Oxalic acid applied to the stain will often remove it, but it also ruins your floor's finish and you have to re-stain and refinish the area to match the rest of your floor. There is a way to remove urine stains on hardwood floors that works well for most stains and you won't have to refinish the floor.
Things You Will Need
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Wash the stained area with soap and water and let dry before treating the stain.
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Apply a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to the stain using a cloth or your fingers, leaving a slight puddle over the stain. Do not pour it onto your wood floor. Hydrogen peroxide will act like a bleach and lighten the wood, so you should do this slowly.
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Allow the hydrogen peroxide to penetrate the stain for a few minutes. If the floor is a darker wood, watch to make sure it doesn't lighten the area too much.
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Scrape the wax finish away gently using your fingernail, if it is a small area, or very fine steel wool. The hydrogen peroxide will remove the wax on the surface of the floor, and that's all you want to remove.
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Repeat the hydrogen peroxide application.
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Cover the treated area with clear plastic. You may have to block the area so that the plastic isn’t lifted or pushed off the stain.
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Allow the hydrogen peroxide to sit on the floor for two to three hours. For darker woods, lift the plastic frequently to check the lightness of the area.
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Wipe the area with a damp cloth. If the stain is still noticeable, you may have to repeat the peroxide application.
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Refinish the treated area with wax when the stained area is no longer darker than the rest of your floor.
The Drip Cap
- Urine stains often leave a dark, even black, stain on wood floors.
- Oxalic acid applied to the stain will often remove it, but it also ruins your floor's finish and you have to re-stain and refinish the area to match the rest of your floor.
- Hydrogen peroxide will act like a bleach and lighten the wood, so you should do this slowly.
- Allow the hydrogen peroxide to sit on the floor for two to three hours.
- Wipe the area with a damp cloth.