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Our family has been raising rabbits for decades and we are sadly familiar with the horrible smell and disgusting appearance of rabbit urine stains on hardwood floors.
Rabbit urine is very high in ammonia and as a result, has a very bad smell after sitting for a little while it also causes stains and wood rot if left untreated on wood.
Wood rot is caused by the very high nitrogen content of rabbit urine. Nitrogen stimulates the growth of wood-rotting fungi.
The most affordable, yet effective method for cleaning up rabbit pee is white Vinegar. Through a chemical reaction with the pee White Vinegar will break up the Urine, making it much easier to get the stain out.
Steps To Get Pet Rabbit Urine Stains Off Hardwood Floors
Ideally, the easiest way to get rid of rabbit pee is to find it fast and wipe it up.
If you manage to get the urine fast enough you have a much lower chance of a stain on your wood floor developing. If you don’t catch the pee immediately though there are many other ways to clean the pee.
Let’s dig into my family’s two best DIY bunny urine cleanup tricks.
Method 1: White Vinegar
For a bunny lover, one of the best is to use White Vinegar to wipe up the urine. The White Vinegar is able to break down uric acid, a compound in urine, making it much easier to clean up.
Along with this Vinegar can eliminate the smell of ammonia, something that rabbit pee smells a lot of when it breaks down.
How To Use Vinegar To Clean Rabbit Pee Stains
- Mix white vinegar and water in a 1 to 1 ratio. While using straight Vinegar will not hurt your floor, it will smell very strong and not add much more benefit to the cleanup process.
- Use a sponge or rag soaked with the solution to rub the stain.
- After sitting for a few minutes (5-10 min) you should be able to wipe the solution along with the pee up with a paper towel.
- Sprinkle the area with a solid layer of baking soda to absorb the rest of the smell.
- Clean the baking soda up in a few hours with a damp paper towel and then rinse the area well and dry throughly.
Method 2: Hydrogen Peroxide
Our second DIY method to cleanup rabbit urine is to use a diluted hydrogen peroxide concentration.
Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer and as a result, has the ability to kill bacteria in the pee and neutralize the salt present. When the Peroxide has done this, the urine will evaporate and leave no residue, stain, or odor.
To use this method simply take standard 3% hydrogen peroxide and dilute it to a mixture one part water, one part hydrogen peroxide.
Use an old rag or paper towel and soak it in the mixture. Lightly scrub the pee stain and leave the rag there for a few hours.
After soaking for a few hours take a paper towel and wipe the area of the stain dry. If done correctly your stain should be gone and no smell should remain.
Using the baking soda trick from above will also help with any residual odor, but with this method it’s likely not necessary.
Best Products To Remove Rabbit Pee Stains
If you do not want to make your own product to remove rabbit pee stains there are plenty of commercial products that you can buy to remove pee stains.
Though professional stain removers can be pricey if you have a particularly tough stain it may save you time and stress if you buy one online.
This 32 oz cleaner bottle from Rocco & Roxie will clean many many stains and eliminate the stress of removing the stain yourself. Because the formula is specialized you can expect stronger cleaning power. The major trade-off here is strength for a higher price. { Click here to see this stain remover on Amazon. >>> }
To apply this cleaner on a hardwood floor bunny pee stain simply:
- Spray the solution onto the pee liberally.
- Let it sit for 30-60 minutes.
- Wipe up with a dry rag and air dry.
Preventing Major Wood Damage
Though DIY and store-bought cleaners are suitable for cleaning up small messes that occur as your bunny runs around your house, no cleaner can reverse the most major damage.
One of the few situations that you can experience major wood rot from bunny pee stains is under a rabbit cage placed on the hardwood floor.
If hardwood under your bunny’s cage is not sufficiently protected the wood can experience major damage as pee builds up over many weeks and months.
If your bunnies cage does not come with a plastic container to catch pee and poop it is not sufficient to simply place down carpet or something else that could absorb the pee.
Even if a little pee leaks through regularly, in time the damage will build up.
We’ve seen people whose beautiful hardwood floors were damaged beyond repair by having the floor hidden under rugs or towels. Don’t let that happen in your home!
To ensure that your wood does not experience major damage, you NEED to place down a layer impermeable to liquid like a plastic container or an old shower curtain.
Most of our bunny friends who keep their rabbits pen setting directly on hardwood floors choose to put down an old shower curtain so their are no seems inside the cage.
Then they cover the shower current with inexpensive rugs so no one ever sees the unsightly shower curtain underneath.
Refinishing Hardwood Floors To Remove Rabbit Urine Damage
If the damage is old, you’re probably going to have to refinish your hardwood floors. This means sanding the floor, and probably sanding pretty deep to get past the damage.
It’s a big job, and it’s a job that sucks. It’s probably in your best interest to hire a professional to do the work.
However, if you decide to do it yourself, just make sure that do a lot of research and get the right tools for the job.
There are countless videos on YouTube showing you how to do the job, but some of them have some misinformation so be careful. I recommend that you get some training before undertaking such a big job.
Here is a link to a hardwood refinishing course that is really pretty affordable and if you decide to DIY this job it’s going to pay for itself many times over.
Conclusions
If you have a particularly difficult stain it may be worth it to buy a cleaner. If you have a relatively new, or small stain it may be worth it to make your own stain cleaner and save some money.
For day to day stain clean up a cleaner is sufficient, but for the most severe situations, the best solution is prevention. Make sure that no pee from your rabbit’s cage can reach your floor and clean it regularly to prevent buildup.
The best DIY bunny rabbit pee cleaners are diluted white vinegar and diluted hydrogen peroxide. Both react with the urine and break the pee up to remove odor and eliminate the stain.
If you want to buy a cleaner we recommend a Stain and Odor Eliminator from Rocco & Roxie.
~ Evander Davis