Have you ever tried to clean your dog’s urine in your garage or basement? It’s not really a problem if you are using tiles, but if it’s made from concrete, the foul smell will stay there for a long time. No matter how much you clean it, the smell just won’t go away.
You don’t have to get frustrated because of the smell of urine. We’ll share a few ways how to get dog pee smell out of concrete. Here are some of the simple things that you can do to successfully remove the smell from your concrete floor.
Removing Dog Urine Odor in your Concrete Floor
Concrete is like a sponge as it can actually absorb liquid. This is also the reason why it takes a lot of time to get the stains out of your concrete flooring. Once your dog urinates on your concrete floor and you allowed it to dry, it will bond to the concrete thanks to the uric acid crystals found in the urine.
If your dog pees in an area that is not visible, you can expect that the urine will just disappear in that area and cause a stain. Well, the stain can be removed, but the smell will stay there for a long time.
If you want to remove the odor from your dog’s urine, here are some of the things that you need to know.
Materials:
- Water
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Enzymatic cleaner
- Trisodium Phosphate (TSP)
- Rubber Gloves
- Protective Glasses
- Mop
- Wet or Dry Vacuum
- Hard bristle broom
1. Find the Spot that you Need to Clean
It’s a bit difficult to find the spot where your dog urinated, especially if it has already dried up. Although it’s invisible to the naked eye, using a UV lamp can help you figure out the right spot.
Using a UV lamp can help you find old stains on your concrete floor. Even if you already cleaned the floor many times and there’s no visual sign of urine, UV light can reveal it.
Well, if you don’t want to use a UV lamp or you don’t invest in this kind of tool, you can always clean the entire floor. This is not a bad idea, but it would be extremely time-consuming and tiring, especially if you have a large garage.
2. Clean the Spot Thoroughly
The first thing that you need to do is to completely clean the concrete floor. Since you already used the UV lamp and you already know the areas that you need to clean, you won’t have to clean the whole garage flooring. Remove all the dirt and debris on the spot using a scrub brush.
Use your broom and vacuum to make sure that the surface is very smooth. Remove any kind of furniture that might get damaged by the cleaning products that you are going to use. The best thing to do is to just remove any kind of item in the way.
After clearing the area, use the mop and clean the floor with soap and water. Use warm water when you rinse the spot and make sure that you let it dry completely before you proceed to the next step.
3. Apply Cleaning Solutions to the Area
Once the area is completely dry, the next step is to apply a cleaning solution to the spot. We listed down some of the best cleaning solutions that you can use for odor removal.
- Vinegar and Baking Soda Combination
We’ve seen this combination many times when cleaning anything in the house. It can be used to clean your tiles and you can definitely use it when cleaning concrete flooring. This is an amazing odor eliminator for different types of floors like carpet floorings, concrete surfaces, tiles, and more.
This combination is best used to remove recent urine stains. If the urine stain only happened recently, you can sprinkle some baking soda. Put the vinegar in a spray bottle and spray a small amount on the area. Let it sit there for a couple of hours until the mixture completely dries up.
The acid from the vinegar can neutralize the smell of the urine permanently. However, remember that this only idea for recent stains. If the dog urine smell and the stain have been there for a long time, you will need a tougher cleaning solution.
- Enzymatic Cleaner
For stubborn stains and to completely remove pet urine odor, you need a cleaning solution with enzymes.
Urine has uric crystals. They are not soluble and they clump together as well, especially on porous surfaces so you can’t expect typical cleaning agents like water, soap, baking soda, and vinegar to fully remove them.
If the stain has been there for a long time, it’s time to use an enzyme cleaner. An enzyme-based cleaning material can break down the uric crystals from the concrete and it will detach from the floor.
While this kind of cleaning solution can remove the smell, it only takes a little moisture for it to come back. If some uric acid is still left in the area, a little moisture will allow it to release gas with a strong and nasty smell.
- Trisodium Phosphate (TSP)
If you’ve tried the vinegar and baking soda combination as well as the enzymatic cleaner but the smell still came back, the final cleaning solution that you can use is Trisodium Phosphate (TSP).
This product is extremely powerful when it comes to removing stains and odor. It is often used on heavy-duty cleaning works and it is a cleaning solution used for garages, patios, and concrete floorings. With this type of cleaning solution, you can expect that the odor from your pet’s urine will be no more.
However, this product is not environment-friendly, which is why this is a last resort when cleaning the urine of your pets on your garage floor. This solution might irritate your eyes and skin as well. This is the reason why we asked you to prepare rubber gloves and protective glasses.
4. Let the Cleaning Solution Dry Up
You should start with the vinegar solution and only use the other cleaning solutions if necessary. You need to apply it on the affected space and let it dry up for at least overnight. If you noticed any urine residue and the smell is still there, repeat the process and wait for it to dry again.
You can do this up to 3 times. If it’s not working, use the enzymatic cleaner. You have to do the same process with this type of cleaning solution. If the odor and the stain are still there, use the Trisodium Phosphate and do the same procedure as the other two. Harsh chemicals should be a last resort.
Extra Tip: Waterproof your Concrete Floor
It’s great that you’ve managed to clean the concrete floor and removed the dog pee smell. However, this kind of problem will continue to persist unless you decide to keep your dogs in the cage or teach them where to pee.
The best remedy that you can do is to waterproof your concrete floor. This is a long-term solution to prevent dog urine from causing problems with your concrete flooring.
We’ve listed down some of the best waterproofing methods that you can do to your concrete floor.
1. Liquid Waterproofing
The typical way to waterproof your concrete flooring is to use a liquid waterproofing product. This kind of product is a thick substance that would turn into a rubber-like coat. For this kind of product to work, you need to make sure that the concrete is completely clean and cured.
To use liquid waterproofing, you need a special roller or mop to apply it on the concrete floor. Make sure that you let it dry thoroughly before you step on it. When the liquid dries and becomes rubbery, you can backfill the soil to secure it.
2. Rubberized Sheets
This is another concrete waterproof method that uses large square sheets of sticky rubbery material. The sheets can be placed on the concrete flooring. Once you’ve placed it there, it would be very difficult to remove it.
This kind of material offers more uniform coverage and thickness compared with other liquid-based solutions. This is easier to apply as well.
3. Cementitious Waterproofing
If you want a very user-friendly method, you should use a cementitious waterproofing material. This type of material is applied using the same process as a layer of mortar.
It is mixed and it can be applied to concrete flooring like a uniform layer. Once it dries, it will be as tough as the concrete flooring as well. The only problem with this is its flexibility. It will likely crack after a few years so you need to maintain and repair it regularly.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with the smell from your dog’s urine can be very frustrating, but if you know the right cleaning solutions to use, you won’t have to worry about it in the future. You can also waterproof your concrete flooring so you won’t have to keep cleaning it every time your pets pee on the floor.
If you have any other methods that can help remove dog pee odor in concrete flooring, feel free to comment down below.