disgusting smell on floorboards

[violetblue]

Anyone know how to get rid of the pi$$y smell on the floorboards in the bathroom? We inherited this disgusting floor, and have had lino on it which I have just taken up. I've tried neat bleach, watered down bleach, Jeyes (Neat and watered down) and every time I get the sander on them the whiff comes back. Will it go away once varnished? It's vile.

[Kim A]

If the floor's wood, it's unlikely that the smell will ever go away. Your only remedy is (probably, but I'm not a DIY-er) to take up the affected boards and replace them with new ones. It might make the colour a bit uneven if you're planning to sand and stain, but it's surely preferable to put down a rug over the odd bits than sniff and gag every time you use the bathroom!

[shaneystar2]

Bleach will react with the urine to make it more noxious.
You could try one of these sprays or powders they sell in the pet shop that kill the odour from cats and dogs tiddle.

[violetblue]

Thanks both very much, especially about the bleach - God, I didn't know that! Taking them up isn't an option I'm afraid, we don't own it, otherwise I'd have done it from scratch. I'll try the cat stuff.

[mimififi]

you could try vinegar as I think that is the opposite of bleach or bicarb. I don't have any experience of this working just thinking logically.

If you don't own it though, is it rented, cos if it is, you could contact the landlord and complain. Surely urine soaked floorboards is not a recommendation or feature that a letting agent/landlord would like to have in their property, so they might replace them for you...

[KARL]

We once had a single mother tenant who had a sone whose aim was particularly poor. To make matters worse the mother did very little by way of cleaning for many years. My wife managed to overcome the problem (at least sufficiently for it to be unnoticeable) by washing repeatedly and scrubbing hard with very soapy water and letting it dry out in between. My guess is in excess of ten times. I doubt if vinegar would help but bicarb solution might (the two are opposites, one an acid, the other an alkali).

[horselady]

I always find good old biological soap powder works a treat for anything like this, wee stains, spilt milk, it always takes the smell away.

[violetblue]

I'm trying the bicarb and will try the soap powder. Have also put some Zoflora down (though the bicarb will probably take it away). Thanks very much all of you!