Comments on How to Remove Cat Urine From Hardwood Floors

i agree with gallatea. once the urine has hit the floor that cat knows where he or she uninated at and if you dont either get rid of the animal or stop allowing access to that area it will do it again and again.

In studies - plain simple soap kills bacteria. It doesn't have to say anti-bacterial to be anti-bacterial.

I'm sure the people posting for "odor-nix" are selling it too. In lieu of replacing the subfloor or floor, soap & water & a good dry do wonders - you don't need expensive cleaners. But the cat/dog will definitely still smell where they went.

I'm sure the people posting for "odor-nix" are selling it too. In lieu of replacing the subfloor or floor, soap & water & a good dry do wonders - you don't need expensive cleaners. But the cat/dog will definitely still smell where they went.

Those products that claim to neutralize cat/dog odors don't work, period, they are rip-offs and so many people delude themselves into believing anything that is written on a label (especially when it claims to be a "miracle"). It's the hype of the pet supplies industry - don't believe everything you read. Nothing can truly get rid of the odor including enzymes or vinegar. Replace the wood or subfloor. Your dog/cat will just urinate in the same spot again.

Odor-nix is great for cat urine. It works immediately.

Odor-nix is great for cat urine. It works immediately.

Odor-nix is great for cat urine. It works immediately.

Odor-nix is great for cat urine. It works immediately.

I am so glad that I found this site and took all the recommedations to heart. I had a roommate with 3 dogs and when he moved out I decided to do a lot of painting and pull the wall to wall carpet since I discovered hardwoods under them. The bedroom was beautiful, but when I got to the hall, I could have cried. Huge black stained areas all up and down the hall. The padding from the carpet was gross, and it literally fell apart. So, I bought lots of Hydrogen peroxide and papertowels (thank you Costco) and started pouring the peroxide and covering with the paper towels. I did not sand as the wood grain was fairly open from all of the urine. Well, I am totally amazed. The black is gone, the floor is smooth, it will need to be sanded and stained to match the rest of the floors in the other rooms, but I have brought my hardwoods back to life. Good luck to all who find the same problem.--

but what do u do to prevent the cat from continuing to urinate on that spot after? does anyone know of a good floor covering that could be laid down in the area (vinyl, laminate, ceramic)? my place is a rental and if my landlord discovers this problem, my cat will be out the door for sure!

but what do u do to prevent the cat from continuing to urinate on that spot after? does anyone know of a good floor covering that could be laid down in the area (vinyl, laminate, ceramic)? my place is a rental and if my landlord discovers this problem, my cat will be out the door for sure!

Just tried the hydrogen peroxide (It has been on for 6 hours - about 1/4 a bottle on a towell) and haven't seen any results? Do I need to sand the spot first and then apply the peroxide OR do I just need to be even more patient? Thanks for any help. Pulled carpet up in new home with several black stains that had penetrated the old finish. Thanks again for any help.

Oops, concerning the Zinsser's Bulls Eye Amber colored shellac, I meant to say,"Follow directions and apply a coat, let dry (it dries very quickly)THEN sand lightly..." Sorry - hopefully you didn't try to sand before it dried.

Cat urine on hardwood floors - Do the hydrogen peroxide treatment multiple times - it really helps the black stains on the floor! When you feel the hydrogen peroxide has gone as far as it will go to lighten the stain, then sand the area well. As for restaining, I didn't have the best of luck getting stain to feather in evenly over the sanded area. What worked best for my late 1950's oak floors was Zinsser's Bulls Eye Amber colored shellac. Follow directions and apply a coat, sand lightly, let dry (it dries very quickly) and keep repeating until you get the color you want. If when you reach the desired color, it appears too shiny, just rub lightly with very fine steel wool and that will give the area a more satin finish.

The towels are left on the spots to soak the floor and soak up the stain. By the time they dry, you will see that a lot of the stain has soaked into the paper towels.

cnagele, are you leaving the paper towels there on the spots to soak down, and soak up the stain? Or is the process you explain quite quick with changing towels? We started last night by pouring the peroxide on, and letting it air dry over night.

cnagele, are you leaving the paper towels there on the spots to soak down, and soak up the stain? Or is the process you explain quite quick with changing towels? We started last night by pouring the peroxide on, and letting it air dry over night.

newbee5, not sure - we only stained the peroxide areas, but did blend the stain onto the non-peroxide areas and it worked for us. I guess it depends what is on your floor to begin with. Good Luck!

newbee5, not sure - we only stained the peroxide areas, but did blend the stain onto the non-peroxide areas and it worked for us. I guess it depends what is on your floor to begin with. Good Luck!

Hi, we had planned to sand, stain and refinish our pet-stained hardwood floors. If I use the peroxide to treat the bad spots, will those peroxide spots then accept the new stain just as the non-peroxided spots? In the end, I will end up with an even looking newly applied stained floor? All comments appreciated!!

Hi, we had planned to sand, stain and refinish our pet-stained hardwood floors. If I use the peroxide to treat the bad spots, will those peroxide spots then accept the new stain just as the non-peroxided spots? In the end, I will end up with an even looking newly applied stained floor? All comments appreciated!!

I am so glad I came upon this site. By way of background, we had a older cat that started urinating on the wall to wall carpets in the living/dining rooms. By the time we realized, she had done a lot of damage. We purchased a large rug shampooer, various Febreeze treatments, used white vinegar, and finally we decided to pull the rugs up. Underneath we found a beautiful, mellow wooden floor - which stunk like cat pee and was black in a lot of places. We found this site, took some of the suggestions and now offer what worked for us. By the way, the floor is spectacular. Here goes: White vinegar by the gallon - pour it on every urine spot. It bubbled and foamed and we took a putty knife and carefully scraped it off. It took 2 or 3 treatments, but the smell was gone and the black was lessened. Then, the hydrogen proxide. Buy it by the dozen in your local dollar store. We poured it on and covered with paper towels. As it sucked up the dark spots, we would put more on and change the towels. When it was finally smell free and the black spots were bleached out, we sanded. I tried best I could to match the rest of the floor and gently stained the bleached out portions with oil based stain. Not too dark, but enough to make it blend in. Then, Varathane satin oil based finish. Our floors were beautiful old mellowed floors that had been covered by carpeting, so it was just trying to match what we already had. Good luck - this is one hard job that's worth every minute of your time!