How to Get Dog Urine Stains & Smell Out of Unfinished Wood Floors

Dog urine can ruin unfinished wood.
i lumber image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com

The key to eradicating urine stains and smells on hardwood is getting to them as soon as possible. Urine can seep into your wood floor if you don't clean it up thoroughly and immediately, and stains and odors will be hard to remove once they set. Unfinished wood is especially vulnerable.

Step 1

Blot up the urine with a clean rag, removing all the liquid. The sooner you remove the urine, the easier it will be to get the stain and smell from the wood floor.

Step 2

Scrub the floor thoroughly with a solution of water and vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda directly on the stain and let sit for a couple hours or as long as possible. The baking soda will help soak up and deodorize the smell. Wipe away the baking soda with water and another clean cloth. The stain and smell may be gone if it didn't seep too deeply into the floor.

Step 3

Apply an enzymatic cleaner directly to the spot. Soak the area entirely with cleaner and let sit for a period of time, following the instructions on the cleaner bottle. Pet urine enzymatic cleaners like Nature's Miracle are available at pet stores or online. These cleaners do not just cover the stain and smell; they dissolve the urine completely by breaking it down with natural enzymes. You may need to repeat this process.

Step 4

Sand the wood down if the the vinegar and baking soda and enzymatic cleaner methods fail to yield results. Use a sander to gently remove the stain. On unfinished wood, sanding will be fairly easy to do. Priming and finishing the wood will help protect from urine stains setting deeply in the future.

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