CodeBot wrote:
We just bought a house. The previous owners had several cats and a
bird. The cats were all living in the basement and when we inspected
the house the first time the basement smelled of the cats. We
naturally assumed the smell was cat urine. However, the smell sort of
reminds me of a musty mold smell. Is there a way to be sure that this
smell is from cat urine or from mold without ripping up the carpeted
basement floor?? Is there a device that can pick up mold? Possibly a
Hydrometer??

The basement is fully finished and has new carpet.

Thanks for any advice.
Stinky basement, and a history of cats? I would have kept looking- it is
still a buyer's market.

New carpet in basement is a red flag. What were they covering up? I'd
buy a dehumidfier and leave it running down there, and if the smell
doesn't abate in a week, rent an ozone generator before your next
weekend trip, and leave it running while you are gone. I'd also inspect
any exposed parts of wall real carefully, and make sure the gutters are
clean and in good shape, and make sure rainwater can't pond against the
house due to settled planting beds or improper grading. If there is old
cat pee under the carpet, or soaked into the lower walls from spraying,
every time it gets damp down there, the smell will come back. Other
posters were right, the smells are not similar at all.

Not a fan of carpet in basements. They are sponges, and hide too many
things.

--
aem sends...