Cleaning and Stain Removal - Urine smell

the previous owners of my house had a dog... in the foyer there is the entrance door, a powder room and a glass enclosed door to the living room. in that small space there is a radiator and a coat rack. when we turn on the heat in the house there is a STRONG urine smell which I think is embedded in the wood. shy of ripping the baseboard out, what can we do? I have tried bleaching the floors and baseboard. Would ammonia help or would I have to rip out the baseboard? any suggestions?

There are some really good products that should help. Here's a couple:

http://www.urine-off.com/buyurineoff.aspx
http://urine-out.com/uo.htm

You'll notice blacklights mentioned and sold. They are used to locate the source of the odor.

Good luck.

enzyme odor neutralizers or a mix of ammonia and oil soap (a tablespoon each diluted in a gallon of water) have both worked in the past.

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Quote of entire post deleted as redundant.

Urine that has settled between hardwood flooring boards into subfloor can not be cleaned. Enzyme digester cleaners are recommended for pet urine and other organic odors, but these must be applied to affected surfaces and given time to digest odors and stain. Surfaces must be kept wet with cleaner and given time to work. These are marketed as pet mess cleaners at the pet store and at home centers under a variety of names such as Out, OdoBan, Nature's Miracle, and others.

Pets that have sprayed baseboards and walls will require sealing of lower part of walls with a couple coats of primer sealer and repainting to seal in odors. If baseboards are painted, these can be caulked along top and primed and sealed to seal in odors. If baseboards are finished, these will require sanding and resealing.

Urine odors are more noticeable on warm, humid days. Bleach and ammonia tend to be ineffective for urine odor removal. Urine odor in radiator will heat up when heat is turned on. Radiator may need cleaning with enzyme digester cleaner.

Urine basicly turns into ammonia...so ammonia wouldnt work as indicated. I agree that replacement of effected wood..cleaning and sealing of subfloor is the best way to go.

Diluted Eucalyptus oil (if y'all have it in USA) worked into the boards will usually mask urine smell

Thats the key word there "masks" its best to remove the boards and seal subfloor. If you ever go to sell the home and someone uses a moisture meter on the floors..they will find any "cover ups"