hiding animal smell
 

Im looking to redo hardwood floors in a house im about to buy. When i walked through the house the previous homeowner had a ton of cats. Their litter boxes were full and it smelled horribly. Im carpeting the upstairs and resanding the downstairs. Will a sand and seal varnish cover the smell or is there another type of polyurathane that i should use. any recommendations will help

It depends on how deep the urine soaked in.

as far as i can see theres no spots in the wood. like you would see if there was water sitting for a long time. I think the carpet and padding may be holding most of the smell, but i have a cat and don't want him to do the same. At work we use sand and seal varnish when we stain doors, and i may be able to get some of that, but was wondering if that would seal any smell that was left before i asked my boss if i can have some. Is that like any other polyurethane or is the sand and seal a little different

The best thing to seal the smell will be shellac. You can thin it with denatured alcohol to make a sanding sealer for a thinner penetrating application before putting a more durable coat of polyurethane over it. It is also possible to spray the affected area with an enzymatic cleaner/deodorizer that will eat up the odor causing bacteria. Pet stores often carry this. You can shellac/poly after that.

It is much much wiser to use enzymes to eradicate the source than to try to cover it. You may cover it for a time but changes in the environment can re-release the odors even if sealed in some cases. One of the best products to use for this is Micro-ban. Pet stores do carry enzymes for this purpose but they are costly when trying to treat a large area. I think sourcing a product through a janitorial supply or hospital supply company would save you some serious money.:)