Coffeeaddict...
Thanks for the advice, but none of that would really work for us at this point. The problem now is that the subflooring needs to be resealed before cleaning the carpet will be effective... hence the need for a day I can leave the dog outside all day. (The cats wouldn't bother the sealant, but the dog is more unpredictable.)
We were steam cleaning for the first few days... apparently, that's all it took for the subflooring to be damaged. We have had a professional in, and their advice was to pull up the pad, seal the floor and then replace the pad. The landlords are being great about it... because we offered to pay for/fix the problem and also because the professional (one they recommended) said that not all the damage is from our pets, though our animals have not helped matters.
When the weather is warmer, we'll be able to deal with this. Neither of the cats are declawed and will damage the wood in the bathroom or bedrooms if they are locked in (they're 9 years old, I know them well). As it is, we'll be sanding and painting the trim of the master bedroom door as we move out, due to ONE HOUR that they got locked in there accidentally.
We are now kenneling the dog when we leave the house, but the cats... well, felines can be very vindictive creatures. The good news is that the peeing is slowing down... the 3 of them are getting used to each other finally and we're finding we only have to clean the rug a couple times a week at this point. We also put down cheap, large area rugs over most of the area, and we think this is helping. I don't believe the dog is doing it at all anymore... the new spots are too small to be her.
One thing we're playing around with is having the carpet and pad removed, the carpet from that room temporarily stored and having linoleum placed over the subfloor. Then we can put the rug back down as we move out. We'd do it right away, but the thought of paying ANOTHER $100 a month for storage has me thinking evil thoughts about the cats. We'll see. Oh how I regret taking in those kittens all those years ago. I love em, but sometimes I hate em too.
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