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Cat Peed Down Vent (How Can I Clean & Prevent it?)

If your cat has peed down your vent, the chances are you are looking for ways to clean it up, get rid of the smell (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad), and prevent it from happening again.

Why did your cat pee down your vent?

Your cat may have peed down your vent to simply claim her territory. In fact, it is a common instinct in the animal world. Strong animals tend to pee in different places to spread their smell and claim their territory.  It could also be because your cat is suffering from some health problems. 

3 great options to clean & prevent cat pee in your vent

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01. Nature’s Miracle Urine Destroyer (My Best) Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad
02. Aluminum Foil Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad
03. Double Sided Tape Click here for the price on Amazon #Ad

So, now you know why your cat may have peed down your vent, you may also want to know, how can you clean it? What can you do to prevent it? How you can get rid of the lingering odor the urine leaves behind? Keep reading for these answers, and much more.

How can you clean up the pee down your vent?

Once you smell any bad odor coming from the air vents, you have to deal with the situation immediately. Otherwise, your entire house will be filled with cat urine. Such an unpleasant situation!

If this problem ever happens to you, do not worry. Here are the steps you should take to clean your vents.:

1. Close the air conditioning and unscrew the vents, never touch it while it is still working. Wear gloves and get a bunch of paper towels and hold them to the end of a broomstick with rubber bands
2. Put a broomstick deep down the vent as far as you can and wipe out all the urine. If the paper towels are soaked with urine, replace them with new ones until you are sure there is no urine left.
3. Mix one tablespoon of your dish cleaning product with 3% hydrogen peroxide in three-quarters of a cup. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray half of it down the vent. Let it rest for 2-3 hours then spray again. If the smell continued, make the mixture one more time and spray again.
4. Add new clean paper towels to the broomstick again and wipe the cleaning agent out. Repeat the process again, but this time to soak the paper towels in cold water.
5. Give the vents an hour to dry out after you’ve wiped the area with paper towels.
6. Spray the vent with a cat odor neutralizer (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad), then screw the vent back in its place.
7. Turn your air conditioning on again and enjoy the fresh smell.

What can you do to prevent your cat from peeing down your vent?

To prevent your cat from peeing down your vent try applying aluminum foil around the edges (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad) of the vent.  Another good method is applying a double-edged tape (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad) on the edges of the vent.

Your kitty will not like the sticky feeling the tape leaves on its skin and pads. They will definitely stop going near the vent after one try or two. Also, regarding the foil, fun fact, cats hate aluminum foil. They cringe when they hear the sound of the aluminum foil makes and they will stay away from the vent.

If your cat pees (Click here if she pees in the bath too) down the vent constantly, then you may have felt its time to take action. There are multiple methods that are proven to work, So, now you know a couple.

The idea is, to make your cat psychologically link some unpleasant feelings with being close to your vent. If a cat comes near a vent, some cat owners try spraying their cat with some drops of water or shaking some coins, cats hate it, but its a controversial choice, depending on your view.

Either way, whatever you choose, sooner or later, your kitty will connect the dots and realize that being close to your vent will not have a good outcome.

How can you get rid of the urine odor in your vent?

The smell of the cat’s urine being spread all around your house can be awful. However, you can use a cat’s odor neutralizer that will kill the smell. All you need to do is spray it where the cat went and let it do the rest.

You can try Nature’s Miracle (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad). It is one of the best products that destroy the smell of cat urine in no time. It does not only deal with the smell, but it also gets rid of all the yellow stains and the residue.

You can use it anywhere with no worry. It is totally safe for your pets and all family members. You can also use it on furniture clothing, carpets, and hard floors.  Thanks to its targeted urine enzymatic formula, it will replace the bad odor with a fresh and light smell.

Remember to never pour down or spray any liquid product down an electrical device. Always use a broomstick with paper towels dampened in the cleaning product. Then, wipe off the product with dry paper towels.

Can you pay someone to clean out your air vent?

There are companies that you can hire to sterilize and clean your air vents. They will get the job done as professionally as possible and get rid of the stinky smell. Your house will be smelling minty fresh once again!

Try searching online or asking about a local company around your area that will do the job.

When should you consider a professional to help you?

It is always good for your wallet if you can do things on your own, but in some situations, it is essential to ask for the help of professionals.  If the urine has gone down to the vent (what about floor vents? click here) to a point that is hard for your broomstick or mop to reach, then it is time to call a professional.

They have the needed equipment to reach the points that you cannot reach. Keep in mind that your cat’s odor neutralizer (Click here to see the reviews, on Amazon #Ad) will not work unless it has direct contact with the urine. Otherwise, it will not be effective. That is why you need the help of a professional!

How do you get a cat out of a vent?

It can be a scary and uncomfortable situation if your cat got trapped inside your air vents. However, there are some steps you can take to get your kitty out:

1. First of all, try listening for sounds and locate where your cat is. If you are sure about its spot, unscrew the air vent and try to lure her out of the place.
2. Try shining a light down the vent. Cats love to play with lights and they are always attracted to it. It is preferable if you have a laser light, cats tend to chase it and play with it.
3. You can also put some dry food (Click here to see the price, on Amazon #Ad) on a sheet and put it down the vent as far as you can. There is a good chance that your cat might grab on the sheet and you can pull the sheet out then.
4. If none of the methods worked, try to seek the help of a professional. They have the right equipment and tools to help you out.

How do you deodorize air ducts?

Dirty air ducts can emit a stinky odor all-around your house. However, you need not worry! Follow these steps to deodorize your air ducts.:

1. Unscrew the vents and use your vacuum to get all the debris and dust out.
   Wash your air vent’s cover well with warm water. You can use a spare toothbrush to scrub the dirt out.
2. Then, soak it in white vinegar. The vinegar will remove the bad smell.
   Mix one-quarter of a cup of white vinegar with two cups of water and put the mixture in a spray bottle. Spray very gently in small amounts. Liquids could be dangerous if used on electric devices.
3. Wipe the vents with dry paper towels.
4. Make sure you change the filters regularly.

What happens if you do not deodorize your vents?

Unfortunately, if you do not clean and deodorize your air vents every once in a while, a bad smell may originate from them.  So, it is recommended to clean them every now and then if you do not want your house to stink.

Can you put baking soda in air vents?

Baking soda works magic when it comes to removing bad smells. After you have cleaned your air vents, put some baking soda in a bowl or a small box, and leave it inside the air vent. It will reduce and prevent any bad smell.

How can you be sure that it is cat pee in your vents?

If there is any doubt about the smell being cat pee you can check using black light, also known as UV-A. This will make it easy to see right away once the light is shone on it.

If it is cat pee, then you can look into the methods discussed to get rid of it. However, if it’s not you will need to look into some other reasons why it smells bad and what you can do about it.

What could cause a vent to smell when it’s not cat pee?

Earlier I mentioned that, if it’s not cat pee, you will need to look into other possibilities. Therefore, in this section I will explain some of these:

Condensation issue

One common issue for bad smells is condensation. This build up can start to smell really bad and resemble cat pee to the untrained nose.

This can be caused for several reasons such as a badly insulated duct, or even register boots in the supply duct. Once you identify the issue then you can work on how to resolve it.

Bad heat exchanger

Another common issue is a heat exchanger that has gone bad. If this is the case it may not be obvious and require some analysis done to clarify.

It may cost a bit to rectify, but once it’s done it could help to get rid of the smell.

If it’s not cat pee how can I get rid of the smell?

If it’s not cat pee there could be several solutions. For example, there was a report of a cat pee smell in a house, and after further analysis it was discovered there was an incorrect condensation pipe installed.

This led to it being drained straight into the septic tank. In this case a simple replacement of this pipe solved the problem and saved further expense. However, these are on a case by case basis, because each home setup is different.

Why does my heater smell like cat pee?

This heater smell could be caused by mold development. In particular, it could be spreading inside the duct or air conditioner.

If this is the case, and it’s confirmed, then you can look into a suitable way of clearing the mold and prevent it happening again.