Hi Radish,
In June of 1992, the Toledo Zoo announced an ambitious plan to turn
the former Carnivora building - which had been home to our Big Cats
from the time the Zoo was built during the WPA, until they were moved
into the African Savannah complex in the late '80s - into a *new
cafeteria*.
Shockingly, they managed to achieve this astounding feat *without*
tearing up the old floor or otherwise altering the structure of the
gorgeous WPA era building. Today, the Carnivora building still
stands, fully renovated, and named "The Carnivore Cafe". In fact, the
building won the Ohio Historical Society's 1997 Historic Preservation
Merit Award, for best adaptive use and preservation.
I'll bet you're wondering why I'm telling you all this?
If the Toledo Zoo can salvage a building that marinated in lion, tiger
and panther urine for more than 50 years, without tearing up the
floor, then you should be able to save this house. It's just going to
take some time, patience, elbow grease, chemicals...and a bucket-full
of money.
According to a June 5th, 1992 article in the Toledo Blade, contractors
converting the Carnivora building planned to use a bacteria and enzyme
rich solution which would attack the considerable urine deposits and
"eat" the odor out of the concrete floors. I called the zoo offices
this afternoon to see if anyone there remembered the name of the
solution. They did not, but they did tell me that there were several
non-commercial solutions available that did the same thing. (The
staff did place a call to the contractors who did the work, but as of
this writing, the call has not been returned.)
You've already done the most important part by getting rid of the
carpeting and pad. The wallpaper is going to have to go, too. Any
solution that will get the odor out will damage the wallpaper, so
you're best off tearing that down and treating the wall beneath, then
either painting, tiling or re-painting.
Buy a black light. You'll need this to ensure that you've found *all*
of the urine stains:
Cat Urine Odor Removal
http://rhol.org/rental/catodor.htm
Next, apply one of the following enzymatic/bacterial odor treatments
(according to package instructions) to *every* urine deposit you find:
Anti-Icky-Poo
http://www.mistermax.com/products.html
Digester
http://www.lyndist.com/digester.htm
Bac-Azap
http://www.pestproducts.com/bac-azap.htm
These solutions require several days (and in the case of stubborn
urine deposits, several applications) to work, so be patient. It may
take several applications over the course of several weeks to get the
stench completely out. Be certain to follow the instructions
*exactly*, and don't pre-treat the area with vinegar or bleach - those
agents will get in the way and hinder the enzymatic/bacterial
solutions.
Do keep in mind that these products are not 100% guaranteed to get out
all of the odor. Depending on the severity of the stains and odors,
more than one product may be necessary. If after several applications
of one of the above products, you're still not convinced you've gotten
it all out, you might want to follow up with one of these:
Odor Destroyer
http://www.odordestroyer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1QSPSOL&Category_Code=OdorControl&Product_Count=0
OdorXit Concentrate
http://www.odorxit.com/frames/OdorXitHomePage.html
[ NOTE: Bramton's Simple Solution also comes highly recommended (it's
used to get rid of skunk odor!), but the manufacturer's site cautions
against using it on wood, because of the product's water content. You
can find more information about Bramton's here:
http://www.bramton.com/products_us/stain&odor.htm ]
A word of caution: Since the floor is wood, it will be a tricky
process, and replacing some of the floor boards may be unavoidable in
spots where urine has seeped completely through to the sub-flooring or
joists. No solution is going to be completely perfect, but with
careful application and lots of patience, these products will come
quite close.
I wish you much luck!
--Missy
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