Pet odors on unfinished floor - top with Kilz?

[Kevin]

We tore up carpet and pad that had lots of pet odors in it, and some of the odors went down to the unfinished wood floor below it. A friend suggested we roll Kilz over the floor to seal the odors before the new carpet gets installed next week.

Does this sound like a good idea, putting pad and carpet directly over the Kilz primer? Also, since there will not be a topcoat of paint on it, would it be good to use Kilz Odorless? I wouldn't want to trade pet odors for strong paint odors...

Thanks! Kevin

[patriarch]

[e-mail] (Kevin) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

What you are trying to do is encapsulate the smelly wood completely from moisture and humidity. Any kind of poly varnish would work. When we did ours recently, the area of subfloor I couldn't remove and replace got several heavy coats of whatever oil-based polyurethane varnish was left in the shop. The last thing, before the carpet went down, I gave the whole floor a heavy coat of Zinsser BIN shellac primer. Dries fast, seals well. Four months now, and no smells.

KILZ should work. I don't think you need the odorless. Open the windows, and air everything out well, whatever you use. This is of particular importance with the BIN, which is alcohol-based.

Patriarch

[Joe Bobst]

Kilz may not be the solution to this problem. All primers are part of a painting system and if you analyze the problem you will realize that the odorous material has penetrated the wood. It makes sense, then, to seal with something that penetrates the wood, rather than a primer which is formulated to stay on the surface and provide a paint bond.

[tnom]

Don't cover it yet. If it is pet urine that you smell get a enzyme urine cleaner that can be bought in many pet stores. Some brands are in a powder form that you can mix to the desired strength. The enzyme attacks the urine and removes the smell. Once you cover the area with Kilz you will never be able to penetrate the wood good enough to get the smell out. Humid weather can activate the smell again so it is best to eliminate it rather than cover it.