Cleaning up 'Little Accidents'...

[Mark]

I find that as long as I wash at 60 the smell comes out, its when things HAVE to be washed at lower  temp that the smell doesn't come out ...
So I might add some RX66 as see if it works

Gotta be honest, it's really getting Me down and I can totally understand how people will get rid of a cat that is doing this (Mine's going no-where though)

Have you tried the powdered oxygen bleach? - you don't have to get the branded one - the one from Wilko's is fine - it is really good at deodorizing. Just what I learned in Bilogy a couple of years ago - it is the proteins that the enzymes break down into harmless components - water, carbon dioxide & something else (I can't remember  ) each enzyme is unique for a certain protein. I spoke to the owner at Xeria who make RX66 - I think he said there are 7 different enzymes in their one, so it breaks down cat, dog, human, rat, mouse & something else.

I think it would be too watered down if you added it to a wash. Around 40 degrees is the optimum temperature for enzymes to work (ie mammalian body temperatures) - the lower the temperature, the slower they work but if they get too hot, they are destroyed.

I know exactly how you feel  - Our house stank of cat wee with Willow - she destroyed carpets, curtains etc. We had to have the carpet and underlay taken up in the basement and replaced with a wood floor - there is a dark area in one corner where she was still weeing and it got underneath. It cost £5000 to do as well 

I don't want to scare you, but has he had full bloods done lately? - We had Willow's urine tested on a regular basis but it always came back clear. It wasn't until she crashed the easter before last that CRF was diagnosed. I am convinced it was CRF that made her do it as she virtually stopped once she was on meds - although it might have something to do with the fact that Fortekor makes them a bit dopey.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Aww Michelle 


If medical conditions have been ruled out have you tried Feliway? Lu is not a 'wee-er' but he's a different cat with one plugged in, so much more confident and happier 

Nothing medical wrong with him.....He's just a dirty butter Helen, !
Always has been right from a kitten, although its getting worse now he is an old boy (he's 15)
But I might try a Feliway xx

[Tiggy's Mum]

Aww Michelle 

If you're going to spray it on stuff that needs to be washed you'll need to leave it for several hours (covered in plastic to prevernt drying) before you wash it so the enzymes can 'eat' the bacteria.

If medical conditions have been ruled out have you tried Feliway? Lu is not a 'wee-er' but he's a different cat with one plugged in, so much more confident and happier 

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

I find that as long as I wash at 60 the smell comes out, its when things HAVE to be washed at lower  temp that the smell doesn't come out ...
So I might add some RX66 as see if it works

Gotta be honest, it's really getting Me down and I can totally understand how people will get rid of a cat that is doing this (Mine's going no-where though)

[Mark]

If it was me, I would damp the clothes before spraying. I wouldn't bother using it on things that go in the washing machine as the smell will come out anyway? - Wool might be a problem as you can't use bio powder or really hot water. When Willow peed on clothes, depending on what they were, I would use bio powder and oxy bleach powder as that is really good at getting rid of smells. Bear in mind that enzymes start to denature (go out of shape and so don't work) once the temperature goes over 40 degrees. With towels, I used to just put them in a hot wash. I only used the RX66 for things like carpets & curtains.

Mainly because of Clapton's skin, I only use non-bio powder at 60 or 75 degrees for bedding & towels and no fabric conditioner. Asda non-bio tablets smell nice anyway 

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

The RX66 arrived the other day....I've used it once and sprayed it straight from the bottle onto the pee !

Do you reckon it could be spayed on clothes that have been pissed on ? (clothes then put in machine ....or even some added to the machine )

[Janet1]

After cleaning with biological washing powder I sprinkle bicarb over every area, takes the smell away. Leave down for as long as possible before sweeping or vacuum away.

Best cat litter for absorbing odour has to be Purr and Simple, not cheap but lasts ages and for once no one is complaining about the litter trays!!

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Basically you need something with biological action in it to break down the enzymes. We used to have a cat with persistant probs and my CP branch leader recommended biological washing liquid with hot water- it does the job better than any expensive products I have tried (and trust me, that's many!!!). It's cheap and effective. Plus smells nice on the carpet.

[Mark]

I swear by Urine Off - it smells nice and really works

I did try it once and it seemed to work, but it was the warning that made me nervous - I can't remember the exact wording but it was something along the lines of keeping away from children & pets  - From what I remember, they claimed it also had something in it to prevent reoffending?

btw - the one from PAH that I think smells cloyingly sweet is called simple solution. I think at one point, I used so much of it, my brain associates the smell with cat wee  - pretty much the same way that cheap air freshener reminds me of recently used toilets 

I Also have the urine-off UV lamp. We had to get rid of a lot of our carpets in the end as Willow never stopped peeing in random places.

[sheryl]

I swear by Urine Off - it smells nice and really works

[Mark]

And where there are corners there are joints - between the ends of the skirting boards, between the bottom of the skirting boards and the floor/carpet, at the top of the skirtingboard where it joins the wall ... You will need to spray fairly comprehensively in those areas to ensure the cleaner goes down between the surfaces because you can be sure the wee did ...

I remember reading somewhere that if there is a stain on a carpet, it is likely to have spread to at least double that size underneath.

[Mark]

I had tried most brands before I tried RX66 and it was the only one that really worked for me. There is a cheaper on you can get in PAH but I don't think it works - It also has an overpowering smell of its own that makes me feel 

Willow used to pee everywhere, so I bought the 5L container direct from Xeria + the 500ml one to use as a refill. One thing she peed on was a brand-new sofa OH bought for the study and it worked on that. If you are ordering direct from the manufactuer, which is cheaoer but you need to order a fair amount to justify the postage. Another thing they sell are the microcell pots that you leave in a toilet or near a litter tray - they change the molecular structure of bad smells and leave a nice smell. I bought a bouple of the small ones and each one last a couple of months 

What swayed me to order from them is the fact that they supply hospitals & morgues - so I assumed their stuff must work 

Lottie uses anti-ickypoo and she said that works well too.

http://www.crystalclearpet.com/shop/aip/aip_buy.htm

Urine-off is another one but there was a warning on the bottle which made me a bit nervous. Also it is viscous so probably not much good for carpets. http://www.vetuk.co.uk/veterinary-supplies-hygiene-sterilisation-c-141_268/urine-off-cat-kitten-odour-stain-remover-500ml-spray-p-3320

[Tiggy's Mum]

I was recommended a heavy duty enzyme cleaner by Mark - RX66 Bio-Enzymatic Sub-Surface Odour The link below was the cheapest place to get it from when I bought some a few months ago - £12.45 including free delivery.

http://www.livingiseasy.co.uk/products/cat5/cat204/cat504/XERIA_RX66HS_BIO_ENZYMATIC_STAINING,_FOULING_AND_FOUL_ODOUR_DIGESTER_SPRAY_PLUS_HIGH_PERFORMANCE_AIRX_ODOUR_ELIMINATION_TECHNOLOGY._NATURES_MIRACLE._Seeks_out_and_eliminates__surface_and_sub_surface_fouling,_foul_odours_and_stains._500ml/index.html

Thank you for that Helen (and Mark)
Just ordered some of this as having a nightmare with my old boy pissing everywhere 

Hope it works for you Michelle

[blackcat]

And where there are corners there are joints - between the ends of the skirting boards, between the bottom of the skirting boards and the floor/carpet, at the top of the skirtingboard where it joins the wall ... You will need to spray fairly comprehensively in those areas to ensure the cleaner goes down between the surfaces because you can be sure the wee did ...

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

I was recommended a heavy duty enzyme cleaner by Mark - RX66 Bio-Enzymatic Sub-Surface Odour The link below was the cheapest place to get it from when I bought some a few months ago - £12.45 including free delivery.

http://www.livingiseasy.co.uk/products/cat5/cat204/cat504/XERIA_RX66HS_BIO_ENZYMATIC_STAINING,_FOULING_AND_FOUL_ODOUR_DIGESTER_SPRAY_PLUS_HIGH_PERFORMANCE_AIRX_ODOUR_ELIMINATION_TECHNOLOGY._NATURES_MIRACLE._Seeks_out_and_eliminates__surface_and_sub_surface_fouling,_foul_odours_and_stains._500ml/index.html

Thank you for that Helen (and Mark)
Just ordered some of this as having a nightmare with my old boy pissing everywhere 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

If it's in the corners you might be able to lift the carpet up a bit so that you can apply something directly to the floor?  On the only occasion Jaffa weed behind the tv, I pulled the carpet back so that I could wipe and spray directly onto the floor as well as onto the carpet.  When it's done and dried, it's a good idea to spritz with some surgical spirit as that is good for getting rid of any lingering smells that attract them back (it doesn't smell once it's dried).

[Crysannia]

It was mainly the corners she went for.. silly thing... 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

You definitely need something with enzymes and it sounds like a heavy duty cleaner such as the one Helen suggested would be best.  Make sure it penetrates the carpet - it needs to go wherever the wee has gone so if the wee has soaked through to the underlay and the floor, you need to make sure the cleaner goes that far too.  A spray may not penetrate deep enough.   If you have wooden floorboards underneath the carpet you might have a problem if it's penetrated those - in that case you would be best off taking up the carpet so that you can treat the floor underneath.  Otherwise you may be ok with applying through the carpet.  Bear in mind that it will take a lot of drying if you need to treat a wide area.

[blackcat]

Forgot to mention - if she was peeing persistently, it is possible that it penetrated the floor boards - to get rid of the smell, you too need to penetrate the floorboards. Whether that means lifting the carpet I don't know, you will be the best judge of that. But the lemon juice, or vinegar does need to really saturate the area where the smell is ...

[blackcat]

Chemical deodorisers usually have a fairly strong smell from the point of view of the cat (their smell is much more powerful than ours), so no, I would not recommend using one. According to my little bible of household cleaning instructions, the best option is to wash the surfaces with the juices from half a lemon added to an icecream container of water. Alternately use vinegar instead of the lemon. So you were halfway there - just added too much bicarb (though bicarb and vinegar is very useful in a number of other applications ..)

[Tiggy's Mum]

I was recommended a heavy duty enzyme cleaner by Mark - RX66 Bio-Enzymatic Sub-Surface Odour Digester. I used it on a suitcase (long story!) and it worked  I don't have a sense of smell so asked several willing volunteers to do a sniff test and the smell has completely gone. At first I used a biological washing powder solution (same idea with the enzymes) but was told that it still reeked after I'd cleaned it 

With the RX66 stuff you make up a small amount of diluted solution and spray it on then physically clean the area, you then spray on full strength solution and cover with plastic to prevent drying.

Manufacturers site: http://www.xeria.co.uk/kolist45/1/Full%20Product%20List/26/RX66J.htm

The link below was the cheapest place to get it from when I bought some a few months ago - £12.45 including free delivery.

http://www.livingiseasy.co.uk/products/cat5/cat204/cat504/XERIA_RX66HS_BIO_ENZYMATIC_STAINING,_FOULING_AND_FOUL_ODOUR_DIGESTER_SPRAY_PLUS_HIGH_PERFORMANCE_AIRX_ODOUR_ELIMINATION_TECHNOLOGY._NATURES_MIRACLE._Seeks_out_and_eliminates__surface_and_sub_surface_fouling,_foul_odours_and_stains._500ml/index.html

[Crysannia]

So...When I first got my furrbaby, she came from a friend's landlady, who had rescued three (presumed stolen) 5-6 week old kittens from some teens living in sheltered accomodation.
We had no idea about when she last saw her mum, but one thing was for sure, she was pretty clueless about littertrays!
That was over a year ago now and in the last 8 months especially, she has come on leaps and bounds. No accidents for 6 months and counting (yay Sushi! ).
She only ever really wee'd in one room, our master bedroom, which is the only room with deeppile carpet. We would love to move out of the study and back into the bigger room, but want to clear her smell from the carpet once and for all, especially as we are considering getting cat number 2! :D
We have tried vinegar and bicarb....which mainly seemed to make the carpet smell of vinegar AND wee... and we have left the windows on the latch for months, but to no avail! 

Right THE POINT:
I have heard about chemical deoderisers - industrial ones - and have seen there are some available for home use in spray form. These should break down the smelly protiens in the urine that never really dry out...

...has anyone got any experience using these? Are they safe around small furries? Cana nyone recommend a brand?
THANK YOU:D