Framing and Sub-Flooring - Pet Odor in Subfloor

We are in the process of purchasing a house that appeared to have been used as a dog kennel. There is a significant pet odor. The carpeting and padding have been removed. What are the options for dealing with odor in the subfloor? Should it be replaced? Can it be sealed? Even with severe stains and odor? Can another layer of subfloor cover it up and seal in the odor? This is a nice little ranch. We would like to clean it up an make it our own. Any advice you can give would be helpful.

Welcome to the forums! Pet urine will soak into the subflooring and can only be masked. Covering it up won't work well. Products like OdoBan work well, but if it is soaked as much as you say it is, your only recourse would be to replace the bad areas. Maybe all of it isn't bad. Good luck.

I've recently purchased a home that was prevously used as kitty mill. Trust me, the only way to remove the stink is to take it out! I have removed alot of studs and replaced them because of this. Some areas are only being painted with pigmented shellac. I don't want to repace everything. I have removed a bearing wall because of termite damage. What a Pain!

It shouldn't be that hard to pull up the sub-floor, however it could be installed in a many of ways with different materials as well. It could be glued to the beams as well as nailed/screwed. That is the best way obviously, like they have said, or you could use the odor products and then give it a good healthy coat of Kilz oil based primer. If you got the time and know-how, though I'd rip it up.

I've heard that white vinegar will neutralize the odor, then air out and use Odoban. Easier than ripping a subfloor out, worth a try in my opinion.

Pet odor is a funny thing. You think it’s gone, and then it rains, gets humid, and somehow it re-activates. I used to work on foreclosed H.U.D homes, and I’ve seen some very bad urine/feces situations; not always from pets either. You don’t want to use a lot of water when you clean, because you end up spreading it into cracks. We used a floor machine that scrubbed, and sucked. We let it get bone dry. We applied the Bulls eye until the wood would no longer take anymore. Shellac products like Bulls eye dry very fast, and you can keep going back over it. You can’t skimp on the coating. We also used aluminum paint sometimes. It’s probably best to remove .and replace, but if you go the other rout, rent a floor machine, and don’t skimp on your coating. Don’t forget to get some good respirators.