5 Best Pet Odor Removal Options for Concrete

If you're noticing pet odors on your concrete surfaces, you may think that its no big deal because unlike carpeting or flooring, concrete is outdoors. You'll just clean up the mess and the smell will eventually dissipate. Wrong! Concrete, while hard and durable, is porous, so on a certain level, it is absorbing the odors the same way a carpet or laminate surface does.

Once you realize that the odors a pet leaves behind aren't necessarily going away, even on concrete, you need to formulate a plan of attack.

While it may seem like a tough job to eliminate pet odor from concrete, it can be done. Here are a few of the best pet odor removal options for concrete.

1. Enzyme Cleaner

To truly kill odors from pet accidents or animal waste and urine, you need a product that is a definitive enzyme cleaner. Even some of the highest selling products on the market for urine stains and smells are not enzyme cleaners, so their effects are limited.

The most appropriate cleaners come in the form of a simple liquid that you can put on the concrete in order to remove urine. An effective cleaner will actually absorb into the concrete and neutralize the odor from the urine. Allow time for this process to happen. You don't have to sit and watch it, but when it eventually does its work all that will be left behind should be a little residue, sometimes crystalline in structure. Simply wipe or rinse that away and things should be fine.

2. Bleach

Another option that you could potentially use is bleach. Most people have bleach around the house, and you can typically use it to successfully remove pet odor from concrete. You can pour the bleach directly onto the concrete and use a scrub brush to clean the surface.

After you are done scrubbing the bleach on the floor, you will want to make sure that you thoroughly rinse it off with water. If you leave the bleach there, you are going to be stuck with the bleach smell instead.

Warning: Bleach has toxic properties and can damage clothing, so be sure to keep children and pets clear of the area while the chemicals go to work. Also be careful when pouring and scrubbing that you're protecting your own skin and clothing.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda is another good product that you can use in order to remove pet odor. You can sprinkle some baking soda all over the concrete floor and leave it there for a few days. You can also mix the baking soda with some water to make a paste to clean the floor with.

While this is a good solution because its natural and the baking soda won't harm animals or children, the length of time it takes to actually work could be a drawback. If you're throwing a backyard barbecue tonight, the baking soda will not remove the odor in time.

4. KILZ

Odors have a way of lingering, even when you think you've buried them. That's why the other options on this list have been odor killers, not odor masks.

KILZ is a product that can actually seal out the odor from your floor. If you are planning on installing some type of flooring on top of the concrete, you are definitely going to want to apply some Kilz to the concrete first. This is a powerful primer and sealer that works to prevent the odors from getting through. It can work on a variety of different smells including smoke and pet odors.

It is still recommended that you try an odor removal option before you apply the KILZ for best results.

5. Tri Sodium Phosphate

Often shortened to TSP, this is one of the best products you can use to remove pet odor. Unlike bleach or baking soda, you want to make sure that you apply it to the entire concrete area. When you do this, you need to use a scrub brush to completely clean the surface of the concrete. Once the scrubbing and odor removal is complete, make sure that you completely wash down the floor to remove the cleaner.