Posted by Mark on October 26, 2004 at 21:09:18:
This is good advice. The only thing that I would add is to allow it to air out for as long as possible after washing.
Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by Carrie_PA
Posted by Carrie_PA on October 26, 2004 at 13:17:09:
Hello Everyone!
I looked at a house that is being auctioned next Saturday that had 25 cats in it. The smell is absolutly awful! My question is for anyone who has dealt with this, how extreme will we have to go to get rid of the smell completely? Will we have to rip out all the flooring to the joists, plus the baseboards? Or just the flooring and subfloors? It has a newer roof and is structorally great. If this was just for an investment prop I’d pass definatly, but it on a beautiful level four acres which we need cause we have horses and would be moving there. Anyway the house is a little over 1000 sq ft, any guess for a maximum it would cost to gut the house and remodel inside. I am saying it shouldn’t cost more than 30k for the work, what do ya’ll think? We are thinking this place will sell for around 20-25k max, the smell drove most of the people away pretty quick 
It is in a good location, great view. Thanks for your input!
Carrie
OdorXit - Posted by Kathi
Posted by Kathi on November 01, 2004 at 18:01:19:
…available at odorXit.com. Be sure to follow directions. If you have questions, call Marty. His name is on the bottle.
Re: It might be too far gone… - Posted by DaveD (WI)
Posted by DaveD (WI) on October 27, 2004 at 08:20:08:
You may have a no-win situation. I saw on the local TV news not long ago where a house had over 100 cats in it. After condeming the 25 year old house and removing the cats to various shelters, the house sat vacant for six months while the owner wrestled with the problem. Mostly, his solution was to just leave the windows open, irritating all of his neighbors. Maybe the windows were closed and they gagged just the same… I forget.
They collectively put enough pressure on the city to file a raze order. No more house. Happy neighbors.
I’ve used odorxit, kilz, etc. all to good effect. But there is a point of diminishing returns. Your house might just be there.
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by Katharine (OR)
Posted by Katharine (OR) on October 26, 2004 at 23:16:20:
I recently bought a foreclosure house that had pretty bad cat odor. The best thing I found to get rid of the smell was bleach. I have a backpack sprayer (saves a lot of time) that I went thru the house with bleach water a couple times (sprayed floors, walls, you name it…)and the smell was gone. Good luck, Katharine
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by j
Posted by j on October 26, 2004 at 20:50:57:
or Aqua Terra Biochemical called ExodII
both of these products will get rid of the odor.
Use odorxit first and if that fails then use the ExodII
Good Investing
wiremanibew
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by Natalie Smith
Posted by Natalie Smith on October 26, 2004 at 20:47:22:
I’ve used Rehabber’s technique of sealing it in with oil-based Kilz. Don’t get into a rush and lay the carpet immediately, because the smell may come back through in a few days. You may need multiple layers of Kilz in order to really seal it in. I’ve wrestled with eliminating odor from just a few cats. I think the odor from 25 would make me think twice.
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by rehabber
Posted by rehabber on October 26, 2004 at 17:29:04:
I’ve done homes with urine smell before.
If the current flooring is carpet over subfloor -
rip up all the carpeting, then scrub
the plywood subfloor with bleach, trisodium phosphate
and water solution. Let dry, rinse with a water
scrub. Let dry, Then paint the entire subfloor with
a good quality (Kilz Premium) Primer- oil based or
shellac-based (Bin) will probably work best. That
will seal out the smell. Then recarpet.
If current flooring is hardwood - it’s tougher.
Sanding/refinishing the hardwood still may not
block the smell. You may need to do as above
and scrub it, seal with primer, then just carpet
over it. Hate to cover hardwood, but it’s either that
or replace it all.
For the baseboards, ripping up the old ones and
replacing with new ones is the best way to stop any
smell from that source.
Also, try washing the bottom 2-3 feet of the drywall
down (in case the cats sprayed up onto the wall)
then prime.
Good luck.
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by rm
Posted by rm on October 26, 2004 at 16:14:17:
I bought an $1800 ozone machine, did shock treatments over the course of 4-5 days, and the smell is gone entirely…
it’s been 4 weeks now.
Thank You! - Posted by Carrie_PA
Posted by Carrie_PA on October 28, 2004 at 07:08:45:
Thanks for the specific advice! I will try that if we get it. The auction is on Saturday, we’ll see what happens. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.
Carrie
Re: Cats, Cats, Cats!!! - Posted by Keith B.
Posted by Keith B. on October 26, 2004 at 22:50:36:
I completely agree with rehabber on this one. We had a house a while back that had I think 7 cats. We bleached the floors and cleaned the walls twice. After all of that we had to kilz (oil base) two times also to kill the smell. It was on hard wood floors, and it was a lot cheaper, and less labor extensive than sanding and refinishing. Well good luck, and God bless!