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The 4 Best Cleaners For Dog Urine On Hardwood Floors

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by Tiana Crump and Danielle Calma
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Bustle / Amazon

Dog urine can wreak havoc on your beautiful hardwood floors. Luckily, the best cleaners for dog urine on hardwood floors use special enzymes to tackle stains and odors. They remove urine without damaging chemicals like bleach and ammonia to prevent further damage to your flooring. And since these cleaners can help eliminate the smell of the urine from the surface, they have the added benefit of discouraging your dog from returning to the scene of the crime and remarking.

What To Look For In A Cleaning Product For Dog Urine On Hardwood Floors

When you’re looking for an enzyme-based cleaner for hardwood floors, it’s smart to find products without harsh chemicals and to avoid over-applying. Too much moisture of any kind will warp your wood floors, and after you’ve cleaned the area, you want the floor to be safe for your pets and the rest of the family. For the safest results on hardwood floors, check the label and make sure your cleaner is free of bleach or ammonia, too.

How To Clean Dog Urine From Hardwood Floors

When urine happens, the first step is to immediately blot up the mess with paper towels. The longer urine sits on your hardwood floors the more damage it’ll cause. So, it’s crucial to start cleaning as soon as it’s spotted to prevent those unwanted discoloration stains. Next, sprinkle baking soda and let it sit for a few hours to overnight and then vacuum or brush it up. Once you’ve eliminated the risk of moisture damaging your floors, then use one of the below enzyme-based cleaners to further reduce smells and ward off bacteria. While other home remedies can help with odor and stains, it’s the enzyme cleaner that will really get the whole job done.

Shop The Best Cleaners For Dog Urine On Hardwood Floors

In a hurry? Here are the best cleaners for dog urine on hardwood floors:

  1. The Overall Best Cleaner For Dog Urine On Hardwood Floors: Rocco & Roxie Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator
  2. The Best Budget Spray Cleaner For Dog Urine On Hard Floors: Nature’s Miracle Hard Floor Cleaner
  3. An Enzyme Cleaner For Large Areas & Multiple Dogs: BUBBAS Super Strength Commercial Enzyme Cleaner
  4. A Concentrated Enzyme Cleaner That’s Under $10: Naturally It's Clean Floor Enzyme Floor Cleaner

To help make shopping easier, here’s a list of some of the best cleaners for hardwood floors that can tackle dog urine. These enzyme cleaners are all customer-approved to help remove dog urine stains and odor from your floors without harming your precious flooring — and they’re all available on Amazon.

1

The Overall Best Cleaner For Dog Urine On Hardwood Floors

Rocco & Roxie’s Professional Strength Stain & Odor Eliminator is a top pick for pet urine removal on hardwood floors and almost every other type of floor surface, including carpets and tile. You can even use this enzyme-based formula on laundry, furniture, and kennels, and it’s also effective against smells.

With more than 90,000 ratings on Amazon, it’s a go-to for many pet parents. It’s safe for use around your pets and children and also free of chlorine, bleach, and ammonia. Plus, it’s color-safe, so you don’t have to worry about it staining your carpet or upholstery. For large or frequent messes, this cleaner also comes in a gallon size. If there’s a drawback it might be that it’s a little pricier than some other options out there and some people didn’t love the licorice-like scent.

According to a fan: “Wow! This stuff really works! I had puppy pee smell in my bedroom for weeks. Apparently my pup had an accident and the pee dried on the hardwood floor, so I didn’t notice it. I mopped my floors every few days and couldn’t get rid of the smell. This was my last resort. Two mops later and the pee smell is gone! So happy I purchased this product!”

Also available on: Walmart, $20, PetSmart, $20, and Chewy, $20

2

The Best Budget Spray Cleaner For Dog Urine On Hard Floors

This floor cleaner from Nature’s Miracle is a great cleaner for dog urine that is safe for hardwood and costs a little less than the top pick. Just like that one, it has a bio-enzymatic formula that’s capable of providing a deep clean without damaging your sealed wood floor’s natural finish and also works on smells. It has no bleach or ammonia in the formula, either. In addition to hardwood floors, it’s safe to use on linoleum, vinyl, ceramic tile, and concrete.

However, it’s not recommended to use this on laundry, cushioned furniture, and other soft surfaces, so if you want your cleaner to pull double-duty, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

According to a fan: “We have an old Cocker Spaniel who has trouble with his back legs. He has frequent accidents near his bed on a hardwood floor. Nature’s Miracle is a key part of cleaning up the mess. Takes the odor away and helps clean the wood.”

Also available on: Chewy, $13 and Tractor Supply Co., $13

3

An Enzyme Cleaner For Large Areas & Multiple Dogs

For big messes, frequent cleaning, and homes with multiple dogs, this commercial enzyme cleaner is worth considering (and it’s $10 less than the Rocco & Roxie’s 1-gallon bottle). You can even pour some into a spray bottle for small jobs. This enzyme cleaner treats hardwood floors, carpets, and more. Like the top pick, it can also be used on laundry and furniture to remove stains and odors. The enzyme-based formula is also free of ammonia or bleach, and it is safe for use around pets and kids.

According to a fan: “Works great. Used it on hardwood floors and upholstery furniture and the house smells great and clean. Will buy again.”

4

A Concentrated Enzyme Cleaner That’s Under $10

Made with pet-safe ingredients and without ammonia or bleach, this concentrated enzyme cleaner is formulated to be safe on most hard floor surfaces, including wood, tile, laminate, and vinyl. To use it, just mix it with water in a spray bottle. It’s available in a 24-ounce size that results in a whopping 24 gallons of cleaner after diluting it.

When spritzed, it leaves behind a fresh scent that several reviewers mentioned smells like citrus. One reviewer noted that “it works great on dog odors” left by urine. Another shopper described: “Potty training is going well but there is the occasional accident. I love that this cleaner gets the floors clean, takes away any odor and is safe for our puppy.”

The drawback to using a concentrated cleaner is that you have to do some prep work when making a new batch by diluting it down, but it’s very cost-efficient once you do. One bottle should be plenty for most households, but if you can also shop it as a two-pack if you want to stock up.

According to a fan: “We got our floors refinished last January and are pretty careful about what we put on them, since that was the last time we’ll be able to refinish them without full replacement. In a house with two kids, two dogs, and a cat, we’re deeply in need of an effective and gentle hardwood floor cleaner. We love that this product isn’t slippery or greasy and looks like new.”

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