- Make sure the mice are really gone and can’t come back. If there are still mice hiding in your house, it doesn’t matter what you do to get rid of the stench: it’ll keep coming back.
- Apply animal stain disinfectant to the affected area, or steam clean the area.
- Use another odor-neutralizing product if the smell remains, like baking soda or activated charcoal.
- If the stench persists, you may need to replace soft surfaces such as cushions or insulation. It’s a lot harder to remove urine smell from soft surfaces than hard ones.
Removing the Smell
Ventilate the area. Open the windows and doors to get a cross breeze moving through the space. Ventilation will help dissipate the scent as well as provide you with some much-needed fresh air: mouse urine is not only stinky—it can also be unhealthy to breathe in as it can carry many diseases and viruses, including Hantaviruses. To protect yourself against germs while cleaning up after the mice, wear PPE while you work: don a facemask and rubber gloves to prevent inhaling or touching the droppings.
Spray disinfectant on hard surfaces and let it soak for 5 minutes. Make sure the word “disinfectant” is on the product you use. Spray the area with disinfectant until it’s drenched, and let it soak for 5 minutes. Use paper towels to wipe up the urine, cleaning product, and any droppings. Toss the paper towels, then mop the area again with the disinfectant. Alternatively, you can mix water and bleach together in a spray bottle at a ratio of 10 to 1 and apply this to the area. Be aware that bleach may be destructive on certain soft surfaces. While fresh air will help clean out the affected area, be sure not to agitate the mouse urine by scrubbing or sweeping the area with a broom or by shaking out soiled rugs or curtains as this could cause the germs in the urine to become airborne.
Steam-clean soft surfaces. Not only can bleach harm fabric on sofas or carpets, but if the mouse urine has soaked into a soft surface, it’ll be a lot harder to clean out than just by wiping it down. Rent a commercial-grade steam cleaner and steam clean upholstery or carpets that may have been soaked in mouse urine. Soft surfaces are much harder to eradicate odors from than hard surfaces. If the mice have gotten into the insulation in your walls, you may need to replace it. If you cannot remove the stench from your sofa or carpet, you may need to remove them and replace them. If you’re able to wash any soft surfaces, such as a couch cover, stuffed animals, or drapes, wash them on high heat with regular detergent. Dry them in the dryer or let them air-dry on a clothesline.
Lay books and papers out in the sun to decontaminate them. When it comes to items you can’t clean with liquid disinfectant, like books and papers, no need to chuck them. Simply lay them outside in the sunlight for a few hours. You can also lay them undisturbed in a rodent-free indoor space for 3 to 6 weeks (the longer, the better).
Dispose of dirty rags after cleaning, and wash up. Proper disposal of any dirty rags is paramount to your health, as is thoroughly washing up and disposing of your PPE. Toss any rags you've used to clean up mouse droppings or urine in a trash bag that will be taken outside soon, and throw out your gloves and mask. Before you remove your gloves, wash your gloved hands thoroughly. This way, once you remove the gloves, you don't re-contaminate your hands while you hold them.
Apply baking soda to help neutralize the scent of urine. After you’ve disinfected the area, if it’s still a little smelly, sprinkle baking soda over the floor or sofa and leave it on for a minimum of 60 minutes—up to 24 hours should do it, but the longer you leave it on, the more effective it will be. Vacuum up the remaining baking soda. Even just leaving an open container of baking soda near the affected area can help neutralize the smell. If you’re trying to eradicate the scent from walls or from another un-vacuumable surface, try leaving an open container of baking soda near the area. You can also use activated charcoal to neutralize the odor: just lay a few pieces of activated charcoal on a metal tray and set the tray close to the area. You can drench your home in disinfectant, but you might still have a lingering odor. The good news is this scent will probably fade in time.
Make your home smell good with fragrance products. Even if your home no longer smells like mouse urine, after all that cleaning, it probably smells like bleach and other chemicals. Scented candles, essential oils, and air fresheners can help your house smell good again. Lavender and rose are popular floral scents, while vanilla and coconut will make your home smell warm and yummy. Peppermint, lemon, and orange will give your space a fresh scent, while linen and cotton scents will make your home smell light and clean. You can DIY your way into a fragrant home by simmering water on the stove and adding fragrant herbs and fruits, like citrus slices, lavender, or mint. Bonus: lavender, citrus, and peppermint also deter mice!
Signs of Remaining Mice
Mouse feces Before you try to eradicate the scent, you must make sure you don't still have mice. If you think you’ve still got mice in your house, it won’t matter how thoroughly you eradicate the scent: it’ll keep coming back. Fresh feces is a telltale sign you've still got a mouse problem. Fresh mouse feces look like small black cylindrical pellets and are likely to be found in pantries or cupboards, while older droppings are gray and resemble dust. If you only find older droppings, the mice are likely gone. If you’re reading this article, you already know you have mouse droppings in your home, but if the droppings keep coming back after you clean, you know the mice are still there.
Mouse nests Mice make nests out of scraps of paper, insulation, plants, old fabric—anything and everything they can find. They may burrow into the wall and create a nest in there, or take up residence in a dark corner of the closet. Mice will urinate and defecate pretty much anywhere, but their droppings will be concentrated around the nest. So if you've found mouse droppings, the nest is probably close by.
Grease or fur Examine the bottom few inches of your walls closely. If mice frequently rub up against them, there will be fur and grease clinging to the wall. Mice rely on what they can feel for direction because they have poor vision. Hence, they rub up against walls as they scurry through the house, using the wall as a guide.
Scratching and squeaking Mice will scurry around inside the walls, and unless your walls are heavily soundproofed, you'll be able to hear them scratching about and squeaking. Since they're nocturnal, you probably won't hear it during the day, but pay attention once night falls. If you hear scratching and squeaking, you've still got mice. If you’ve got a cat or dog, they’ll probably detect mice before you do. Pay attention to your pet’s activity: if they’re poking around a specific area or seem to be on high alert, they could be sensing a mouse nearby.
Eradicating the Mice
Set traps for remaining mice. If you’ve still got mice, get rid of them before you can get rid of the scent. Cleaning up mouse urine while there are still mice living in your home is like treating a symptom rather than an illness. A common method for getting rid of mice is setting traps. If you can, seal the house prior to setting any traps so that scared or wounded mice can’t escape. If your mouse traps laden with cheese or peanut butter don’t seem to be working, try luring the mice with cotton balls, paper towel scraps, or other items they may want to use to make a nest with. Alternatively, try putting food on your mousetrap—and then not setting the mousetrap. Let the mice get accustomed to eating from a mousetrap for several days, and then set the trap.
Deter mice with garlic water. You might love garlic in your dinner, but mice, like tiny vampires, are turned off by the scent. Add a few pieces of chopped garlic to a spray bottle of water, and spray the area near their nest. You can also place cotton balls covered in essential oil near their nests. Mice don't like citrus, lavender, peppermint, and clove scents (though they smell great to us).
Call an exterminator if you can't eradicate the mice yourself. Dealing with mice yourself is the simplest and cheapest option, but mice can multiple rapidly: females can have up to 10 litters of babies in a year, meaning if you only start out with 2 mice, your problem can get out of hand in an instant! Don't wait too long too call an exterminator if the problem doesn't seem to be getting better quick. Keep an eye out for mice droppings: if they seem to be increasing, it's a sign your mouse problem is getting out of hand, and it's probably time to call a professional.
Make sure they don't come back after you eradicate them. Keep the mice from returning after you’ve gotten rid of them: don’t leave food sitting out, and seal any cracks or holes in the wall through which mice may enter your home or in which they might make a nest. If you don't have a cat already, and if you're able to get one, they make a great defense against mice. Just the presence of a cat can deter mice from nesting in your home.
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