Remove Urine Odor from Concrete

Removing heavy urine contamination and odor from concrete floors can be easy provided that you use the correct products and procedures.

Steps

 * 1)  Choose a good cleaning mechanism. Even if there is a floor drain, using a shop-vac, carpet cleaning machine or water-tolerant vacuum cleaner like a Rainbow will improve your results and reduce the effort considerably. Sponge mops and squeegees will work, but not nearly as well.
 * 2)  Choose the right cleaning product. The very best cleaning product to use is TSP (tri sodium phosphate, not the substitute). Other acceptable cleaners are Simple Green, or laundry detergent. Mix the cleaning product as per the instructions and apply it to a 8'x 10' section of floor. Spread it around with a stiff bristle floor brush or broom. If area begins to dry out, add more mixture. After 3 to 5 minutes, remove the spent cleaner and rinse with fresh water once or twice. The goal here is to open the pores of the concrete, which, despite its hard appearance is very porous, and remove as much of the urine residue as possible. Trying to do very large areas to save time generally makes the contaminated area larger and more difficult to treat.
 * 3)  Allow the cleaned area to dry naturally over night, without fans. The next day inspect the area for white powder and if found, take note of the exact area. Vacuum up the powder and re-wash the area as described above. The area(s) where the powder is found is/are heavily contaminated and will need special attention later.
 * 4)  Use a clean deck or yard sprayer; to spray a maximum 4' x 10' area of floor with a mixture of 4 ounces of OdorXit Concentrate, 12 ounces of Hoover or Dirt Devil Carpet cleaner, and water to make a gallon of mixture. Spray enough mixture on the concrete to cause the mixture to be standing on the surface for 10 minutes. When an area appears to be drying out, apply more mixture. Pay close attention to any area that had the white powder earlier. The concrete should be absorbing the mixture readily. If it is not, more aggressive cleaning may be necessary. Repeat this procedure for each section of the floor and allow all sections to dry naturally.
 * 5)  Check to see if you need to apply it again. Normally, one application will be completely successful, but there are situations with very heavy contamination that may need a second treatment.

Tips

 * Cleaning excrement-contaminated concrete with a pressure washer can make removing the odor much more difficult, especially if the water from the pressure washer is directed at the concrete at higher than 45 degrees and/or a narrow angle nozzle is used. It actually drives the material causing the odor deeper into the concrete, making it more difficult to get to and neutralize.
 * Used deck and yard sprayers often have residue left in them that will cause the concrete to smell of the products left in the sprayer.
 * Wood that is nailed to the floor and wooden steps may need special attention because urine contamination tends to collect between the wood and the concrete.
 * Often, when cleaning and/or deodorizing concrete, small bubbles will appear in the liquid in the floor. The bubbles are filled with mercaptan gas (the stuff that causes the odor). If there is a continuing odor problem, the areas where the bubbles came from are the areas where the problem resides.

Warnings

 * Attempting to seal odors into concrete is destined to fail because the gas (odor) being produced will go through most stain sealers or cause the ones that do seal gas in to peel off.

Things You'll Need

 * A Stiff Bristle Broom
 * A clean 1 gallon deck or yard sprayer
 * A water-tolerant vacuum cleaner
 * 4 ounces of OdorXit Concentrate per 250 sq ft of floor
 * 1 cup of TSP per 200 sq ft of floor
 * 12 ounces of Hoover or Dirt Devil Carpet per 250 sq ft of floor

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Remove Pet Urine from Carpet
 * How to Get Rid of Unpleasant Smells
 * How to Remove a Lingering Curry Odor
 * How to Find the Source of a Bad Odor in a Car
 * How to Get Rid of Foot Odor

Sources and Citations

 * Local sources for OdorXit - Includes contacts for retail outlets for OdorXit concentrate