Felines have strong, concentrated urine. If your cat has an accident in certain areas of your household, such as on flooring, furniture, and linen, it will smell quite bad, even after you clean it up. After a while, the bacteria in the urine will decompose and give off an odor characteristic of stale ammonia. This stink is potent and difficult to remove.
So, we compiled a list of the best home remedies and other solutions to remove old cat urine odors from clothes, flooring, furniture, carpets, and walls. The ingredients for many of these odor-neutralizing solutions can likely be found in your home, and they are practically guaranteed to work!
How to Get Rid of Old Cat Urine Odor
1. Enzyme Cleaning Spray
The easiest way to get rid of old cat pee smells is to use a good enzyme cleaner. This product is specifically designed to quickly remove cat odors and stains using enzymes.
Our Favorite Product
Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray is our favorite all-purpose cleaner for pet messes. It permanently lifts the very worst stains and odors, making clean up and accident prevention breeze. Hepper offers a 100% guarantee, which is a great bonus! Learn more about it here.
- ADVANCED ENZYMATIC CLEANER - Penetrates the most stubborn smells and stains at the deepest molecular...
- FOR ANY MESS, ON ANY SURFACE - This pet odor eliminator cleans your carpets, floors, furniture,...
- FRESH, NATURAL ODOR - Our unique formulation doesn't rely on dangerous or unpleasant chemical...
At PangoVet, we’ve admired Hepper for many years, and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding products of this cool cat company!
2. White Vinegar and Water Cleanser
| Ingredients: | Vinegar and water |
| Saturation time: | 30 minutes |
| Target cleaning area: | Carpet and upholstered furniture |
Make a solution with 50% white vinegar and 50% water in a spray bottle. The acidity of the vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in cat urine. Saturate all the areas that smell of old cat urine with this solution, and let it sit for 30 minutes to fully neutralize the odors. After you have let the solution sit, soak up the excess moisture with a paper towel. If any trace of the old cat urine remains, respray the area and let it air dry overnight. Note that for some people, vinegar itself has a disagreeable odor, and it can also make the pee smell worse.
- Neutralizes ammonia in urine
- Does not lift or stain furniture
- Can be reapplied
- Leaves a vinegary smell for a few days
3. Baking Soda Rinse
| Ingredients: | Bicarbonate of soda |
| Saturation time: | Overnight |
| Target cleaning area: | Carpet, furniture, clothes |
Sprinkle a scoop of baking soda over the affected area, or add a heaped scoop of baking soda to any linen and clothing that you’re washing that has an old cat urine smell. For stubborn stinks, you can mist water over the baking soda to enable it to soak up the odor on furniture and carpets. Sodium bicarbonate (the main component of baking soda) is excellent at neutralizing and absorbing potent cat urine odors.
- Can be added to water or used dry
- Absorbs cat urine odors
- Can be added to the washing machine for linen and clothes
- Must be vacuumed up afterward
4. Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda Wash
| Ingredients: | Apple cider vinegar and baking soda |
| Saturation time: | 30-minute cold wash or on affected area for 15 minutes |
| Target cleaning area: | Linen, clothing, carpets, flooring, walls, furniture |
Apple cider vinegar is great at removing odors of cat urine from linen and clothes once it has been added to the washing machine with an enzyme-based detergent. This is a gentle form of cleaner that can be found in the baking section of most grocery stores. It does not leave a potent vinegar smell like white vinegar does, and it can be combined with baking soda to effectively neutralize stubborn old cat urine odors. You can also spray a solution of baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and water over affected areas. It is gentle enough to be used on walls and furniture without bleaching fabric or damaging paint. Note that for some people, vinegar can worsen the pee smell.
- Can be used in a cold wash
- Able to be used in a spray solution over affected areas
- Gentle enough to be used on walls and wooden floors
- Combination of apple cider vinegar and baking soda can bleach fabrics
5. Hydrogen Peroxide and Water
| Ingredients: | Hydrogen peroxide and water |
| Saturation time: | 20 minutes |
| Target cleaning area: | Floors, furniture, clothing, linen |
Hydrogen peroxide and water work to eliminate cat urine odor on hardwood flooring, clothing, linen, and furniture without delicate fabrics. If you choose to use this solution on hardwood flooring, a concentration of 5% hydrogen peroxide in a cup of water can be sprayed on the flooring and left to saturate for 20 minutes. A less concentrated amount of hydrogen peroxide and water can be used on furniture, linen, and clothing to prevent damage to the fabrics. You can also add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the solution to make it even more effective.
- Short saturation time
- Effective at removing stubborn cat urine smell
- Baking soda can be added to the solution
- Highly concentrated solutions may bleach fabrics
6. Mouthwash and Water
| Ingredients: | Alcohol-based mouthwash and water |
| Saturation time: | 1–2 hours |
| Target cleaning area: | Furniture, flooring, carpets, walls |
Any alcohol-based mouthwash will work for this method. Use a discarded spray bottle, and add two parts water combined with one part mouthwash (such as Listerine). Apply a few spritzes to the affected area, and let it sit for an hour or two maximum. Not only will this method remove stubborn old cat urine odors, but it will also leave a refreshing smell. You can combine the solution with 2 teaspoons of baking soda to thoroughly remove any odors.
- Leaves a refreshing smell
- Works to remove stubborn urine smells and stains
- Absorbs cat urine odors
- Colorful mouthwash may stain fabrics
Conclusion
When we think about cleaning old cat urine, we may initially reach for bleach and ammonia products. However, these are not the types of cleaning agents that you should be using when ridding your home of old cat urine odors.
Instead of using ammonia-based cleaning agents that will do the opposite of removing cat urine smell and instead entice your pet to pee in the area again, you’ll want to use enzyme-based cleaners (homemade or storebought) for the removal of old urine odors. These solutions are easy to make and can be stored and used again if you find that the odor has returned.
Related Reads:
- How to Find Hidden Cat Pee and Get Rid of the Smell
- Why Does My Cat Pee on My Clothes?
- How to Get Cat Urine Smell & Stains Out of Leather Boots
- Why Does My Cat Pee on My Couch
Featured Image Credit: Yongyut Hemsa, Shutterstock
