Installing new floorboards or restoring your existing hardwood floors is a major investment for your home, and you naturally want them to look great for years to come. One factor that will affect how good your floors look in the long run is the presence of moisture that lead to stains. If you have a puppy or a kitten, you know how challenging it is to keep floors clean, especially in the house training phase. This article will look at practical ways you can implement to ensure your floors remain looking great for years to come, no matter how many puppies and kittens you get. Understanding the different methods available to eliminate stains is essential to maintaining your floors.
You can remove urine by cleaning up fresh accidents quickly, applying baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, and enzymatic cleaners, and refinishing the floor every once and a while if the protective coatings are compromised. While these are effective ways to remove urine from the floor, the most effective solution is prevention through training your pets.
In this article, we’ll look at how to remove urine from hardwood floors, focusing on ways to eliminate stains and odours simultaneously. Read on for everything you need to know about removing urine from your hardwood floors. If you are curious about other types of discolouration on your hardwood floors, read this article.
Clean Up Fresh Accidents Quickly
The key to keeping your hardwood floors looking great is to ensure all accidents are cleaned up as quickly as possible, as it’s easier to remove urine when it’s still fresh. Your goal is to soak up as much as possible with paper towels as soon as the urine is found. After the free urine is completely soaked up, you’ll need to blot the area and use cleaning products to remove any residue also to eliminate odour.
How Baking Soda Can Remove Urine
Baking soda is an excellent option to neutralise odours. With this method, you’ll sprinkle baking soda on the urine spot and leave it for a few minutes. The idea is to not leave it sitting too long because we don’t want the baking soda or any other cleaning agent to penetrate and damage the protective coatings on the wood. Baking soda is one of the best and easiest methods to get your dog to stop urinating in that spot by removing the odour your pet can smell, and they can smell a lot better than we can!
Get Rid of Urine With Hydrogen Peroxide Method
Hydrogen peroxide is another way to handle pet urine because its primary compound dries the urine from the wood. This prevents it from soaking through, where it can leave bacteria in the cracks and cause damage later on. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidiser, which means it will neutralise the ammonia. It removes the smell and kills the bacteria that can destroy your wood floors if not treated. It must be used and removed the right way to ensure the chemical reaction doesn’t damage the protective coating.
Use White Vinegar To Disinfect and Deodourise
With the white vinegar method, you’ll need to mix one cup of vinegar with a bucket of water. Using this water, scrub the affected area, and, while you’re at it, you can also clean the rest of your floor with it. Vinegar is a good choice because of its disinfectant and deodourising capabilities. You can also add a couple of drops of grapefruit oil to the water to add a gentle fragrance to your floors. As with the baking soda, best not to leave it to soak to remove odour, more of a spot clean method.
Use Enzymatic Cleaners To Eliminate Odours and Stains
The best way to tackle pet urine is by using all-natural enzymatic cleaners. These cleaners are made from natural enzymes, which makes them capable of fully neutralising urine and completely removing it from the wood. Sometimes the treatments must be repeated multiple times to be effective.
Hiring a Hardwood Flooring Contractor for Repairs
When all else fails, and you cannot get the stains out of your hardwood floors, it may be time to call a professional. You can inquire about the particular problem spot or refinish the entire floor for a uniform new look, which is generally recommended. Whichever option you choose, leave it up to the professionals, as it’s not an easily done DIY task, it is loud and messy. Reach out to us for an honest, local Gold Coast floor sanding company. Find out more about the cost to restore your timber floors or give us a call for an accurate quote.
Prevention Is the Best Plan
Training your puppy or kitten to relieve themselves in the correct place is critical to preventing urine stains and odours on your floors as well as helping you enjoy actually having a pet. Until then, it’s essential to remove all traces of their urine every time they have an accident. As cats will take care of themselves, if you place your dog on a schedule, it will be more likely to have a regular time it needs to go.
Final Thoughts
The primary goal when dealing with urine is ensuring you act quickly. If you’re there when it happens, it’s the perfect time to ensure you get it all out of the wood. The drier you find it, the harder the odour and stain will be to eliminate.
With several options to clean urine stains and odours from your floor, you’ll need to use the most effective option for your situation. If you have never tried anything, try baking soda, but if you’ve tried it all, it’s time for refinishing.
Like with most things, prevention is the best plan for eliminating urine in your hardwood flooring. If your pets are trained to go in the right place at all times, these accidents are less likely to happen, meaning less work for you and your wallet.
