Murphy's Law states whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and that most certainly applies to "accidents" on the brand new mattress you just purchased from your friendly neighborhood Mattress Firm. From an accident caused by your little one to the family pet draining themselves on that brand new duvet, figuring out how to clean urine from a mattress as well as how to get the urine smell out of a mattress can be quite the hassle. Cleaning a mattress in general is no easy task, but learning how to clean a mattress can keep your and urine takes that process to a whole new level. Here are some tips for cleaning urine from your mattress without completely losing your mind. If you are (un)fortunate enough to catch the urine stain on your mattress as soon as it happens, your first move should be to blot up as much of it as you can using a paper towel or a sponge. If you by chance own a wet/dry vacuum, use this to better help soak up the urine from your mattress. Sprinkle baking soda on the affected area to clean up any remaining moisture.
Laundry detergent is your best friend when it comes to removing the smell of urine from your mattress. Once you've soaked all the fresh urine from the mattress, or if the stain was too old to be able to soak up urine, mix a couple of teaspoons of laundry detergent in a cup of warm water and pour (or spray of you have access to an empty spray bottle) onto the affected areas. Alternatively, you can also use a solution of one-part warm water and one-part vinegar if you can stand the smell. Once you've mixed up your magic cleaning solution and applied it to the part of your mattress where the urine is located, repeat the blotting process discussed earlier. Carefully blotting is important as it will remove any residual urine and prevent mold. Be sure and get the urine-affected area of the mattress as dry as possible after applying your cleaning solution. After you've dried up all the remaining moisture from the spot of the urine, sprinkle baking soda over the entire mattress. This will help to prevent the smell of the urine from seeping into any other parts of the mattress.
The mattress needs time to completely dry out (18-24 hours), so you will have to make other sleeping arrangements for the night. After this time period has passed use a vacuum to remove all the baking soda and then prop up the mattress either outside or in a well-ventilated area to allow air to circulate and sift the last of the odor from the mattress. If you've followed all the above steps and are still smelling urine on the mattress, you may need to reach out to a professional cleaning service to get their opinion of the damage. If your mattress is over eight years old, then it's time to take a trip to Mattress Firm and replace it anyway. Your local store representatives will be happy to find you the perfect mattress!Cats are NOT Jerks Who Pee But They DO PeeWhen I first wrote this article around three years ago, I went on a bit about how evil cats are and how they're always plotting to destroy the world and, well, it made a LOT of people mad. People do not like to hear that cats are bad because inherently they really aren't.
If your cat is urinating outside of his or her litter box there is likely a good (in the cat's eyes, anyway) and solvable reason.As someone who has three cats that she loves very, very much, I can't help but feel like they've committed a special kind of wrong when one of them urinates on something of mine or my children's. It's just so violating. Why cats choose to do certain things like eat houseplants, destroy fine china, sleep in cardboard boxes and very large shoes, and pee on $90 jeans is beyond human logic. That's okay, because we don't need to understand it. All we really need to understand is how to fix it. Learn how to do that in this article. And please, if I've offended you with my less-than-favorable language towards felines leave a comment. Tips to Prevent AccidentsBefore we get to the nitty gritty of how to remove cat urine from clothing, rugs, and fabrics, it's important to remember that most of these accidents are preventable. The reasons are many that a cat may choose to urinate outside of her litter box.
Sometimes it's innocent - something random to us but instinctual to her inspired her fancy, while other motivations may be more serious, like an unchecked medical condition that requires attention. Whatever the reason, here are a few tips to prevent your little buddy from creating any more havoc:If you haven't already done so, spay or neuter the perp. Not only is it the responsible thing to do, but it will help deter your cat from feeling the need to "mark" territory. Clean up previous pet stains. Cats seem to go back to spots where they or another pet have urinated to cover over it. Properly cleaning the area can help your cat to forget there's somewhere important they have to pee. Keep laundry and blankets off the floor. Because cats just like to add to the chaos, keep piles of dirty clothes and folded blankets off the floor. These are like cat magnets. First they cuddle, then they pee. Purchase rugs that don't have a rubber bottom. As weird as this may sound, sometimes certain smells can attract cats to a spot that they just have to pee on.
The smell of rubber is one of them. Keep that litter box pristine. Your idea of clean and your cat's idea of clean may not be the same. Choose a time each day to clean the box and sprinkle a baking-soda based deodorizer to keep things fresh for your cat. Don't make the cat mad. Easier said than done, amirite?! In my case, my cat often pees on my stuff if I don't feed him at a specific time of day or if I've done something to irritate him. Take your cat in for a check-up. Sometimes peeing outside the litterbox can indicate a health problem in your cat, such as diabetes. If all else fails, get your critter checked out. How to Remove Cat Urine from ClothesThe good news is, of everything your cat could choose to take a leak on, save for extremely you can do the following:If the urine is old (as in, you just discovered the accident two days after the deed was done), throw the pile into a bag - paper or plastic will do - and douse the clothes in baking soda to help lift the urine.
Seal the bag by either tying it or taping it shut. Let the clothes chill like this overnight. If the urine is fresh, though, just head straight to the washing machine.Throw the clothes in the washing machine with a regular dose of laundry detergent, 2-4 cups of white vinegar (depending on how large the load is), and a liberal scoop of baking soda. Use the smallest setting you can so you can really get the fabric agitating in the machine. The white vinegar deodorizes the urine, while the baking soda helps lift the urine out of the fabric. Run clothes through again on a hot cycle, this time with no soap, vinegar, etc. to fully rinse any residue.Because you're washing on hot, it's best to hang this load to dry to prevent shrinkage. This method works for towels, curtains, and small area rugs too. Delicate FabricsTo remove cat stains and odors from delicate fabrics, use the same method as you would for washing regular fabrics, but use the "delicate" or "knits" setting instead of a regular setting, as well as a larger load setting to prevent wear and tear of the fabric.
How to Remove Cat Urine from CarpetCleaning cat pee out of carpets and large rugs that can't be thrown in the wash is a different game. While the agitation from the washing machine helps to throw the urine out of the fabric, so to speak, cleaning carpet is tricky. This is because, if you're not careful, you'll just sort of rub the pee in more. Thankfully, if the urine hasn't been there for too long, you may be able to save the carpet—or at least prevent the stain from soaking too deeply into the baseboard. Try the following before ripping any of your Berber up: Soak up the stain. Use paper towels to soak up as much of the pee as you can, without rubbing. Spray white vinegar on the area.Again, use paper towels to soak up the moisture. Repeat this step once or twice more, depending on the severity. Use baking soda, next. Sprinkle the stained area with baking soda to absorb as much vinegar and urine as possible. Let that sit until dry. Vacuum up baking soda. If that doesn't seem to have done the trick, try a cleanser formulated to clean the enzymes found in cat urine and follow the directions on the bottle.