Landlord Resources

Having trouble renting your place to new tenants due to unavoidable pet odors? You have tried your luck but still unable to get rid of Pet odors. If you are a DIY landlord and looking for quick natural home remedies to remove pet odors. You are in a right place. We have a bunch of handful solutions to solve this problem.

Pet Odors and stains are real deal broker for any prospective tenant. You need to get rid of pet odors and stains before having another tenant on your property. Inspecting your rental for the possible spots emitting pet odors and stains should be first on your to do list. You can easily undergo the remedy once you figure out the problematic areas.

The Common Spots for Pet Odors and Stains

When pets and tenants coexist, there can be lots of things that can go wrong on your rental property. Pet odor is among one of them. Things can go even worse if there are more than one pet existed on the property. Pets love to mark their territory. You hardly then can determine the actual area of problem.

There can be various spots in your rental property that your ex tenant`s pet has make its mark on. The ex tenant might be a responsible pet owner and had cleaned every time after the pet. But, still it was not possible that every time, the ex tenant had got successful cleaning the mess. You should then start looking for stains and pet odors with common spots like

• Floors
• Carpets
• Artificial Grass
• Rugs
• Couches
• Mattresses
• Cabinets
• Tiles
• Bottom and Side Edges of Doors

Finding the Spots

Start by looking with naked eye and keep your nose open. Inspect if you find any stain or area that is emitting the pet odor. Mark those areas, so that you can apply the remedy later after finding all those spots. As said many times, the pet urine got soaked in spots and then you can`t see them from naked eyes.

Such spots can be real culprit and often got missed easily if you aren’t alert. To find such spots, walk through your rental with a black light having all other lights turned off. It is always advisable you perform this activity after dawn when there is dark outside.

Remedies for Getting Rid Of Pet Odors

Now that you have found the spots and areas emitting pet odors, you need to treat them. There are various remedies available to eliminate the pet orders completely. However that depends on the type of surface and magnitude of problem, you need to treat.

1. Baking Soda

If you have occurred to small stains and looking for a spot cleaning, baking soda can help you remove pet odor from all kind of surfaces. Sprinkle pinch of baking soda over the spot and let it sit for some hours. In some hours, the baking soda will absorb the smell from the affected. After that, simply vacuum it and rinse off with water.

2. Vinegar Solution

Add 1 cup of vinegar to 1 bucket of hot water. Mop the affected area with this solution to deodorize the unwanted pet odor. After that, sprinkle baking soda over the area and keep it for few hours to soak up any remaining liquid residue from your floors.

The downside using vinegar solution is that after the treatment, the smell of vinegar can last for 2-3 days. For this you can also add few drops of essential oil in the vinegar solution.

3. Bleach (Hydrogen Peroxide)

You can get rid of pet odors and stains from your hard wood floor by treating it with Hydrogen Peroxide. A diluted hydrogen peroxide solution can oxidize the pet stains safely removing the pet odor completely.

Put some paper towels over the affected area and then pour the hydrogen peroxide solution directly over it. Cover the paper towels with plastic wrap using tapes. Let it sit there till the paper towels dry out. Remove them once they are dried out. Now take a brush and scrub off the area. Your stain will go in few minutes.

4. TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate)

Using Tri Sodium Phosphate is best available remedy if you need to treat your concrete floors emitting pet odors. When a pet pee on the concrete floor, it acts as a sponge and quickly absorbs the pee. This is why it becomes harder even after lot of attempts to get rid of pet odors from a concrete floor completely.

When Pet odors are emitting from the concrete floors, TSP comes handy. Pour TSP solution (1/2 Cup of TSP in 1 Gallon Hot water) over the floor surface. Scrub the surface with a nylon brush and after that rinse the surface completely with hot water. Once the surface is dried, vacuum it to remove all the urine crystals left behind.

5. Enzyme Cleaner

There are various enzyme cleaners available in the market that can do wonders in eliminating pet odors completely from your rental house. The enzyme cleaner contains bacteria that produce enzymes which break downs the acid present in Urine. The bacteria feed on the remains, resulting in neutralizing the pet odor completely.

However some people do complain about the after smell of using the enzyme cleaner. It is always advised that you properly ventilate the area before you use it anywhere. Once the enzyme cleaner has done its job, you can use the Vinegar solution to get rid of the left residues completely.

Recommendations When You Apply Pet Odor Remedies

The above remedies are very effective in neutralizing the pet odors. However there are few things you need to understand before you use any of the above mentioned remedy.

• Always remember to wear protective gear while working out with chemicals. The chemicals can harm your eyes, ears and skin.
• Before applying the remedies on any surface, it is always better you test it on a small portion. The chemicals can cause harm to the surface of your property. Put a special notice if you are working with dry walls, counter tops, wood and marble floors.
• Always ensure to vacuum the place after applying the remedy. Because, if in case any moisture or residue left behind; the pet odor can come back again.
• It is better if you seal and encapsulate the area after performing the remedy to completely get rid of pet odor.

The Bottom Line

Pet Odors is a real problem and nobody wants to rent a place that smells bad. The above remedies will most likely to help you get rid of pet odors from your rental. But still if you need professional help, you can always hire professionals that are expert in pet odor cleaning.

The pet damages are beyond normal wear and tear and  then you can pull your ex tenant`s security deposit in lieu of covering the damages. If you feel the cost of repairing the damages is beyond security deposit, you can take additional steps.