How long does pet odor stay in a house?
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Anonymous
OP here. Yes, I know. However, my questions is directed at both pet owners and non pet owners. |
Anonymous
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If it's a urine issue, as others have said, it may never go away. If it's not urine, the smell probably will dissipate, but may take some time. I couldn't stand the smell when we first moved into our house -- not animal-related. I think it was the cleaning solution the previous owners used. They must have used it for decades; I know they lived here for 30 years or so. My husband barely noticed but it bothered me so much I wondered if I'd be able to stay in the house. It took almost a year to fully go away. Even now, four years later, I catch an occasional whiff if we've been away for more than a week. It goes away immediately once we start cooking etc and replacing it with "our" smells.
Bottom line -- if you can't live with the smell, if it makes you sick, you probably shouldn't take the house because you may live with it for quite a while. If it's bothersome but not sickening, and you otherwise love the place and can use some scents or something to cover it up, then it might not be bad. |
Anonymous
Recently moved into a new rental, the pervious tenant smoked and had several cats. The smell was not very pleasant, and the owner found it difficult to rent due to the odor. The landlord reimbursed me for repainting the interior and gave me a break on the rent. A contractor friend told me about a product called Air-ReNu that you mix with the paint. After completing painting, no more smoke or pet odors, Has anyone else used this product? |
Anonymous
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I just moved and the previous tenant had pets and also smoked the; odors were throughout the house. The landlord compensated me for repainting all the interior walls, I added the Air-ReNu paint additive that a friend recommended and thankfully, the house stays smelling fresh no more odors. One application works continually no re-application required. Check it out www.air-renu.com
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Anonymous
| We recently made this mistake, OP. After having the landlord paint, professionally clean all carpets and have the air ducts cleaned, I can still smell the cat piss from the previous tenants every time I walk in my house. I believe the cats probably peed on the hardwoods. It's really irritating and embarrassing when we have company. No amount of cleaning will get rid of the smell. |
Anonymous
| WELL i had my cat for 6 moths now and everytime i come home now i smell cat urine ,this thread helped with tips to gut the carpet out and get new carpert....paint entire home with Air ReNu and soon get new hardwood flooring , plus have my airducts cleaned |
Anonymous
| I would not rent this place. Even wood floors retain animal odors. |
Anonymous
| We were in your boat a few years ago. Found the perfect house to rent, except for the cat odor. I was really worried about it. After previous tenants moved out, the landlord paid to have a deep clean and had walls repainted. I then had my own cleaners come through too. We really scrubbed the hardwoods and kitchen tile. Once we were in with our own furniture and rugs and things had been properly cleaned (paint helped too), there was no more odor. |
Anonymous
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I have two cats and two dogs and rented for a long time with never an issue getting our security deposit back.
- Cat urine is a 100% deal breaker. There's no solution for this except replacing everything the cat urine has touched (subflooring, etc.) - Pet hair gets in the duct work, that has to be cleaned as well - Regular pet smells from dander and fur cling to fabrics and will dissipate once the fabric is out of the living space. Since you have hardwood, I think you're safe. Unless it smells like cat urine, I'd take the house if it's otherwise perfect. Insist on a wet deep clean (mopping, not just vacuuming) and the duct work being cleaned, or pay to do it yourself. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Wet dog smell will go away. Cat or dog urine will never go away. |
Anonymous
| Agree that getting rid of cat urine smell is very difficult. We bought an old house that had carpet on the second floor and we ripped up all of the carpet and padding, washed the subfloor with an odor killing substance (can't remember what exactly) and painted any stained areas on the subfloor with Kilz. That worked, but it was a job. It would be impossible to do if the floor is hardwood (without ripping out the floor). |
Anonymous
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Dog odor tends to abate - even urine if you have the carpets cleaned.
Cat odor never really leaves carpet and the urine is impossible to get out. I can walk into a house that hasn't had cats for years and still smell it. Best you can do is repaint with air renu, new filters in HVAC, shampoo carpets, sand and refinish hardwood. |
Anonymous
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I would not take the risk of renting there, OP.
I can get rid of my dog's odor rapidly by mopping the floors and wiping the walls (snout level and below). However, if there's carpet, it may need to be ripped out. I can't imagine that contaminated ductwork would smell, although perhaps in periods of high humidity, it might? The carpet is the most frequent culprit, and if the cat pees everywhere, it's every piece of upholstery that could be contaminated: cushions, couches, chairs, bedspreads, etc... |
Anonymous
PP again - I agree with the others that cat urine is the WORST. |