If you are suffering from a rat infestation, you are also likely suffering from rat urine smell. Rat urine smell is not just unpleasant. It is also dangerous. For example, you can get the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome by breathing in dust contaminated by rat urine. You should get rid of rat urine smell as fast as you can so you can be safe from these complications.
So, how do you get rid of rat urine smell? Follow these simple steps to get rid of rat urine smell effectively and safely.
1. Ventilate the space
Before actually cleaning up the space suffering from rat urine smell, you should first ventilate the area. Open all doors, windows, and other openings. When these openings are wide open, you are letting in sunlight and fresh air and letting out the bad odor stuck in the space for a long time.
Sunlight will help kill the bacteria causing the rat urine smell. Fresh air will help neutralize the foul odor in the space.
2. Avoid using brooms, brushes, and vacuum cleaners
When it comes to cleaning, the first tools that come into your mind are brooms, brushes, and vacuum cleaners. Sure, these are great cleaning tools. But they are not great for cleaning spaces with rat urine smell.
Sweeping tools such as these can create dust clouds that could be very dangerous. As mentioned earlier, you can get diseases by inhaling dust contaminated by rat urine. Sweeping tools are also not great for cleaning up liquid in general.
3. Protect yourself with gloves and masks
You don’t want direct contact with rat urine, feces, or the rat themselves. You should wear latex, rubber, and vinyl gloves. You also don’t want to smell the rat urine as you stay in the area for a long time or get particles in your face as you clean the area. You should wear a face mask. One of those thin surgical masks you can buy for cheap is enough.
If you can also wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, and shoes, the better.
4. Prepare the disinfectant
You can buy a commercial disinfectant, but make sure to follow the instructions on the label to guarantee its safety and effectiveness. But you can also make a DIY disinfectant at home. Combine bleach and water in a 1:10 ratio. Stir the mixture appropriately.
Put the mixture in a spraying bottle for easy application on the surfaces you are about to clean.
5. Use paper towels to soak rat urine
Instead of using sweeping tools, use paper towels to get rid of the urine itself. Suck the urine using as much paper towels as possible. Don’t hesitate to use a lot of paper towels.
Once you have completely soaked up the rat urine into the paper towels, apply the disinfectant. Apply it not just on the urinated area itself, but also on its surrounding areas.
6. Mop floors, wipe walls, and clean counter tops
No, you shouldn’t just get rid of the rat urine itself. The rat urine smell may come from dried urine on the floors, walls, and counter tops. Make sure to clean up these areas by applying the disinfectant.
Give particular attention to the corners of these spaces, as these are the usual areas with signs of dried urine, such as yellow stains. But this doesn’t mean that you will only disinfect the areas with these signs. It’s best to disinfect the entire floor, wall, and counter top.
7. Get rid of containers contaminated by rat urine
While cleaning the floors, walls, and counter tops, also look for containers that have been contaminated by rat urine. This is especially useful advice if the space you are trying to clean up is used as a storage, such as your basement or attic.
You can throw away these containers. But some containers can be disinfected, particularly those that are made of glass, metal, or plastic. You can bring them out into the sunlight, spray them with disinfectant, and wipe them with a rag.
8. Wash and steam clean carpets and upholstered furniture
The carpets and upholstered furniture in the space may also be contaminated by rat urine. Make sure to clean them out too.
It’s best to wash them with shampoo or any other cleaning material with gentler ingredients. Your bleach-water solution may discolor them, especially if you expose them too long to the solution. If you have or can rent a steam cleaner, that would be great for your carpets and upholstered furniture too.
9. Wash fabrics
If the rat urine contaminated area has fabrics in it, be wary. Bedding, clothing, curtains, and other kinds of fabrics can be contaminated by rat urine. They can be very dangerous, especially contaminated bedding and clothing, because you have close contact with these fabrics.
Wash them with laundry detergent and hot water. Also dry them in a hot setting in your dryer.
10. Disinfect all the items you have used
Throw away all the paper towels and other disposable materials you have used in getting rid of the rat urine and its smell in your space.
Also disinfect the rags, gloves, and other reusable items. The last thing you want is unsuspectingly spreading rat urine in your home by reusing these items without cleaning them properly. Use the disinfectant to clean them effectively.
Don’t remove your face mask yet.
11. Wash yourself
Wash your hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not readily available for whatever reason, you can use an alcohol-based hand rub. You can also use this hand rub if your hands are not visibly soiled after cleaning the space with rat urine smell. But soap and water are still recommended.
Once your hands are thoroughly cleaned, you can remove your face mask and dispose of it.
To be on the safer side, you can also take a bath.
Rat urine smell is something you should never underestimate
Rat infestations are hard enough to deal with on their own, especially if you don’t know the proper rodent trapping techniques. Don’t make rat infestations any harder by letting your family be exposed to the dangers of rat urine and its smell.
Get rid of rat urine and its smell by thoroughly cleaning up the contaminated area. And clean yourself and the materials you have used to prevent further contamination.