen, the rest is a full unfinished basement. I think I have to get in there and remove and replace the stinkiest top layer of soil, to start, before trying to neutralize the rest of it. Has anyone had to deal with this before? I read on the Nature's Miracle site that it doesn't work on soil, and I don't know what to do. Thanks.
(The rest of the house is also stinky. Some 'water damage' to laminate flooring on the main floor. There are no carpets in the house.)
Holeymoley, go to a feed store or tack store and buy a bag of Sweet PDZ. It's stall freshener. Spread that on the soil under the house where it is cat stinky.
If you have cat smells under the house, there is a good chance you will have to remove and replace any insulation that the cats came in contact with.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Newington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5 posts · 0 votes
18y
I am in the middle of rehabbing a cat pee house and wish I had taken a match to the place.
A few suggestions based on my experience:
Make sure the cats are gone. After the tenants were evicted at my property, they left their cats. They couldn't get into the house anymore so they stuck around and continued to mark the exterior foundation and deck. Now I have a smelly deck - not so bad except in the humidity.
If the basement concrete is damp, you'll be able to smell the pee when it's humid outside. We cleaned with multiple products and painted the concrete. Most of the time it's OK but in a damp basement when the humidity is high outside, you can smell the basement from above.
When in doubt, tear it out. We left a few areas of sublfloor and sealed with KILZ or something like it, bombed the house, painted every surface and put new flooring - we should have torn out all the subfloors, sprayed the attic and replaced all the heating registers.
Cats also pee on things like the boiler, oil tank, hot water heater - all your mechanicals in the basement. Don't forget to check those, too.