How to Remove Pet Stains From a Sanded Hardwood Floor

Pet urine can leave black and unsightly stains on hardwood floors and sometimes the only way to get out stubborn stains is to sand the wood. Whether you've sanded your hardwood floors to remove pet urine stains or your pet had an accident after you finished sanding the floors, there are a few simple things you can do to repair the damage. Follow these steps for cleaning up, drying out and removing the stains.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Dry cloths
• Kitty litter
• Plastic wrap

1. If the area is still wet, don't immediately try to mop it with soap and water or cleaning products. The dampness from these methods will actually help the urine seep even deeper into the unfinished wood.

2. Pour some clumping cat litter on the spot and give it time to pull the urine up out of the wood. Clean up and reapply fresh litter until it no longer picks up moisture. If you don't have litter, use a dry cloth to blot up as much of the mess as you can. Follow that with fresh dry cloths pressed against the wood.

3. After you've removed as much of the surface moisture as you can, it's time to tackle the stain. Pet urine stains often cause the hardwood to turn black. If this is the case, you can use regular household hydrogen peroxide on the stain.

4. First, test a few drops of hydrogen peroxide mixed with a little water on a part of the stain. Give the peroxide time to work - overnight if possible - then check to see if it has faded the stain. If it didn't do much to lighten the stain, you'll want to use it full strength. If it did, make a larger batch of the peroxide/water mix.

5. Pour the undiluted hydrogen peroxide or the mixture on the stained area. Soak several clean cloths in the liquid and place them over the stain, then cover those with plastic wrap. Weigh down the plastic and the cloths so they get good contact with the floor. If the stain is very dark or very old, you may want to let the area soak overnight. You can lift up areas to check the progress without harming anything. For deep or dark stains, you can repeat the process.

6. The hydrogen peroxide solution should fade most or all of the stain out of the wood. If you still have discoloration after the area has dried, you'll usually be able to easily sand the rest of it away.

7. If you are resurfacing the hardwood floor, you can choose a wood stain that's slightly darker than the pet stain to finish covering it up completely. Only if the boards are stained very deeply or all the way through will they need to be pulled up and replaced.

Tips & Warnings

• When you stain and seal your sanded floors there should be no problem with urine odor. If you won't be finishing them for awhile and a pet still have access to area, you should apply an enzyme solution (like Urine Gone or Nature's Miracle) to kill the odor and keep your pet from returning to the spot.
• Test a small area of your hardwood floor with the peroxide before applying it to the entire stain.
• Dark woods can be "bleached out" by the peroxide - be careful.

[carpetcleaning]

on 5/28/2009 This is really great! I appreciate it when experts share their wisdom for the greater good. In regards to cleaning pet stains, we mainly focus on carpet. You can see our 4-Step Pet Stain Removal process here: http://www.ameracleanaz.com/pet-stain-removal.html. I'll be sure to pass your article on to my techs.

[Mindee94]

on 5/28/2009 Great tips! Definitely better than replacing the floor. Thanks for the easy directions and pointers.