If your dog had an accident on your concrete patio, one of your first thoughts might be, at least it wasn’t in the house.
And while you still might feel that way after reading this article, unsealed concrete’s porous nature can make it a bigger struggle than getting pee off, say, your tile foyer.
Here’s the good news: You can remove urine from concrete patios by using baking soda and vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and an enzyme-based stain remover, among other methods.
So, read on to learn how to clean dog urine from concrete patios.
How To Clean Dog Urine From Concrete Patio
You may have never considered your concrete patio’s porosity until your dog peed on it. However, concrete contains seven materials, one being cement.
As a result, your patio floor contains countless three-nanometer holes.
Unfortunately, these holes are large enough for your dog’s urine to seep into if you have an unsealed concrete patio floor.
So, below is a three-step process you can follow to whisk away the urine’s presence and odor.
Step 1: Identify & Remove Debris From the Area
One of the biggest issues dog owners face when trying to remove their dog’s urine from their concrete patio is that they can smell the urine but can’t necessarily locate it.
That’s because dried dog urine doesn’t always leave a stain on concrete.
So, you have one of two options if you can’t identify where your dog peed:
- Clean your entire concrete patio floor following the steps here.
- Wait until it’s dark out and use a blacklight or UV light to locate the spot.
If you happen to catch your dog peeing on the patio, you’re in luck. Use a towel, mop, or any absorbent item nearby to soak up as much urine as possible.
Such a situation is ideal because it’ll prevent as much urine from penetrating those pesky three-nanometer holes.
Either way, you’ll want to remove all debris from the area. So, take a broom and sweep away any leaves, dust, dog toys, and more.
Step 2: Wash with Soap and Water
Washing the urine spot on your concrete isn’t enough to permanently remove odors, but it’s crucial for giving you a cleaner surface to work with for the third step.
Depending on the setup of your concrete patio, you might be able to take a hose and spray the affected area. Make sure to set the nozzle to a narrow, high-pressure setting.
If you don’t have a hose or your patio isn’t suitable for such a dousing, that’s okay because even after you hose off the urine area, you should put on some gloves, get down on your hands and knees, and wash the area with soap and warm water.
Using a sponge, rag, or any other material you can throw away is a great option.
The good news is that you don’t need to go overboard with scrubbing, given that the enzymes in the last step will do this hard work for you.
Step 3: Apply a Deodorizer
The deodorizer you use in this step depends on what you have available in your home and whether you’re willing to pick up a special canine urine deodorizer from the store.
We recommend the latter and offer suggestions in the next section.
But for now, below are some popular deodorizing methods:
- Trisodium phosphate
- Baking soda and vinegar
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Store-bought enzyme odor remover
While some of these urine deodorizing methods are more potent than others, we recommend keeping your pets and children away from your concrete patio until you finish cleaning.
Trisodium phosphate is among the most toxic on this list, as it’s a garage cleaning chemical. However, it’s a highly effective deodorizer that removes urine stains from concrete.
In contrast, baking soda and vinegar are safe, natural remedies for treating dog urine odors in concrete.
To create this concoction, sprinkle a generous layer of baking soda over the urine spot. Then, pour vinegar on top of it and let it sit for a while before scrubbing it away.
The downside to using the baking soda and vinegar technique is that it’s best for applying to your concrete directly after your dog peed on it.
Otherwise, you’ll likely struggle with long-term smells.
Hydrogen peroxide is an excellent disinfectant, though it might not have the strength you need for long-term urine odor control.
According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, as little as a 3% concentration of hydrogen peroxide is effective for disinfecting inanimate surfaces.
Best Urine Remover for Concrete
We all know that dogs have an excellent knack for smelling, but did you know that dogs can smell anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans?
That’s because they have as many as 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses. In contrast, humans have a measly six million.
Needless to say, even if you think you eliminated your dog’s urine odor from your concrete using an at-home remedy, there’s a good chance your dog will be able to smell it.
And unfortunately for your patio, dogs use urine marking to claim their territory.
So, it’s often necessary to enlist the help of an enzymatic or ionized cleaning solution. Luckily, they’re not hard to find—Amazon, grocery stores, and pet stores often sell them.
Below are a few of our favorite urine removers for concrete.
1. Angry Orange Odor Eliminator
With the tagline “Smells like heaven, works like hell,” you can feel pretty confident that Angry Orange’s Odor Eliminator will get rid of the urine stain and smell in your concrete for good.
It comes in a delightful citrus scent, and a single 8-ounce bottle makes one gallon of solution.
Some users mentioned that while the Odor Eliminator took care of urine smells, their dogs would still pee in the same spot after applying this, however.
So, there’s something to be said about enlisting a dog trainer’s support.
2. Rocco & Roxie Stain & Odor Eliminator
Rocco & Roxie’s Stain & Odor Eliminator uses the power of enzymes to eliminate the urine scent from every nanometer of your concrete patio.
You’ll need to be ready to spend some money since it’s more expensive than other similar products.
We hope your dog isn’t peeing elsewhere. But if this is the case, you can use this versatile stain and odor eliminator on everything from furniture to kennels and clothes.
3. Simple Green Outdoor Eliminator
Simple Green’s Outdoor Eliminator is ideal if you can apply a hose to your concrete patio. You can apply the one-gallon formula directly to the problem spot.
Not only should this eliminator work for getting rid of your dog’s urine smell, but it can also remove odors on your concrete patio from vomit or feces.
However, it can take a few applications if the smells have been on your concrete patio for a while.
You can even use the Outdoor Eliminator on gravel, brick, and artificial turf if you want to keep the outside of your home smelling good.
Will Bleach Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell on Concrete?
Bleach is excellent for disinfecting the area where your dog urinated on your concrete, but it doesn’t do a good job of getting rid of the smell.
On the contrary, bleach will likely leave a temporary odor in the air before revealing your dog’s urine smell again.
Therefore, given what we covered with needing enzymes to hide the urine scent so that your dog doesn’t pee on your concrete patio again, using bleach to clean up the smell is a poor choice.
Conclusion
“It’s a good thing I love you,” is a common phrase that owners say to their dogs as they clean up pee from concrete.
But now that you know how to clean dog urine from concrete patios and the importance of using a deodorizer, we hope you’ll soon be able to stick with the “I love you” part.
