If you own cats and need some practical advice on how to get rid of cat smell in the house, you’ve come to the right place. It is impossible to avoid the stench while owning a pet.
Thankfully, several effective ways exist to eliminate the cat smell in the house and transform your house into a fragrant oasis.
How to Prevent Cat Smells?
Avoiding cat smells in the first place is the greatest method to prevent them from filling your home.
Maintain a clean litter box and add baking soda to aid odor absorption.
If your cat is experiencing urinary stress issues or continuously throwing hairballs all over your home, consider switching to a diet that helps prevent hairballs and urine troubles.
Body fluids may cause most animal odors in your house, but it’s also crucial to avoid letting cat hair accumulate since this may also cause cat odor.
Spray the area with a fabric softener and water mixture to quickly remove cat hair from the upholstery.
Collect the cat fur after spraying the area using rubber gloves that have been moistened.
Once your house smells clean and fresh, you can maintain it by giving your cat nutritious meals, a tidy litter box, and regular brushing.
To avoid making the situation worse, make sure that any temporary fixes you apply, such as air fresheners, are safe for pets.
Why is Cat Urine So Potent?
Cat urine contains uric acid, which may remain in carpets, textiles, and wood for years.
Even while hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, vinegar, and soap might temporarily mask the smell, a humid day can cause the uric acid to recrystallize, bringing back the cat odor.
After soaking the carpet or materials in an enzyme cleanser, it is necessary to let the affected areas air dry.
Enzymes break down the uric acid into gases, which naturally dry up and dissipate, leaving your carpet and clothing smelling brand-new.
You can get enzyme cleaning products at most supermarkets and on the Internet.
How to Get Rid of Cat Smell in the House?
Regular Vacuuming
Vacuuming your house often is usually a smart method for getting rid of cat smell in the house if you want to keep odors to a minimum.
If not frequently vacuumed, the hair, dirt, dander, and other materials that cats leave behind will gather.
If regular cleaning is postponed, these odors will naturally develop and become harder to eliminate.
Vacuuming is always a good idea, and it is advised that everyone, whether they have pets or not, maintains a regular schedule for this task to keep their house clean. However, vacuuming by itself won’t eliminate cat pee odors.
Baking Soda
Baking soda has unrivaled effectiveness as an odor neutralizer. It is a common ingredient in commercial deodorizers because it is quite effective.
In addition to being efficient, baking soda is also safe, making it the ideal odor remover for homes with cats.
To eliminate persistent odors, sprinkle baking soda on the carpet or furniture, let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and then vacuum it up.
You may also use baking soda to eliminate stronger odors like cat urine.
In this situation, it may be sprayed on the afflicted region after being combined with white vinegar (or water) and shaken. You may repeat this step several times to eliminate the urine smell.
Carpet Cleaner
If you have pets, buying carpet cleaners is not a terrible investment. Stains and smells will always occur when you live with any animal. It never hurts to have a powerful cleaning tool on hand.
Carpet cleaners have special tools that allow them to reach deep into the carpet pile and shampoo it completely. They may be dragged out for regular or as-needed spot cleaning.
Even more compact versions are available for car usage and spot cleaning. They are a big help in removing cat smell in the house.
Redo the Floors
There may be bad moments from time to time when you might need to replace the flooring in the house. Odor sometimes seeps into the subflooring.
Many landlords encounter this scenario when they have pet-owning tenants who are often permitted to relieve themselves on the floor without any attempt to clean it up.
This is also evident when new homeowners must make certain home improvements to repair it.
Regular cleaning is essential to avoid instances where the whole floor has to be ripped up and rebuilt, as cat scents left to linger for an extended period are difficult to remove.
Although this is an extremely costly solution, there are situations when it is the only viable one.
There are ways to reduce expenses, such as installing the flooring yourself or looking for discounts and promotions on individual flooring parts.
Vinegar
When it comes to getting rid of cat smell in the house, vinegar’s acidic properties might be your best friend.
Although vinegar has a strong scent, it is worth it since it may eliminate pungent cat smells.
Another risk-free and all-natural alternative to harsher chemical cleansers is this.
Use equal quantities of vinegar and water in a spray bottle to combine white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, then spray the solution over the affected area.
Wipe away the solution with a paper towel or cleaning cloth, then do it again until the offensive smell is gone.
The vinegar solution may add baking soda for an even stronger mixture with an odor-neutralizing boost.
Seek Professional Help
Bringing in professionals is another method of removing cat smells in the house.
Professional cleaners will arrive with their top-notch tools and knowledge to assist you in achieving your cleaning goals.
Although using a professional cleaning service might be pricey, it is an excellent way to start.
Enzymatic Cleaners
Look for enzymatic cleansers in the cleaning section of your local shop.
Since they may break down ammonia, sulfur, and other chemicals in cat pee, vomit, and even feces, these cleansers are efficient against urine smells.
Please verify that the surface you need to clean suits these cleansers before using them.
The strong chemicals in enzymatic cleansers are necessary to break down the compounds responsible for the most unpleasant, persistent odors.
They will be packaged with detailed instructions and a warning label for safe and efficient usage.
Just ensure that your cats, other pets, and any children living in the home are kept out of reach from these products.
Routinely Wash Anything Your Cat Lays on
Another method of getting rid of cat smell in the house is regularly washing whatever your cat comes in contact with.
This includes your furniture, bedding, pillows, blankets, and everything else they can handle.
If you continue to wash your clothes, smells will sometimes occur but not increase.
The usual advice is to wash these things on the cold cycle at least once every three weeks.
Additionally, by keeping all surfaces clean, odors won’t linger on items like tables and counters, and less extra hair and dander won’t end up on carpets and furniture.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is another widely used odor remover. This multipurpose solvent has many applications, including removing stains and deeply ingrained odors.
Additionally, products using hydrogen peroxide may successfully remove urine stains and smells.
Without using bleach, hydrogen peroxide may help remove stains and discoloration while destroying the germs that cause odors.
When using cloth, it is crucial to exercise caution, as permanent staining may occur if the solution is left on for too long or is not diluted correctly.
Conclusion
Odors are an inevitable aspect of having a pet, especially cats. Despite being tidy freaks, cats can leave unpleasant odors behind.
However, there are quick and easy ways to eliminate the cat smell in the house.
Don’t forget, though, that it’s also your duty to determine the source of these smells; for instance, if your cat is routinely peeing outside its litter box, it’s time to see the doctor.
