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Robert Berg - 03 Sep 2006 03:24 GMT

Not sure if this will get many responses in a health and behavior forum,
but i was wondering if anyone has had a successful experience getting
rid of the smell from cat spray that has been in base molding and wood
flooring for a period of time.
There's a corner in my living room that was repeatedly sprayed by a male
cat that lived in this house a few years ago. I have recently
refinished the hardwood floors, removed the base molding, and noticed
the smell was quite strong from the gap between the flooring and the
bottom of the plaster walls. I'm sure there's quite a bit of the spray
crystals that are still in this space. Outside of removing the bottom of
the plaster and lathe wall and replacing the affected planks of hardwood
floor, is there an effective way to neutralize this smell before
replacing the molding and quarter round?

Thanks in advance to anyone who has had experience with this problem and
takes the time to reply.

bob

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MaryL - 03 Sep 2006 04:05 GMT

> Not sure if this will get many responses in a health and behavior forum,
> but i was wondering if anyone has had a successful experience getting rid
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> bob

My guess is that you will not have much success in *removing* the odor, but
you might be able to *seal* it in. There are a number of enzymatic cleaners
on the market that do a good job of removing odor from carpeting (especially
is used soon after it is soiled), but you are describing an accumulation
that has soaked into the wood. I had a similar problem some years ago after
one of my cats died. She had been ill for some time and urinated in the
same spot over a long period of time (which would not be as bad as spraying
in the same spot on a continual basis because spray from a male cat is
particularly pungent). After Amber died, I had a handyman come in and cut
out that square of carpet and padding, which we discarded and replaced.
There was a section of tack strip that had been saturated over that time,
and he cut that out and replaced it. We also *sealed* the concrete to
ensure that there would not be any odor to attract another cat to the spot.
You might want to post your question to alt.home.repair and see if there is
any way to seal the area (as opposed to neutralizing -- which is probably
impossible) instead of tearing it all out. There are some pretty helpful
people on that group.

Good luck!

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'<
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

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-L. - 03 Sep 2006 08:06 GMT

> Not sure if this will get many responses in a health and behavior forum,
> but i was wondering if anyone has had a successful experience getting
> rid of the smell from cat spray that has been in base molding and wood
> flooring for a period of time.

Do a Google search in this newsgroup for "NODOR" and "ODOKLEEN" - you
will pull some of my old posts. These are two products that *will*
kill the odor in your floor.
-L.

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MaryL - 03 Sep 2006 14:28 GMT

>> Not sure if this will get many responses in a health and behavior forum,
>> but i was wondering if anyone has had a successful experience getting
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> kill the odor in your floor.
> -L.

This is certainly worth trying, but I still suspect that the area will
somehow to be sealed because the OP described a situation where cat spray
has permeated wood flooring and built up under the gap between the flooring
and the plaster walls. It's difficult for any cleaner to reach all of the
spray residue, and it can't simply be rinsed o vacced off because it has
been absorbed by the wood. That type of scent will often return even after
it "seems" to have been cleaned. As I said, it's still worth a try!

MaryL

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Robert Berg - 03 Sep 2006 20:51 GMT

Thanks MaryL and -L. for your input... I also have a sneaking suspicion,
MaryL, that no matter how good the product is I just can't get to the
spray crystals under floor and behind the walls without taking out some
of the framing for the lathe... I'll check the other newsgroup and
approach this problem a little more informed and energized thanks to
your help. Thank you!

bob

>>>Not sure if this will get many responses in a health and behavior forum,
>>>but i was wondering if anyone has had a successful experience getting
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> MaryL

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