How to Remove Dog Urine Smell From Concrete
Pet urine smell can ruin a home so I wrote this article on how to remove urine smell from concrete. Concrete is extremely porous and absorbs odors quickly. For example, daily cleaning can disinfect the surface of the concrete but the bacteria hides deep inside the substrate causing awful smells to continue.
You can permanently solve this problem by sealing your concrete with Creto Deep Penetrating Sealer or DPS for short. By applying Creto DPS to a concrete substrate it neutralizes the preexisting bacteria and locks out any new odors from entering. It crystallizes through the concrete making it completely waterproofed. In addition, a non-breathable coating like Poly Shine or Sweet & Easy Sealer can also be used to prevent urine smell by not allowing any liquids to penetrate due to their hydrophobic nature. Subsequently liquids then bead up on top of the concrete ready to be rinsed away and no smell is created. Here’s how you do it…
Cleaning and Preparation
- Any concrete that has urine odor should have any preexisting surface sealers or paint removed. This can be done using an over the counter floor strippers like our SCR1600 floor stripper or Scorch, pressure washer, or a floor machine equipped with stripping pads. Then the floors need to be thoroughly cleaned / degreased to remove any stripper residue.
- The concrete needs to be prepped by doing a light sanding, grinding or acid etch. This will open up the pores of the concrete and allow the substrate to absorb the new sealer. A pole sander, floor machine with diamond pads, or using an acidic cleaner like Revive and mop can be used. Rinse the floor well after using the acidic cleaner. To clarify, this will neutralize the acids and get the concrete ready for the next step.
- Clean the floor with an enzyme cleaner. The enzymes in these cleaners break down the bacteria in the concrete and neutralize the odor. Similarly cleaners like Xtacular also have bacteria that keep eating away at the bad bacteria for a couple weeks after applying the cleaner. These types of cleaners are the best on the market.
Sealing the Concrete
- After the floor is prepped and cleaned, it’s now time to seal. Pour the DPS onto the floor and either mop or roll it across all areas until the entire floor looks wet. Keep moving puddled areas to the dry areas, keeping the concrete wet with sealer for 30 minutes. Reapply sealer as needed during that time. After 30 minutes remove any excess sealer with a dry mop or wet / dry vac. Allow the areas to cure for 24 – 48 hours.
- Now it’s time to apply the surface sealer. These sealers are usually applied using a roller. If you’re going for a finished concrete look you would need to roll on two coats. In contrast, if you’re going to put a laminate tile or carpet over the concrete only one coat is needed. Watch our videos on how this process is done.
When you follow this step by step process it will permanently remove preexisting pet urine odor from concrete and will prevent it from coming back. Use this in your kennel, vet clinic, dog walk, or outside patio. This can also be used in places like San Francisco where homeless urinating on the sidewalks is prevalent.
