Causes of Crawl Space Cat Urine Smell | Crawl Space Waterproofing | Charlotte NC

Causes of Crawl Space Cat Urine Smell

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Cat Urine Smell

Many homeowners may feel that their houses smell like cat urine. This event happens even if they have no pets. Surprisingly, when homeowners seek the advice of professionals on crawl space waterproofing in Charlotte NC, they find that the primary cause of the cat urine smell in their crawl spaces comes from failures in the vapor barrier.

The sources of bad odor Indeed, when the vapor barrier fails and becomes wet from groundwater or high humidity, the area begins to experience an unpleasant gas odor, and it resembles cat urine. However, the cause of this problem is not directly caused by the damaged plastic of the vapor barrier; indeed, it is originated from the decomposition of organic material in the ground.

Causes Of Foul Smelling Cat Urine FIRST, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT TOXIC WASTE PRODUCED BY THE METABOLISM IN ANIMALS IS MADE OF AMMONIUM IONS. ON THE OTHER HAND, AMMONIA IS A TYPE OF NITROGEN COMPOUND THAT IS RELEASED WHEN PLANTS OR MICROBES IN THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT DIE AND DECOMPOSE. FOR THIS REASON, THE PRESENCE OF NITROGEN IN THE SOIL IS BENEFICIAL FOR PLANT GROWTH. AMMONIA IS ALSO PRODUCED BY THE BACTERIAL DECOMPOSITION OF UREA (THE PRIMARY CONTENT OF URINE). FOR THIS REASON, THIS TYPICAL ODOR THAT ARISES IN CRAWL SPACES RESEMBLES CAT URINE.

On the other hand, open crawlspaces are accessible to street cats and other animals that use these areas as their litter boxes. In the case of cats, their urine has a very pungent odor because they tend to mark their territory by urinating.

Street Cats

How to Get Rid Of Urine Smell First, if your crawlspace is not encapsulated, it is necessary to test the pH balance of the soil. The pH scale has a range of 0-14, and ammonia is around 11 on the pH scale; it means that you need 7 on the pH scale (neutral) before starting your encapsulation.

Thus, there are soil gas mitigation systems that can remove the ammonia smell.

If you already encapsulated your crawl space, the best option is to remove the vapor barrier after remediating the urine smell.

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