The dog had an accident and some of it leaked down to the basement on to the layout and it splashed on the track and cork.Wil it be best to replace the cork or go ahead and leave it.I have a lot of time on this part of my track work because it goes from single main to double main.Thanks.
Wow! I’ve cleaned up plenty of dog accidents on carpet but never on a train layout! I’m thinking that unless it got into a seam in the cork, clean up the residue, spray with a little Febreeze and you’re done. Cork is generally water proof. If it got into any scenic material I would replace that area
I’d be more worried about how “accidents” from above seeped through the floor in the first place??
Your dog must be bigger than mine, and they are Irish Wolfhounds. I be checking out the floor my self.
Yikes, how in the world could that have happened???
As a former dog owner and a long term MR, my advice is to correct the situation that allowed “it” to hit the layout, and then throw the cork away.
I have hardwood floors and the pee somehow went down the cracks.One time the toilet overflowed but did not hit the layout and sometimes a cat will spray and that will also go down to the basement.
I have hardwood floors too. One time I accidentally spilled the tank for the humidifer in the master bedroom which is above the living room. I mopped it up.
The following morning I was sitting on the couch and heard a tapping sound. Further investigation revealed that water was dripping from the ceiling one drip at a time! You guessed it. Fortunately, it stopped after a time and didn’t leave a stain on the ceiling. I had just painted the ceiling about a month before. Doesn’t look like a problem now.
So I can see how that happened… Now I think I see where the expression came from about things slipping btw the cracks!
No more bacon bitz or puperoni for that bad boy!!!
Arf, Arf, Arf!!!
Cedarwoodron (whose toy poodle knows better!)
The cat sprayed and THAT seeped through to the basement? Your cat must have the bladder of a T-rex!
Wow, that is an uncommon predicament!
I’ve spent a lot of time with dogs and I know that the smell seems to leave the “affected” area quickly but after many weeks it comes back worse than ever. I’d replace the cork.
Plus you never know what the ammonia in the urine would affect in the long run. Another reason why my Python is the perfect pet. No PEE.
Pete
I believe there are products made especially to nuteralize pet urine odor. You could check at your local pet shop, drug store or vet to see what is available.
If you do find something, use it, then leave that section of the layout alone for awhile. Work in other areas until you are satisfied that the product worked.
Good luck,
No pee, but they make a great impersination of a T-rex when it comes to number two!
(I know as I have a lot of them at home…Where´s the shovel? [(-D])
Wouldn’t it be awful if in fact this “treatment” solves the problem of cork roadbed becoming brittle over time? Eventually Cody’s Office would have to show it as a modeling tip of the week. Imagine that blooper reel …
Dave Nelson
Yes my wife has about 20 cats and sometimes 15 are in the house at the same time so when one sprays another goes behind it and another after that.
In addition to replacing the cork, I would give some thought to the flooring as well. If pee is going to bother the cork, imagine what its going to do the the flooring where you can’t get at it to clean it. You might have to cover the layout and kick over a bottle of Fabreeze until it rains from the ceiling below.
My wife buys ZERO ODOR from the internet for our cats. It works great ! If it can kill cat urine, it should work for a dog. And get that floor sealed.
You need two things here:
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A bottle of Nature’s Miracle (or similar product) which will deodorize and neutralize the ammonia in the urine and eliminate the stain caused by the urea, without harming your layout.
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A good general contractor. I grew up in a house built in 1728 (Historic Marker #6 in the village of Boalsburg, PA, if you ever get there). This house had 2x6 boards laid over beams set at 36" centers. They were held in place with wrought iron nails. All the boards were varnished, and the gaps between them filled with some kind of putty – originally pitch, most likely, but later window and door caulk. Liquids spilled on these floors did indeed occasionally find tiny gaps in the caulk and seep down to the floor below, but generally, it was water tight. I believe also that the historic landmark designation allowed an exemption from building codes. Unless you live in this type of house – and especially if your house was built in the 1960s or later, your hardwood floor should be composed of a plywood or OSB subfloor, a vapor barrier (looks like tar paper), and close-fitting hardwood strips covered by polyurethane finish. Liquid should NOT be passing through this, and you may have a serious issue. I’d have it looked at, quickly, or the next thing that lands on your layout might be your coffee table!
Thanks CTValleyRR,i did thank about the coffee table or whatever fall down.Dont know what can go on in where i live.
I think it odd that there were still drips many hours later. If that much liquid were between/under the floor boards, or held up by some form of impermeable barrier, why didn’t the floor boards swell and buckle or torsion? One or two, at least, should have shown signs of that stress after just 6-8 hours of exposure.
It would have been instructive, in hindsight, to have captured a drop on a finger tip and used the old olfactory test to determine if it were indeed dog urine. Tasting optional.
Crandell