Here in the U.S., spring has finally arrived. If you’ve had a cat urine odor problem since last fall or winter, and thought you’d cleaned up each puddle thoroughly, you may be discovering otherwise now the heat and humidity have returned.

This article briefly describes the different components in cat urine, and why it smells so much worse in warmer weather. This article also discusses the most effective cleaning solution to get rid of the odor and stain permanently.

Cat urine stains are tough to get rid of because it has five different bacteria strains. Two of these are associated with the cat’s marking scent. The others are in the cat spray, urine, and uric acid.

The sticky, tacky part of cat urine is urea. The pigment is urochrome, and then there are the uric acid crystals, which look like salt.

The first two components clean up rather easily. It’s the uric acid with it’s crystals and salt that linger, causing the continuous cat urine odor. These crystals are insoluble, and bond tightly to anything they land on. This is why you can’t successfully eliminate cat urine odor with common household cleaners.

The crystals are reactivated with moisture. And this is why the cat urine smell is stronger in hot weather – the humidity in the air reacts with the crystals, and you once again smell the cat urine stain – even though you’ve cleaned and cleaned that particular spot.

In order to completely eliminate the smell and stain, the … Continue Reading ...

“In this world,” wrote Benjamin Franklin, “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

You might notice he made no mention of the weather.

With homes for sale all year round, you could find your moving day doesn’t quite grant you the perfect meteorological conditions you’d been hoping for. While in this part of the world we do know to be prepared for the worst, we don’t often find ourselves moving house in it.

With a little extra preparation however, a little rain or snow shouldn’t delay you from moving into your new home on the date you had planned.

Movin’ in the rain

Whether purchasing one of our homes for sale to live in or as an investment property, you’ll want to ensure both your belongings and your new home stay dry, undamaged, and show no ill effects from the move.

Anything that could be damaged by impact or water should be covered in moving pads and plastic sheets, while the removal vehicle itself should be checked for leaks that may allow water to damage your belongings.

If you are moving in a season where there is a high chance of rain, which is possible with homes for sale all year round, invest in removal cartons instead of using the old cardboard boxes you may have saved from previous purchases or have been tempted to pick up from the supermarket. When wet, these become soggy, weak, and cause more problems than they solve.

When you arrive … Continue Reading ...