Cat Odor – Can I Remove it from Wood Floors?

Q: My husband and I are considering buying a house that needs a lot of work which was built in 1840. It has heart of pine floors throughout the house. The current owners have cats. Lots and lots of cats. The house smells badly of cat urine. Is it possible to ever get the smell out of the pine floors? If so, how?
Thanks,
Susan
A: Pet urine can be tough to overcome when it comes to most wood floors. If the floor itself does not have black spots (typical of floors where the pet urine has soaked into the wood itself), you will want to seal the floor. The most effective process here would be to sand the floor down some (step one of the refinish process) the use a barrier coating over the entire floor (a dewaxed shellac such as DuraSeal Universal Sealers or waterborne sealers like Bonaseal) then apply your new finish to the floor, ensuring to buff lightly between each coat so that the finish adheres properly.
The dependent factor here is how far the urine has penetrated into the pine itself. If you have many black or discolored spots on the floor and minor sanding does not remove or heavily lighten these spots the floor may not be salvageable as a finished surface.