Vinegar And Cat Urine: Tips on Using Vinegar for Cat Urine Removal

Search online for natural cat urine odor removers and you’ll probably come across a few tips for using vinegar to get rid of cat pee stains and odors. While vinegar is rarely enough to remove urine that’s been left for more than a few hours, it does have its uses. It’s gentle, natural and lifts out odors well. Vinegar leaves its own pungent odor behind, but that goes away in an hour or so. If you use a large amount, you may find the area smells like a salad bar for a few days, but that odor will eventually fade.

Mopping up Fresh Puddles

Vinegar is a good first-line treatment for any freshly deposited cat urine puddles you may find. While brown vinegar is equally capable of cleaning cat urine, it may leave a yellowish or brown film, so white is preferable. For tile or hardwood floors, mix 1 cup of white vinegar in 1 gallon of water and mop or wipe down the soiled area with this solution. Vinegar’s not the best choice for carpets and other absorbent material, though. On soft surfaces, vinegar alone may work on fresher spots, but it’s more effective with other ingredients.

Removing Cat Urine from Clothes

Because vinegar is so gentle, you can safely use it to get cat pee out of non-delicate machine washable clothing. Fill up the wash machine and add half a cup of white vinegar and two capfuls of any mouthwash that contains alcohol. Next check if your powdered detergent contains Borax. If it does, add another 1/4 cup to the amount of powdered detergent you’d normally use. If your detergent doesn’t already contain Borax, add a 1/2 cup. Add the detergent/Borax to the machine and wash the clothes as usual. You’ll need a different cleaning method to get cat urine smell out of clothes that require hand-washing or dry cleaning.

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Warnings

Some of the most effective cleaners for cat urine are those that use live enzymes and bacteria. These micro-organisms eat away at the uric acid crystals that make older cat urine stains so hard to remove. Because they’re alive, though, they’re sensitive to chemicals, including vinegar. If you’re planning to use vinegar and an enzyme cleaner, check that the brand you have won’t be damaged by vinegar. If you decide to experiment with making your own homemade cleaner, don’t mix vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in the same container. The combination creates peracetic acid, which is corrosive and toxic. Also avoid cleaning the litter box with vinegar. Some cats hate the smell and it could make them avoid the litter box, worsening your problems.