Would you still visit with somone with this house problem?

Discussion in 'Other Conversation' started by homeschooler06, Nov 17, 2013.

  1. homeschooler06

    homeschooler06 Active Member

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    Long story short my husband and I have done possibly everything we could in this house to get rid of the urine/spraying smell from my cat. Even an expensive vet visit only to be told that there is nothing we can do about it, there is nothing medically wrong with either cat.
    We are in this rental home (military housing) so we really cannot go into the walls and tear up the whole carpet.

    Anyways I have been waiting for the day to invite new friends over, kids friends over and just people in general. Now my husband says that isn't an option. He wants no one in our house. :(

    The smell isn't like it was, it's very faint and where we are at the one window that I am able to open (rest are solid glass windows) and the door leading to the outside can be open so that helps. Our cats now go outside twice a day and since doing that there have been no more issues. Plus the cat box is out for all to see. It bites but at least she is using the box again.

    My question is would you still come and visit, knowing that the we have done all that we can do in the house? I feel if you are true real friend you would and the others well, just keep you mouth shut and move on.

    I am in a bummed mood about this and it's starting to effect everyone in the house. We cannot seem to move pass this problem in our home. I just want to go and buy a home that way if it ever happens again we can tear into it if need be.

    Thanks for reading.
     
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  3. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    Buy lots of Febreze and invite the neighborhood! Spray all the fabric (curtains, furniture, carpet). Spray any joints like where the baseboard meets the floor (read directions on Febreze first). Open the door and the window, explain that not only do you have bad cats, but *obviously* the last 3 families in the house also had bad cats, and you're dealing with it the best you can. Your husband is apparently used to smelling diesel and open-ocean breezes, so something different is highly annoying.... :)
     
  4. Minthia

    Minthia Active Member

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    There is a product called "Kid's N Pets" that I used when we had a dog that marked everything. I tried all the fancy smancy products that petco and petsmart promised would take away the smell and they didn't work. So When I found this product and it worked I was in LOVE! I bought it at Walmart for around $4 a bottle. I loved that it was cheap too compared to the other stuff I had been buying. I keep it on hand now for when odd smells come up. I also use it in the laundry when I have a load of super stinky clothes.

    As for going to someones house that smells like cat urine...if we were good friends I would. In fact I have a friend that has 10 kids and before they moved to their new house a year ago they lived in a 1500 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom....and it stank. And I mean STANK! She cleaned and tried to keep it smelling nice, but it was an older house and I think with that many people living there...well it just was too small and it didn't help that her boys were super dirty all the time from playing hard. They would drag everything in the house, from dirt, to animals, to things that were unrecognizable. I dealt with it because she is my really good friend. I knew she tried to make is smell better...it just wasn't in the cards. Now that they have moved to a MUCH bigger house it doesn't smell at all, so I know it was cramped quarters that was causing the smell.

    Try Kids N Pets and if it doesn't work (which I highly doubt) then febreeze everything and invite people over!
     
  5. homeschooler06

    homeschooler06 Active Member

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    I have vinegar, baking soda, and lost of scrubbing. I just got Glade with Linen Fresh plug ins. All wood has been washed down with Murphy Oil and Pledge Citrus scent. So far so good.
    I cannot have Frabreeze, bother's me like bleach. The other plugs in make me icky too. It seems the more natural like smells are better for me and if I want a smell that is nice I need to just throw some food in the oven.
     
  6. kbabe1968

    kbabe1968 New Member

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    Before you have someone over, clean the rugs with Nature's Miracle (I think they have a sprinkle/vac one or a spray, dry, vac one). Use Febreeze on other fabrics, burn a candle while folks are visiting - Vanilla is a great scent to absorb odors.

    Sadly, tearing out the rugs might be the only solution (which I totally understand your hands are tied).

    Was it YOUR cat that caused the issue? Or was it residual from other cats in the place?

    My grandmother lived in her house 58 years. It ALWAYS had a cat in it…at least one. In one room we had to tear out the flooring all the way to the crawl space and have it replaced. It did WONDERS for removing the odor. Thankfully it was only in the floorboards and not in the drywall.

    Sorry, I understand how sad/frustrating this can be. And I agree a true friend wouldn't let the smell of your house (especially if you're doing EVERYTHING you can) keep them from visiting!
     
  7. sixcloar

    sixcloar New Member

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    I was going to suggest a plug-in type thing or candle while friends are present.
     
  8. homeschooler06

    homeschooler06 Active Member

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    Just found out that someone else is having the same problem but it's in a child's room and not the living room like us. I think having it in the bedroom is worse than living room. The joys of rentals. 2 years 9 months until we find out if we are going to stay here or move. If we stay we are buying a house :)
    Sadly I think it's in the walls so we will just continue to wash walls down and the linen scent is working for me. No icky tummy feeling :)
     
  9. sloan127

    sloan127 Active Member

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    I would not be able to visit. I have a hard time with any strong odors. I can't use floral scented sprays, burn scented candles, or wear any strongly scented products. It is a pain sometimes. Cat urine smells kill me. When I was a teenager my grandmother's cat got accidently shut up in her car for a few hours. The cat used a box of kleenex like a litter box. The kleenex box was sitting in the back window of the car and we couldn't figure out where the terrible odor was coming from until I reached for a tissue a few days later. It was AWFUL! Once the box was removed and the car aired out, it smelled fine. My sister buys a product called Zero Odor and says it works great. I think she orders if from OVC. I hope you can get rid of the odor soon.
     
  10. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    For various reasons, my DH is particularly fond of Odo-Ban, which we can get at Sam's Club in a huge cheap gallon. Dog smells, cat smells, little boy smells, mildew (popular in the Deep South) -- it pretty much gets rid of it, and doesn't have a loud or lingering smell of its own.
     
  11. MinnieMouse

    MinnieMouse New Member

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    Do the best you can to clean it out. Otherwise invite over those who matter to you. My BFF used to live in a 1000 sq ft house that was built on a slab. AND in that tiny house she had three kids, a husband, a wood stove, and TWO great danes. She was/is a cleaning freak but there is only so much that can be done. She hated to have people over because she was self conscious about it. But I love her and visited a lot anyway. :)
     
  12. cabsmom40

    cabsmom40 Active Member

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    I have visited friends with overwhelming smells of urine in their home and I would again. I don't like, but they probably don't either. It is a hard smell to get rid of.

    My son had a friend over to spend the night and we went to Burger King to eat and so they could play for a while. His friend's jacket smelled like a kitty litter box. I was worried that people would think that he was my child and that I let him go around smelling like that. I tried washing his jacket at home, but it did not help.
     
  13. vantage

    vantage Active Member

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    I bought some stuff from Bed Bath and Beyond called "Zero Odor" it was not cheap, but did a wonder in our stinky car a large spill had occurred and I did not want to wet the car down with a shampoo job just then as weather was too wet to let it dry.

    For the carpet in the house, I would clean the carpets with vinegar water and a touch of dish detergent. If you do not have a carpet cleaner use a shop vac. I used to do the interiors of the cars this way and it works great. Use a spray bottle or a bucket and a big car wash sponge to wet down an area, then use the crevice tool and the shop vac to get the water back up from the carpet.

    If one particular room is the problem, you might consider pulling the carpet up from the walls, rolling it to one side and inspecting the padding. IF the padding is the culprit, you could replace it and re-stuck the carpet. Clean the carpet first so you do not send the nasty stuff into the new padding.

    If you cannot afford padding, Pull carpet back in 1.2 of room and spray the carpet with vinegar then let dry, then buy a ton of armer hammer baking soda and sprinkle it on the padding then put carpet back. COnsider also sprinking it on the carpet then vacuuming later.

    YOu can get the soda in large boxes at hardware and home improvement stores.
     
  14. vantage

    vantage Active Member

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    I found this

    http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Cat-Urine-Smell

    It might be useful for spot treating.

    Also, there used to be a solution that was enzyme based sold for the purpose of dissolving baby stains from nursery laundry. THis product might also be useful for breaking up the "organic
    molecules present in the cat urine.
     
  15. homeschooler06

    homeschooler06 Active Member

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    Updated from my first post -
    My cats seem to love me again. I have given them set hours to go outside which kind of works out, they still prefer to go when THEY want to go but I won't let them.
    I have moved the cat boxes and hutch after scrubbing walls and floor. I found cheapo tables at walmart that go over the cat boxes. Took an old tablecloth that matched the décor of that side of the house and cut, sewed and placed over the tables. People don't see the cat boxes. I now have plants on the table, those plug ins with fresh sent cuz those scented ones I don't like.
    When the cats get that weird look to them, we play with them and that helps.
    I also separated their food dishes and that helped too.

    So while every down and then I think I smell the smell I find nothing, just stinky cat boxes that the kids have to clean out and wash twice a month.
     
  16. boomerang

    boomerang Member

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    We rented a double wide that had a section of carpet that was urine soaked by dogs. I found this recipe online: http://learning2bfrugalavalicous.blogspot.com/2012/03/dog-or-cat-urine-smell-and-stain.html
    Mix together with a wooden spoon until mixture becomes clear and spray/pour where needed. I made gallon buckets of it and soaked the carpet then let air dry. The smell went away.

    And yes id visit and be fine with it. Nobody is perfect and neither are their houses!
     
  17. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Invite people. There will be some who won't even notice it, and others who won't be able to manage. (And the not managing isn't because they don't WANT to, but is actually a physical thing!). Those that are fine will be back, those that have trouble will make an excuse they next time.
     
  18. Emma's#1fan

    Emma's#1fan Active Member

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    If people decided not to return, it isn't because your home isn't perfect. Cat urine can be dangerous to people with asthma.
     
  19. vantage

    vantage Active Member

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    Recently someone I know starting having a huge urine smell in their house when the heat came on. It had been less before that. Turns out a toilet wax seal had gone out and the water was dripping under house onto a AC duct that had old tape sealing it and the nasty water was in that ducting.

    Ducting is cheap and so is that metal tape and toilet seals are 1.29 for the fancy ones.

    I wish yours was that simple to fix. Sigh.
     
  20. CrazyMom

    CrazyMom Banned

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    Is there any way to make a deal with your landlord where you tear up the carpet and replace it with new and split the cost? That way, the landlord gets a perk...things smell better, and your husband calms down about company. You can get brand new carpet at Habitat for Humanity ReStores VERY inexpensively. They're open to the public, no income restriction or anything like that. You just have to hire someone to pick it up and install it. (they often have a list of guys looking for the work)

    I've got two dogs and three cats. For this reason...I have all wood laminate floors with lots of throw rugs. All my critters are too fuzzy to keep carpet clean, I could vacuum twice a day and the hairs still get stuck in there.

    If you have litter box wars at your house...here are some tips from the vet's office:

    1. One pan per cat, plus one. If you have two cats, your house should have three litter pans. Keeps territory disputes from being an issue.

    2. Stick with one kind of cat litter. If you switch it up and try to buy what's on sale (like I like to...lol)...some cats will object and stop using it!

    3. Scoop, Scoop, Scoop! Clean pans twice a day. Cats are prissy and will often refuse a soiled pan.

    4. Always Neuter. If you've ever smelled urine from an intact Tom Cat...it's close to having a skunk in the house...it's SO strong and nasty. Intact Queens have worse urine, too...but not like the Toms.

    5. If one cat is out of the pan...all cats are locked up (in a tiled room, large crate) until they're back in the pan reliably. (This also gives you time to treat the offending spot)

    For odor removal, I like "Urine Eliminator".

    If you have a porch, maybe you can visit on the porch? Or wait for warm weather when you can open a lot of windows with a fan on?

    Baking something in the oven would help...cookies or something. Hot cider on the stove, something aromatic?

    But honestly...the best bet is getting that carpet out. Good Luck:)
     

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