Bad news regarding apartment inspection

[KellyHabersham]

Thought all went well with the apartment inspections this week, but apparently it was NOT so - had a notice on my door this morning that I have 5 days to correct health and safety violations, otherwise my lease will be terminated. Basically, I have to clean my apartment and get rid of the "cat smell".

Needless to say, I'm rather upset/panicky right now, because while I'd be the first to admit that I'm not the best of housekeepers, I don't think my apartment is THAT messy that it warrants a safety violation. And especially since last month's inspection didn't "earn" a notice, I'm not sure what the problem was this month.......all I know is that if I can't get things corrected to management's standards, my cats and I will be homeless next week. (well, not really.......my mom would take us in, but she has no room for most of my stuff.

Anyhow, I'd definitely appreciate any good thoughts and prayers.......not saying that I'm not at fault in this, but still, it's not something I want to be dealing with right now.

[Whiskey]

crack open all the windows and throw some bleach down. Arm & Hammer baking soda on your carpets to get up the smell. I found putting my cats box in a closet (door open, of course) fends off the smell from the rest of the house. Your landlord seems to be looking for a reason, is finding a new place an option after this crap?

Also, its your landlords job to fix any "safety" violations. You might want to make a call to a tenants rights association.

[Exaspera]

Glade plug-ins!?

[KellyHabersham]

Well, the "cat smell" problem is because my eldest cat has problems with pissing on the carpet, and because I've not had the carpet cleaned since I moved into this place six years ago, so I'm looking to either rent a carpet cleaner or get a company to come in on Monday to clean the carpets.

And definitely, I've considered looking into other apartment complexes in the area......problem is most of them dont allow pets or have all paid-utilies.

[trailerparkmedic]

**hugs**

I'm convinced that the smell of original Pine Sol covers up most anything and convinces most people your place is clean even if it isn't.

Ways to get the pet smell out of the carpet:
1) Buy a commerical product designed for it. I had good results with Nature's Miracle when I was potty training a dog.
2) Bleach for colored clothing. It's bleach, it has to be good, right?
3) Baking soda. You'll need lots but it's awesome.

Get your windows open and keep them open. If air doesn't circulate well, use fans. Febreeze can work wonders (even the generic brands).

[KellyHabersham]

Oh, I'm definitely using my carpet powder which has baking soda in it, and in the meantime, I found out that my sister's made an appointment with a carpet cleaner company to come over tomorrow morning and do a bunch of stuff - basically, they're going to mask the smell and do deep-cleaning so that there shouldn't be a problem. However, it may come to it that I would have to have my eldest cat live at my mom's, in order to prevent this problem from happening again.

[r2cagle]

Not sure what your place looks like... but if you have the room... box 1/2 of everything... clothes, books, knickknacks, etc. If you don't have a spare room, stack them in an unused corner, and take a big blanket and cover up the boxes, then put a chair in front of it. Whatever you haven't used in the last year, gets boxed up. Just by packing half the stuff away, it makes your space look cleaner even if it isn't. The rest is camoflage... lots of scented candles or potpouri. I prefer 'clean' scents, like fresh linen, air, rain, pine, etc. But I have an amazing creme brulee candle that once lit, you can smell it throughout the house. Scrub down the high traffic areas, and zip over the rest of the areas. I have used baking soda(bicarbonate) on rugs that were peed on, then after vacuuming up, I've used Clorox bleach wipes to scrub at it.

If you get the rug shampooed... shake a little bicarbonate on it after it's dry and work into the rug the day before next inspection, vacuum up later that night or the next morning.

So quick version:
1. Box 1/2 of everything, clear everything off any furniture
2. Clean high traffic areas
3. Deal with rug and make bed
4. Scent camouflage everything

Then if you have time, you can dust everything down... but most people are looking at furniture, counters, and main traffic areas. And scents trick the mind. You could probably get this done in two days.

[Aethian]

*snugs hard* Never easy to say that a kitty needs to live elsewhere. At least it's with Mom so that makes it a bit easier.

As for pee on the carpet, the faster it is found I have found...vinegar works well to get it up. Backing soda spread on after wards and then vacuumed up leaves virtually no smell. But I have no sense of smell and this is only second hand that the scent is gone.

[draggar]

Two words:

Nature's Miracle.

Available at most pet supply stores.

Oxy Clean (or similar) works wonders, too.

[Squeaksmyalias]

I agree with using Nature's Miracle. I've actually seen it take care of red wine spills on white carpet. I swear by that stuff.
Just don't use the stuff with scent, like the orange kind, smells good but doesn't work as well I think. Get the white bottle with the red writing and cap. Works great even after the spot has dried.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Get your windows open and keep them open. If air doesn't circulate well, use fans. Febreeze can work wonders (even the generic brands).

When I first moved into my old apartment, it had been empty (and therefore closed up) for a couple months (through the hottest part of the summer, too) and the downstairs neighbor smoked, so the carpet just reeked. Two days in a row, before I left for work, I sprayed down the whole place with Febreeze (did the bedroom and hall, then worked my way across the living room and down the stairs on my way out). After the second day the smell was gone.

[CaptainJaneway]

I should warn you that if you use bleach do not use it on the cat pee. Cat urine has ammonia in it. You never want to mix the two.

I find that lysol liquid cleaner is pretty good too.

[AdminAssistant]

Mama Admin's Golden Rule of Cleaning: There is nothing a tub of hot water, a little Pine Sol, and a lot of elbow grease can't fix.

[KellyHabersham]

Thanks much for the responses.....'tis definitely made me feel a lot better, and the tips for cleaning are much appreciated! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the professional carpet cleaning tomorrow will help, and my mom has since told me that if worse comes to worse, I can move back in with her........so my cats and I won't be homeless, no matter what happens.

Also on the positive end is that my mom has agreed to assist me in looking into buying a condo in the area.......I think having my own place is really the only solution for my "renting-related" concerns, and I did find a listing for one in the area which definitely looks like an option.

[poofy_puff]

VINEGAR. Not baking soda, not "Nature's Miracle", VINEGAR.

VINEGAR!

Vinegar is primarily composed of acetic acid which neutralizes the urea. Urea is "basic" and is what decomposes to make ammonia. Baking soda is also basic and does NOT neutralize the pee odor! Lysol is poisonous to cats. Bleach is poisonous to everyone and can ruin the surface you're trying to clean (and what someone said about mixing ammonia and bleach is also true, although in these small quantities it's not that dangerous). "Nature's Miracle" is a joke. It should be called "Nature's Overpriced Placebo".


PLEASE listen to me and use VINEGAR! Pour some in a spray bottle and use it like Windex or Fantastik. Vinegar is also noon-toxic and the smell of it goes away in less than an hour. It is a lot easier to mask the smell of vinegar than that of urine. If someone smells vinegar they'll just think you're having salad or making pickles.

I know what I'm talking about because I have about 3 dozen cats (I own a house though) and a degree in chemistry.

Please PLEASE use vinegar.

ETA: I'm glad you're thinking of buying a condo. That's what I would do if I were you. Just make sure there's nothing in the Condo Association that forbids pets.