Most probably, you’re reading this article because you’ve got a new pet, and you don’t know yet how to clean the dog urine properly from your wooden floor. This may happen even to an adult and especially an aging dog if you couldn’t take it out for a long time: it had no choice but to pee on your floor, don’t be angry at it. Your task is to get rid of the smell and possible spots. Let’s see what you’ve got in the household…
How to Clean Dog Urine With Commercial Cleaner
Hm, yeah, that might sound too obvious but, perhaps, the best option would be to buy the special cleaner. If you just got a new little pet, it is a good idea to supply yourselves with useful stuff to save time and energy. However, if you’re just taking care of your neighbor’s dog for a couple of days, you can look for more simple methods out of the stuff you’ve got at home.
These cleaners don’t have ammonia or bleach in their formula. That means you can safely use the cleaning agent without fear of discoloration and warping of the flooring. They are also safe for the health of you, your pets, and kids.
The agent of the cleaners are enzymes that are the best solution to tackle the stain and eliminate the odor. You can apply the detergent right after getting rid of a puddle or after the previous cleaning with baking soda or vinegar. Still, a personal piece of advice is to use as little of detergent as it is enough to get a satisfactory result.
How to Clean Dog Urine With Vinegar
You’ve got both of them in the household for sure, as you might use vinegar and soda in cooking, baking, and cleaning. The solution of vinegar, baking soda, and soap can help you get rid of old greasy spots on dishes and countertops, as well as eliminate the smell of urine.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant. That makes it a cheap, all-purpose cleaner. You can mix vinegar with scented oil to clean and mask the odor at the same time. It may work well if you noticed the puddle straight away and the urine hasn’t been soaked deep in the wood yet.
How to Clean Dog Urine With Hydrogen Peroxide
You do have it in the first aid kit. Personally, it is not the best way to eliminate the odor as the reaction of the wood floor with hydrogen peroxide may result in the discoloration of the flooring.
If you are ready to make sacrifices and refinish the wood (it would be easier to go and buy commercial cleaner), wipe the stain with hydrogen peroxide and check if that helped.
Usually, dog urine stinks not as much as cat urine, and the odor can be eliminated quickly. If that was not the case, soak a tissue and leave it on the strain for a few hours.
Check it from time to time, as you wouldn’t like to keep a tissue for too long: the decoloration effect will get worse with time. Remove the tissue with hydrogen peroxide as soon as you’re satisfied with the result.
How to Clean Dog Urine With Baking Soda
You can use it the whole other way, not only in the mix with vinegar. Sprinkle the baking soda all over the strain and let it soak the urine and the smell. Vacuum the soda and check if the wood is still damp. If yes, repeat the steps until the odor and urine are all gone.
Though, I find it may not work quite as good as the thorough cleaning of the place, as some urine particles may get soaked deep in the wood, depending on what type of wood floor you have. Thus, you can sprinkle baking soda to get rid of damp left after cleaning with other solutions, like vinegar, peroxide, or enzymes.
How to Clean Dog Urine With Scented Oils
Sometimes I feel paranoic after cleaning the dog urine. I think that I might get used to the odor while cleaning, and thus I don’t smell it anymore, but guests might smell urine all over my place. In this case, I use scented oil that will definitely mask the odor (and will calm down my imagination). You can add it right to the solutions with vinegar or spray it afterward.
How to Clean Dog Urine General Tips
The earlier you start cleaning, the better, as stains can set on the wood floor, leaving dark spots and odor, not possible to eliminate anymore. Such a situation might require you to apply much more chemicals with the expected negative effect on the flooring.
Even though the enzyme cleaners are considered to be the most favorable solution to clean wood floors, not the agent itself, but excessive moisture might lead to warping. Whatever solution you use, scrub the flooring properly: it is not that kind of stain that might go off by itself with time.
Properly eliminating the odor is going to help you twice: don’t forget that dogs tend to repeatedly urinate in the same place. It is their way to mark the territory, make something new, like a carpet, feel more familiar, and it’s their natural bathroom rules.
If you keep cleaning and the dog keeps urinating in the same place, you should work on its behavior and train or retrain the dog (unless the reasons are health problems, which happen pretty often to aging dogs).
And don’t you dare to get angry at the poor dog. Pets are the same little children who need someone to help and look after them. They may get scared if they feel you being mad and shouting. They need a leader to trust, only then pets are going to behave according to your rules.
It is worth saying that if a dog peed occasionally; the smell is going to disappear with some time on its own, especially if you did take some measures to clean it. The problems of constant urine odor may appear if only a dog frequently pees at home.
Thus do find a regular time to take your dog for a walk so that the pet knows when it will pee and can wait for it.
