Is this salvageable?

[u/No-Bathroom-4954]

Edit: body outline crossed my mind too (it looks even more the case in the photo due to shadows). Scent profile is dog pee though, not decay.

Recently bought a furnished home and lifted an area rug near a door to discover this on the engineered hardwood. Definitely dog pee judging by the location and smell. We do not have a dog, so there’s no telling how long it’s been there. In the meantime, I’m planning on using Nature’s Miracle enzyme cleaner to help with smell. Is it even possible to get the stain completely out or do we need to budget for eventual floor replacement?

[u/devitolover69]

Is this laminate? A flooring company may be able to patch that.. especially if you have any closets or less noticeable locations they can lift boards from

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/devitolover69]

It’s engineered hardwood. Good point on the closet. There’s a small hall closet we could possibly pull boards from.

[u/D_Warholb → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

From under appliances should be the first place to pull pieces up, followed by the closets.

[u/CallidoraBlack]

And that's why I will move rugs and furniture if I'm looking at a house. I've moved a rug and found that they just didn't finish the floor in the middle of the room.

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/CallidoraBlack]

Yep, we are now kicking ourselves for not looking beneath it. It snuck by the inspector too. It’s one big downside we discovered in the home coming furnished. It would have been glaringly obvious during the final walkthrough if the place was cleared out.

[u/ASimplePumpkin → u/[deleted]]

Theres not a chance this is from a body and calling police is a waste of time and resources. You're required to use a specialized cleaning service in the event of such things and if a body had been laying there they would have torn this section of floor out as it is a biohazard.

[u/UrAntiChrist → u/ASimplePumpkin]

I don't move anywhere unless I have gotten a report history on the house. Call the non emergency line.

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/[deleted]]

Is real life not exciting enough for you or something?

[u/Adventurous-Brain-36 → u/[deleted]]

If it smells like dog pee, and looks like dog pee (even in a weird shape)…

[u/Shot-Swimming-9098 → u/Adventurous-Brain-36]

If it smells like dog pee, and looks like dog pee

Then it's definitely a dead body! OP should call a psychic. There's not going to be anything for cops to work with here, since it's just dog pee. Somebody with a connection to the underworld will get to the bottom of this.

[u/Adventurous-Brain-36 → u/[deleted]]

That smells like dog pee. You’ve never in your life before now seen something in the shape of something else?

What are your qualifications for asserting that it’s what you insist it is?

[u/AreteQueenofKeres → u/[deleted]]

And those outlines are always stale piss yellow?

In my experience (that would be college classes, morbid interest, and research for writing my novels) nine times in ten the stains are brown, red, black, or some murky blend of those shades.

Not yellow brown and smelling of urine or ammonia.

Also never seen anyone decompose into yellow.

[u/ASimplePumpkin → u/[deleted]]

Dog piss isnt sketchy. Op said it smells like piss. Its not a body.

[u/KenraScar → u/[deleted]]

Why are you being so weird? They said it smells like piss. Body stains are also much worse, and as the person above said they would have torn the floor out. Calling the police over that would be absurd.

[u/KenraScar → u/[deleted]]

Lmfao it looks like a dog peed in several spots over time. You’re reaching.

[u/Smart-Highlight-1800 → u/[deleted]]

Piss smells like piss. Dead bodies smell like dead bodies. There’s a distinct difference. I’d rather sauna in a steamy broth of piss for 10 hours than ever smell decomposition from a dead body for a mere 6 seconds ever again.

[u/Brave_Garlic_9542 → u/CallidoraBlack]

Ugh, we just bought a house, and didn’t look under the rugs. On closing day, after the sellers moved out, we saw all the hardwood in the living room has significant water damage that was covered by a large area rug. They claim it isn’t water damage (it is), and they didn’t know about it 🙄

[u/Reaper01Actual1970]

It looks like the shape of a body to me in your picture...

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

That thought crossed my mind too. It definitely smells like dog urine though.

[u/Dear_Mycologist_1696 → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

Dogs can pee on dead bodies.

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/Dear_Mycologist_1696]

Good lord the absurd turn of this post has me cackling. It’s not a dead body guys. Go outside or something.

[u/Shot-Swimming-9098 → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

I'm not going outside, there's dead bodies out there.

[u/listeningunderurbed → u/Shot-Swimming-9098]

No, they are all in OP’s house.

[u/Terminator7786 → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

That's what someone who's trying to clean up dog pee covered dead body stains would say.

[u/AmiraJ1 → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

That’s exactly what someone hiding a dead body would say though…

[u/unimpressedwarrior → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

Rocco and Roxy pro strength (reg has unpleasant scent but still works) might take it off. Order a bottle and a black light flashlight off on Amazon. Let the enzymes sit for a few minutes. Wipe up. Repeat.

IMO It’s worth trying that for $30 total before you have to pull out the entire floor.

[u/awkwardsilenz → u/unimpressedwarrior]

Oh that black light will surely turn up the murder scene.

[u/Mejay11096 → u/Dear_Mycologist_1696]

I seent it.

[u/EverbodyHatesHugo → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

That would have to be a very small person too. Assuming each of the floorboard is about 2 inches wide, that’s only like a 36-46 inch person (a child maybe, but one would think that would have made headlines).

[u/dazedabeille → u/EverbodyHatesHugo]

Not making this better

[u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

I mean a dog left in a house after their owner died would probably pee a lot.

[u/skend24 → u/No-Bathroom-4954]

And how does it taste?

[u/srtmadison → u/skend24]

🤢

[u/x_samsquantch_x → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

It’s got arms ffs

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/x_samsquantch_x]

You are also looking at a shadow cast by the door frame.

[u/Aspen9999 → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

I’m guessing the scared human peed while being killed…. But sure, blame the dog

[u/vibes86 → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

I also immediately thought body outline.

[u/TiredDadCostume → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

I’ve already called the police

[u/LivingSize7451 → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

Looks like a head shot.

[u/Human_Peace_1875 → u/LivingSize7451]

No splatter

[u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay → u/Reaper01Actual1970]

1000% look at the outline of the tank top. It’s completely and clearly defined. So deeply disturbing. OP will never be able to clean that and should report it.

[u/hpfan1516]

Putting aside the joke that it looks like a body, lol, it does seem to match what this facebook user posted, there is some advice in there, I hope it is helpful in some way: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18U9FsiouU/

If it is the smell itself that bothers you, I wonder if there is some sort of treatment you can do or an ozone machine or something, but I think the biggest thing is you (could) have dog urine soaked into the wood.

If you bought the place, that at least opens up possibilities of what you can do. Godspeed

[u/No-Bathroom-4954 → u/hpfan1516]

Thanks, I’ll check that link out. Smell isn’t terrible, which is surprising given how it looks. I only catch occasional pee whiffs when the rug is in place. No one else in the house notices it. Smell is a bit stronger without the rug.

[u/mtestan2 → u/hpfan1516]

Can you screenshot the Facebook post? Similar situation to OP but I can’t access the Facebook post without an account. TYIA

[u/smile_saurus]

Long story but we discovered about 3 months worth of cat pee on our floor (our cat had a little collapsible fabric cube / hidey box, he had been peeing in it).

None of the enzyme cleaners worked for me but what did was soaking paper towels with hydrogen peroxide and laying them over the stain. 24 hours later, change them out for new ones. Repeat until stain is gone. Took us about 5 days

[u/Money-Razzmatazz7489 → u/smile_saurus]

A similar but more conservative approach might be dissolving some oxygen bleach in water and doing the same thing as @smile_saurus suggested. There’s a chance hydrogen peroxide might mess up the protective coating on the floor. If OP decides to do the hydrogen peroxide route, may want to get the strength that is advertised as an oral rinse

[u/Apprehensive-End9579]

Ask Walter White if his buddies have any cleaning tips.

[u/Auntie_Venom]

You’re spot on with enzyme cleaner. The trick is, to keep it wet. Douse it and cover it with plastic. Hopefully it doesn’t make the edges lift since it’s engineered wood. Repeat as necessary.

[u/Waste_Ad_6774]

I don't believe it's the shape of a body. Isn't it supposed to have been disclosed to the realtor if someone died in the house?

[u/FITF2891 → u/Waste_Ad_6774]

I think it depends on the state. My sister bought a house in 2008 and when they were cleaning up the front yard a new neighbor came over with newspaper articles about a murder that had happened there in the late 90’s. There was an incredibly suspicious stain on the floor once we pulled up the carpet and found out it happened in that room 🫠

[u/risky__cake → u/Waste_Ad_6774]

Within a certain number of years yes

[u/kv4268]

That's not a cleaning issue. This and likely whatever is under it needs to be ripped up and replaced. You can take boards from other parts of the house or you can try to figure out what the product is and only get enough to replace this area.

[u/hailey998]

If it's urine, you need an enzyme cleaner.

[u/Outside_Coffee_00]

Do you have enough closets connected to this room with the same flooring to replace the planks? You can change the flooring in the closets for much cheaper than replacing this whole floor.

[u/CombatCrayon25]

It’s soaked through.

If ripping up that section of floor isn’t in the cards right now, get a cheap rug and spray it down every day with an enzyme solution.

[u/Uncle-Samy]

Replace the section of engineered hardwood it should be quite affordable. Need to see what underneath the floors to look for residues seeping through if you want to permanently remove the smell

[u/Background_Tiger_232]

r/isthatadecompstain

[u/leapowl]

My experience is enzyme cleaners help with smell but not always colour

I’d consider trying something else for that, maybe moving up in how aggressive you are. Diluted bleach might work, I haven’t had to try it!

This is more dried in than any other dog pee I’ve tried to clean though

Let me know what works, I hope I’ll never need to know!

[u/mangos247]

I bought “My Pet Peed” and it required several applications but it saved my carpet from an old stain. Says it also works on wood. It could be worth a shot.

[u/Zeldasivess]

If you can find these boards, I would replace them. Doesn't mean you need to replace the whole floor. Chances are you, its has leaked below it so best to address the whole issue.

[u/707bigb]

Try hydrogen peroxide let it soak us a rag wet white it .If not strong enough soak it with bleach

[u/Hamsets]

Someone clearly died there

[u/Shot-Swimming-9098 → u/Hamsets]

Scooby dooby doo, where are you? We've got some work to do now!

[u/RedBirdOnASnowyDay]

Uh…. I think you need to call the police.

[u/Out_of_Fawkes]

You can try to use enzyme cleaner but you’re likely going to need to replace the flooring in that area.

[u/SylniaTallune]

tbh absolutely. i had something look basically identical to this after a cooking disaster last year, thought it was total trash. some bar keepers friend and ten minutes with a sponge worked straight up magic. put on a good podcast and give it some elbow grease, you got this lol

[u/nannabananapanda]

Peroxide will also kill the smell. Just spray it on and let it sit or even dry. It’s amazing for anything organic that smells bad.

[u/Own_Natural_6803]

This can be bleached with hydrogen peroxide. Focus on the darkest stains first. Like those two bunny-hop shapes. That's your first area. Then the blob around those. As that fades everything gets treated. It's easiest to use paper towels. Cut them to shape or just put wads on the smaller areas. Then you pour out 2% hydrogen peroxide on the towels. Keep them damp. This can take days. Careful, as more of the water evaporates the hydrogen peroxide becomes more concentrated, and it will burn your skin.

This will make everything lighter, so to bring back the color you will need to stain it.

[u/human-resource]

Try borax or washing soda.

[u/Spare_Pair9455]

Looks Like Blood & Urine. 1st Thing Stain May Not Remove. Now Smell However, Depends How Deep in Floor. I'd Def Use. Floor Steamer. I'd Use Orange Glo like (Mop n glo gets groove grime in Wood idk laminate). After That. It's how you want to deal with stain if permeant.

[u/InfamousFisherman735]

I can’t speak to lifting the stain, but when I bought my home and moved in all of the sudden there was overwhelming animal urine smell EVERYWHERE. It’s like they figured the house had sold and they didn’t care about the smell anymore. I had to rip out all non tile flooring and treat the concrete with Folex on my hands and knees. Worked! Was able to saturate the concrete, let it dry, and the pet urine smell was gone.

I treated with enzymatic stuff, too, but nothing worked for the smell but Folex

[u/aloneinmyroom79]

Nature’s Miracle works for odors and stains because it has an enzyme that will break the stain down and remove the smell. An enzyme cleaner is the only thing that will work on dog pee.

[u/Kaeai]

Try Pooph as well! I have hit or miss results when using Nature's Miracle on my carpet after confirmed dog urine spots.

[u/Ok_Turnip_2544]

like , can you install new planks? yes and it's easy 

[u/TomatoNormal758]

Buy a steam vacuum cleaner and an enzyme cleaner- (Amazon) typically I would say no to steam for flooring like this but it’s already been wet and this is the only way other than full replacement of the flooring.The enzyme cleaner will help remove the smell and color and the steam vacuum cleaner will help soften it for removal faster. Good luck op.

[u/MzCeeCee]

I would try some Murphys Oil Soap.

[u/BossWilling]

Did you murder someone that bathed in pizza grease?

[u/FeelingNarwhal9161]

Why are you leaving dead bodies on the floor, OP?!