If you or a neighbor has a cat that is constantly peeing on your driveway, sidewalk, or garage floor, you know the struggle of attempting to remove the cat pee smell from the concrete. Cat urine has a potent smell, especially urine from intact male cats marking territory. Removing the smell can be difficult, but it’s not impossible, and you do have a few options to fight the cat pee smell on your concrete.
Before You Start
Before you get started eliminating cat urine, you’ll need to do a little bit of prep work. You should spray down the area to remove any urine residue that has been left behind. Water on its own is unlikely to remove the smell of cat urine, but it will make it much easier to remove the lingering odors by cleaning the surface area. You can even use a power washer to ensure you get a thorough clean on the concrete’s surface.
The reason that using water, a power washer, or even soap won’t actually remove the odors has to do with the high porosity of concrete and the presence of uric acid crystals in urine. These crystals are insoluble, so water and many cleaning agents will not bind with or remove them. Even if the scent improves after a basic cleaning, it will come back the next time the concrete gets damp, and the bacteria that feed on urine begin growing again.
The 4 Simple Ways for Getting Cat Urine Smells & Stains Out of Concrete
1. Commercial Enzymatic Cleaner
| Efficacy: | 4.5/5 stars |
| Ease of Use: | 4/5 stars |
One of the most effective ways to remove the smell of cat urine from your concrete is through commercial enzymatic cleaners. These products contain enzymes that destroy the bacteria that cause bad odors. These enzymes directly combat the uric acid and bacteria causing the odors in your concrete.
Enzymatic cleaners are typically easy to use, usually requiring little more than spraying onto the affected area. However, you may have to scrub the cleaner into the smelly area to ensure it gets down into the porous areas in the concrete. Otherwise, it will not be particularly effective against the odors.
2. Homemade Cleaning Solution
| Efficacy: | 4/5 stars |
| Ease of Use: | 4/5 stars |
Making a cleaning solution at home is easy and requires two ingredients found in most homes, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Many recipes also recommended a drop or two of dish soap. Simply combine 8–10 ounces of hydrogen peroxide with two teaspoons of baking soda and gently combine, avoiding shaking the solution since this can lead to lots of fizzing.
This solution works by eliminating the odor-causing bacteria in a similar way to a commercial enzymatic cleaner. It’s easy to apply and can be reapplied to the same area multiple times if needed. If you use too much baking soda, you may end up with a white, powdery cast to the area, so make sure you don’t overdo it.
3. Positive Ionization
| Efficacy: | 4.5/5 stars |
| Ease of Use: | 4/5 stars |
Positive ionization is a great option for older, set-in stains or for stains that have not responded to other odor removing methods. This method involves a positive ionization solution that is easy to apply, typically requiring nothing more than spraying onto the affected area. The positive ions in this solution bind with the negative ions involved in causing bad odors and neutralize them.
This option is especially good if you want a solution that doesn’t involve scents. Positive ionization is safe for pets and doesn’t leave any smell behind, making it a nice product for people with sensitivities to perfumes, essential oils, and other scents.
4. Trisodium Phosphate
| Efficacy: | 4/5 stars |
| Ease of Use: | 3.5/5 stars |
Trisodium phosphate, or TSP, is an effective but harsh option for removing cat urine odors. This product should be used with caution and should not be used without gloves and a mask, especially when mixing the product. It is a strong product that can irritate the skin and respiratory tract if inhaled.
When mixed with water, TSP creates an alkaline solution. This helps neutralize the odors caused by uric acid in urine stains on concrete. It can be quite effective but can also be a little more difficult to use than the other options, if for no other reason than the difficulty of safely mixing and using the product.
Conclusion
Removing cat urine from your concrete is a pain, but it’s perfectly doable. There are multiple things that you can try, and the good news is that if you don’t feel one of them works very well for your odor issue, you can try other options. Keep in mind that it can be extremely difficult to remove bad odors from concrete due to its high porosity. Uric acid crystals and odors can settle deep in your concrete, so it may take multiple applications of odor removers to get things clean and odor-free.
Featured Image Credit: Piqsels
