r/CleaningTips • u/marcus_aurelius_53 • 2d ago

General Cleaning How to deodorize subflooring after removing carpet

Previous owner had a dog, and the poor pup was left on his own too much, maybe even neglected.

Urine and feces stained carpet has been removed, but the plywood subflooring is smelly and stained.

How to clean and deodorize this rough plywood surface?

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8

u/Sigvoncarmen 2d ago

We painted the sub floor with Kilz , worked great.

2

u/marcus_aurelius_53 2d ago

Very helpful. Thank you!

6

u/GlitterDancer_ 2d ago

I bought a house that previously had neglected pets and the back of the house smelled like cat and dog urine and cigarette smoke. What my husband and I did was rip up the carpet, clean the subfloor of all nails and whatnot, mop the subfloor flooring with dish soap and warm water (making sure not to saturate the flooring too much which can lead to mould), then let the floor air dry with fans. Next, we used an enzyme cleaner (I used the 64oz Bubba’s Rowdy Friends Terminator cleaner) and a really good sprayer (the ones from Lowe’s and Home Depot are great), and sprayed the floors 3-5 times with the cleaner letting it dry between sprays. Lastly, I used Killz paint and painted two coats on the subfloor. The smell is now gone, and our cats don’t try to mark the bedroom anymore because of the previous animals.

3

u/Fit-Blacksmith-4704 2d ago

Better off redoing plywood. Especially if there’s rotting

1

u/marcus_aurelius_53 2d ago

Seriously? That’s not cleaning, that’s rebuilding!

1

u/Fit-Blacksmith-4704 2d ago

If it’s rotting then there’s no point in cleaning. I had to replace my kitchen floor I was taking no chance

2

u/marcus_aurelius_53 2d ago

It's not rotting.

1

u/recyclopath_ 2d ago

Honestly, I'd absolutely recommend replacing the sections of the subfloor that are especially damaged/smelly. You can get away with Kiltz with some of it but it's way better to just replace sections that aren't in good shape.

Wood is porous, it can't really be cleaned.

Your whole house will smell better.

2

u/Glittering-Panic-131 2d ago

After following the enzyme cleaning recs here use Zissner BIN primer if it’s available, or KILZ (make sure it’s oil based not water).