How To Get The Dog Pee Smell Out Of Linoleum Floors

If you have a pet you're potty training, you may have found yourself in this situation — your dog pees on your linoleum flooring, you wipe up the spill, but a few days later, you notice a smell coming from the same spot. Even though it's easy to mop up spills on linoleum, sometimes odors can linger, especially urine. Fortunately, getting the dog pee smell out of linoleum floors is possible with just a few products and a little time.

According to Armstrong Flooring, linoleum is a type of flooring material that's both durable and long-lasting. Usually applied to a surface in a sheet, linoleum is known for being easy to clean and relatively affordable to purchase and install. It's commonly used in high-traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms. Linoleum is often mistaken for vinyl as their surfaces are similar in look and feel, but the two are quite different. While linoleum is made mostly of linseed oil, vinyl is comprised of several layers, including an image layer on the top layer, which makes some vinyl designs resemble hardwood flooring or stone tiles.

Vinyl flooring is increasingly popular choice for homeowners, and it's a good option for pet owners looking to remodel as some vinyls contain a scratch and stain-resistant coating for easy cleanup. Both linoleum and vinyl flooring are reasonably easy to clean, which makes them ideal flooring solutions for anyone with a pet in their home, especially one who struggles with incontinence or is just learning to be house trained. But sometimes, a linoleum floor smells like dog pee long after the mess was made and requires additional measures to get it back in an odor-free condition.

Before you get started tackling the pee smells or stains on a linoleum floor, pick up as much of the spill as you can, as soon as possible. If the spill is still wet, use a towel to soak up the liquid before mopping the area with warm, soapy water. If the spill has already dried, sweep the area clean before mopping or wiping the mess away to ensure the deepest clean.

Now that you have your area prepped and cleaned, you'll need to work on getting that pee smell out of your flooring. To do this, you have two options: chemical or natural odor removal. If you wish to treat the pee odor with commercial cleaning agents, there are several pet odor products on the market specifically designed to target urine stain and odor removal available at pet stores or online. Bleach is another common go-to for many people and can be applied directly to the stain, then mopped away with clean water. Do It Yourself also recommends scrubbing linoleum with a paste made of boric acid and water, which will kill odor-causing bacteria.

Some people prefer natural remedies, which are also effective in dealing with pet odor. The best natural way to clean dog urine from linoleum floors is with apple cider vinegar aka ACV. In the same way that the acidity in boric acid can eliminate bacteria, apple cider vinegar — a natural antibacterial — works wonders on odors and stains. To use ACV, mop the area with three parts apple cider vinegar and one part water, and repeat until the odor is eliminated. As well, if you have feline odors to contend with, any of these methods can treat cat urine on a vinyl floor effectively.

If you have successfully removed the dog pee smell from your linoleum or vinyl floors but still have an unsightly stain on the floor, don't worry! You can usually tackle that, as well, assuming the stain hasn't set for too long. How to Clean Stuff recommends mixing vinegar and dish soap to create a rinse, then dipping a brush into the solution and gently scrubbing the affected area before rinsing with water. If you need a stronger stain fighter, you can form a paste from baking soda and water, allow it to set for 15 minutes, then scrub the stain away before wiping the area with rubbing alcohol.