Change the floorboards or not? incontience!

JMW77

A friend of mine has just bought a house, where the lady who previously lived there had incontinence which has left a bad smell,although with decorating etc the smell has eased.

Anybody have any ideas about what gets rid of the smell is there anything they can do to reduce the cost of replacing the floorboards.Before carpets go down.

Thankyou

slummymummyof3

Has your friend tried using bicarbonate of soda in bowls in each room as it absorbs bad smells. If that doesn't work perhaps sanding the floorboards would be the next step??

JMW77

Yes thats a good idea take the surface off,might help!

MX5huggy

Around the bed? bathroom? you are going to struggle to eliminate the smell entirely. After washing with bleach twice I would have the boards out they are not that expensive.

aliasojo

If the boards haven't been sealed or varnished then the wood will have absorbed any fluid that lay on them. I'm not sure sanding will be enough.

I'd replace the boards now before wasting time and effort on trying to clean them tbh.

A friend had a similar situation but with animals. He thought he had cleaned enough to have dealt with the smell but when the hot weather came around there was still a noticeable aroma. Admittedly it was much, much less than it was previously, but it obviously hadn't gone completely and he was gutted that he hadn't just replaced at the start.

spakkker

The smell will keep on easing until no more. You could try brushing down lots of strong disinfectant for now - the cost is minimal. Laying new floorboards sounds like massive overkill.
I once bought a large house where travellers parked on land next door had used it as a toilet - the bath was nearly half full of turds! They also used every other room to some extent - the smell went after cleaning. I've also visited nice shiny clean care homes which didn't smell too good.

Doozergirl

Sarah Beeny gave a specialist product to a couple on an episode of Property Ladder, if that helps?

I've used a mix of white vinegar and water in one house in the loo area. That worked really well but in a more expansive area?