If you've ever been in a kennel, or even used one to house your animals, you know the unpleasant smell that can plague some of establishments that aren't as clean. Sometimes, it is not even a black mark on the kennels cleanliness, but an indictment of their concrete. Most kennels are made from poured concrete that serves as the floor for the dog-residents to rest on. However, many kennels do not seal their concrete, leading to a painstaking and tiresome cleaning process every time an animal has an accident.

Even after the accident has been cleaned, the smell can linger. This is because the offending particles, either urine or solid waste, seeps into the pores of the concrete, becoming part of the floor itself. Once this has happened, it is extremely difficult and often impossible to remove.

Benefits to sealing a kennel:

• Easy clean up of urine, bodily fluids, dirt and chemicals
• Stain resistance
• Keep out odors
• Abrasion resistant: will not peel or chip when in contact with animal nails

If you are looking for easy to clean floors that will stop the penetration of ureic acid, resist abrasions, chemicals and odors use a durable coating epoxy and urethane system.

If you are looking to keep the concrete floor natural without any gloss or sheen use a penetrating concrete sealer. Keep in mind spills and accidents need to be cleaned up in a timely manner to prevent staining.

There are a couple of different options on the market for sealing kennels. Some people opt for epoxy systems, which consists of an epoxy primer like the Epoxy 325 followed by the Urethane 645 topcoat. They are available clear or colored and leave a gloss finish. They are excellent options for kennels because they completely resist the penetration of acids and chemicals allowing for easy clean up. By using a durable concrete coating system you will be able to wipe up the messes on the surface level without any intensive scrubbing. Also since the Epoxy 325 and Urethane 645 are extremely abrasion resistant you do not have to worry about the coatings peeling, chipping or delaminating when exposed to nails and animals running.

The other option is to go with a natural finish penetrating sealer like the Siloxa-Tek 8510. The 8510 will help to resist staining and will cause fluids to bead up from the concrete instead of being absorbed into the concrete. The penetrating sealer will also ensure that your floors are slip resistant rather than creating a film on the surface, the concrete retains its original surface texture.