Removing Pet Stains From Hardwood Floors

photo by ღĴęNňζ™, Flickr

Having a pet and pet stains are unfortunately going to go hand in hand. Perhaps you have been given a new untrained puppy, or you have an older dog that no longer can retain its urine until you come home. If you have hardwood floors, this presents a very unique predicament. You can call in the professionals to remove the stain or you can do it yourself. Doing it yourself necessitates a few special tools and of course a bit of elbow grease.  New pet stains are undoubtedly easier to remove than old pet stains, but both are feasible.

First test your stain removal plan on a piece of flooring that will not show damage should damage occur.  Removing every iota of the stain is important, as part of the removal process is to remove the “marking” odor that pets recognize and desire to either mark again, or mark it for themselves if it was made by another canine. It’s a territory thing, you know?

Removing A Fresh Pet Stain

So, first let’s assume that you are working with a fresh stain.  Because the wood is not thoroughly soaked down deep, these stains are uncomplicated to remove.   Arm yourself with warm water, white vinegar, paper towels and one of those new-fangled products that contain enzymes, or special bacteria that will remove both the discoloration and the “marked” odor from the wood.  Be sure and ascertain that the particular product you purchase has been designed for wooden floors.

Now you are ready should your pet urinate indoors on your wooden floor.  Be organized to act quickly and begin by removing as much of the liquid urine with paper towels.  Next, use the white vinegar, which will work to remove the stain as well as remove the odor of the urine.  Rinse the spot with warm water and more paper towels.  Follow this with a vigorous drying course of action with more paper towels until the area is thoroughly dry. Next use the professional stain remover, carefully following the direction on the product.

Removing An Old Pet Stain

This is a bit more problematic; however, if the stain has been there long enough to have saturated both the wood and sub-flooring, the first step is to sand the wood down to determine how deeply the urine stain went. If the stain has disappeared with a bit of sanding, simply refinish that section after you cease sanding. Should you find that the damage goes much deeper and is too far-reaching perhaps the best solution at this point is to refinish the total floor.  Also, removing deeply ingrained odors may require a treatment with bleach in order to keep pets from using the same spot over and over again.