Hi its the Odor Dude here and you must be here because you want to know how to get rid of rat urine smell. I have dealt with hundreds of houses contaminated with rat urine smells over the years and removed rat urine odor from garages, attics, crawl spaces, walls, and ceiling spaces. I will show you exactly how I kill the rat pee smell and better still permanently remove it.
As an Odor Removal Expert, I will show you exactly how to eliminate rat urine odor.
To remove rat urine odor the residues are neutralized using an oxidizing fluid that is mixed just prior to treatment. The combined chemicals penetrate deep into the substrate to break down the salt, urea, and acid residues and render them neutral. This process is repeated until all the urine residues are broken done.
Read on for a description of the full technique used by professional odor removal contractor since 2002 and a breakdown of the components used that work best for neutralizing the rat urine and removing the terrible odor.
What Product To Use For Neutralizing Rat Urine Odor?
Since 2002 we have been using a 4 part formula that when mixed together forms a very powerful odor remover. We mix a oxidising solution using 4 chemicals described and shown here and apply the mixed solution to the affected areas by spraying or tipping depending on the location. The urine neutralizing solution once mixed forms a very powerful odor remover and has long term odor removers built in that will continue to work for many weeks ahead.
The formula / mixed solution also has two ingredients that once combined will react with the rat urine residues and kills the smell of rat urine quickly.
The product is very easy to make and all you need is a bucket and some rubber gloves. We suggest wearing eye protection also during mixing and applying the solution to rat urine odors.
How To Apply The Rat Smell Neutralizer?
Step 1. Start off with 2 quarts of the solution and spray some of the neutralizing formula on the area where you think the urine is located. Look for white foaming as shown below. The white foaming shows a contamination is present and therefore the areas you need to treat. The product foams when it contacts urine, feces, or other odor causing contaminants as shown below.
Step 2. Apply the product by tipping directly onto the foaming areas i.e where the rat urine is.(Use formula 2)
Investigate the sprayed areas carried out in step 1 and see how much foaming is present. Minor contaminations equals light foaming and serious contaminations are indicated by heavy foaming.
Step 3. Once you locate these areas use a generous application of Formula Two and pour small amounts on the contaminated area ensuring it is penetrating in slowly and deeply and not running off. The amount you use will vary depending on how big the contamination is and what substrate the urine is in. Wood and concrete are porous and need more product. You can mix more product easily if required.
Give the area several applications until the foaming stops. You can spray it or tip it on what ever is easier as long as the solution comes in contact with rat urine it will work.
Step 4: Leave the product to work over the next 3 days and then re-evaluate the smell.
If you followed the instructions and applied product until the foaming was minimised you will most likely have eliminated it all. Rats and mice don’t pee large quantities but it tends to penetrate and is highly concentrated.
If there is still some odor remaining in 3 days time apply more product again and then leave for a month. The product has a long term neutralizer in it that keeps on working.
“I have done it, The smell has gone. The problem was as you suggested, that I did not know where the main areas of contamination were so I was treating the wrong area. I sprayed the formula around and looked for the foaming as you suggested. (there was a lot of foam by the way) I then applied a heavy dose and left it over night. I repeated that the next day and one day later the odor now is 5% of what is was. It has made such a difference to us and I can not thank you enough. It know it will keep working over the coming days (love how it does this) which gives us peace of mind. Thx!!!
Can I Get Rid Of Rat Urine Stains In My Ceiling?
Rat urine will seep into fiber boards or dry wall panels in your ceiling and eventually stain the paint work over time. After treatment you can try the method below to remove the stains.
To remove rat urine stains, paint over the stained area on the drywall panel with an oil based sealer and leave for one week. If the stain reappears replace the drywall ceiling panel. If the stain does not reappear paint over the sealer with your nominated color.
Rats will urinate in multiple areas in a ceiling space but a-lot of times we find they have concentrated their efforts around insulation material as shown below.
You can’t remove the odor economically from any insulation material and it is much cheaper and more effective to replace the contaminated insulation.
The example below shows the rat pee in the insulation and the pink area is not contaminated but the dark brown area is. This piece of insulation was producing very strong odors and was completely removed . The area underneath was treated for rat urine using our formula and then once dry the area had new insulation installed.
This sorted the problem and the home owner did not have any odors remaining when we had finished.
Video guide for removing rat urine odor.
The video below gives a step by step guide on what treatments to use.
If the ceiling material is made out of fibreboard, or drywall then it is very absorbent and will need several applications of Formula Two. No need to treat areas that are not foaming up. In extreme cases we had to treat timber framing 3-4 times with Formula two then once dry, seal it with a very resilient sealer.
Can I get rid of rat urine stains on the ceiling?
What does dried rat urine look like?
What does rat pee smell like?
What happens if the rat urine is in an area I can’t access?
Rat Urine Removal Tip
The ability to remove the rat urine smell relates to what the ceiling or attic space is made from plus how long the rats have been living there for. Rat urine will penetrate to different levels depending on what the substrates are with repeated urination in the same spot. Typically house framing inside a ceiling space is rough sawn wood which absorbs rat urine quite easily and if the rats have been in the ceiling space for a long period of time then you will need 2-3 treatments to penetrate in as deep as the urine is.
Drywall will need several applications (look for reduction in foaming each application and replace insulation if it is contaminated.
For more information on rats click here
If you would like to have a rat as a pet click here
For information on rats in urban areas click here
Conclusion – How to Get Rid Of Rat Urine Smell Effectively
Noone wants to deal with the smell of rat urine, but if left untreated it can cause havoc to your house and the people living in it. Although it is not pleasant to deal with, it can be treated effectively. If you follow the steps listed above, I have no doubts you can get to the core of the odor and eliminate it completely. Don’t give up! I hope this article has been helpful in learning how to get rid of rat urine smell for good!
