Clean Cat LitterCats LitterClean Up Cat UrinCat Peeing Outside Litter BoxHow Clean Cat Urin SmellHow To Clean Cat UrineKitten Litter BoxCat Peeing In HouseCat Diy Litter BoxForwardAnyone who shares their home with a cat has probably had their kitty urinate outside of the litter box at one time or another. Regardless of the reason, whether it's medical or behavioral, it's vitally important to clean up any mess - as quickly and as thoroughly as possible to eliminate odors and prevent future accidents. Here are some tips to clean up cat urine from the various surfaces in your home.Keep your cat's litter box clean to encourage its use. If the smells wafting from your cat's litter box aren't enough to make your guests turn tail and head out the front door, any accidents on floors, mattresses or upholstery surely will. There are products that promise to remove cat urine odor, but use vinegar and save your pennies. Place several layers of paper towels or terry cloth towels on the cat urine. Soak a mop in soapy water, then wipe up the urine.
The key is to catch the stain immediately after it happens. Rinse the floor thoroughly with clean water. Create a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar. Wipe the floor with a sponge saturated with vinegar and water. Let the floor air-dry. Use a wet/dry vacuum to soak up the urine on the mattress. Alternatively use rags and apply firm pressure to the mattress, soaking up the urine with a rocking motion. Add the solution of equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray the mattress generously with the liquid and blot the mattress as in Step 1. Sprinkle baking soda over the wet area to lightly coat the stain, and work it into the mattress with your fingers. Mix 1/4 cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap. Lightly drizzle or spray over the baking soda solution. Allow the mattress to dry completely, then vacuum the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide from the mattress. Mix 1/4 cup of white vinegar with 1 quart of water. Soak a rag in the solution, then blot the carpeting several times, applying firm pressure to the stain.
Sprinkle baking soda over the stain. Apply the hydrogen peroxide and dish soap solution to the baking soda, and work it in with your fingers. Blot again with a clean, dry towel. Vacuum when thoroughly dry. Machine-wash your laundry or washables by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the load. Repeat the laundry cycle again once the first cycle is complete, this time adding only your regular detergent to the washer. Dry on high heat. Items you will need Tip References Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine: How to Clean-Up Cat UrineThe Tolman Guide: Cleaning TipsCats of Australia: Cat Urine Removal Photo Credits cat . MORE MUST-CLICKS: Why Do Cats Urinate on Your Clothes & Bed? Kitten Uses Litter Box but Pees in the Bed Emergency Formula for Kittens How to Keep a Cat Box From Having a Bad Odor A Home Remedy to Stop a Cat from Urinating on Stuff Beside its Litter Box How to Clean Dried Cat Urine Smells Out of a RugThe soft padding of a pillow-top mattress helps ensure a good night's rest, but it also provides a highly absorbent surface for stains.
Urine, blood or spilled liquids quickly soak into the cushioned top. Acting promptly can minimize the depth of the stain, but only proper cleaning will remove it completely. Pillow-top mattresses require similar stain removal methods as a regular mattress, but it can take longer for the thicker padding to dry properly. Blot up the stain with with a clean rag if it's still wet. Removing the liquid promptly prevents it from soaking into the pillow-top padding. Vacuum the mattress surface with the upholstery attachment to remove any dirt on the surface prior to stain removal. Dilute an upholstery shampoo with water per the package instructions. Apply the shampoo sparingly to the stain, working it into the fabric with a soft brush. Avoid applying too much and keep the padding in the pillow top as dry as possible. Moisten a sponge with white vinegar. Blot the stain with the vinegar to remove the shampoo residue and to help neutralize any odors, such as from urine stains. Air-dry the mattress quickly and thoroughly.
Set the mattress outdoors in sunshine or aim a fan at the wet spot to hasten drying. If moisture penetrated deeply into the pillow top, use a wet-dry vacuum to suck out the excess moisture. Sprinkle baking soda over the stain if an odor remains. Leave the soda in place for eight hours, then vacuum it from the mattress. Things You Will Need Rags Vacuum Upholstery shampoo Scrub brush Sponge Vinegar Fan (optional) Wet-dry vacuum (optional) Baking soda Tip References Michigan State University: Matress Care and CleaningOhio State University: Quick and Easy Stain Removal Photo Credits Gabriel Garcia/Demand Media Suggest a CorrectionJolie Kerr is a cleaning expert and advice columnist. She'll be here every week helping to answer your filthiest questions. I spilled a very small amount of beer on my bed. My immediate thought was, "What would Jolie Kerr do?" so I stripped down my bedding and tossed it all in the wash. The beer got only on the corner of a pillow and on the fitted sheet. I had a mattress protector on the bed which did its job and mostly absorbed the brunt of the blow.
I tossed that in the washer too, after checking the care guide symbol thingy. However, a tiny bit of beer did make its way onto the mattress, so I put a minimal amount of soap and water on a washcloth and wiped it, then dabbed it up with a different clean towel. I am now leaving my mattress to air dry. So my question is: Did I do that right? If in future this happens again, is there anything I should do differently (other than not drink beer in bed)? You totally did that right! Wow, I'm so pleased right now—you got the "grab for the soap" part right, you got the "dab at the stain" part right, and you even got the super important "let the mattress dry" part right. It is a grand day indeed!With your question more or less answered, let me say this: I think it's fine to drink a beer in bed. If that makes you happy, keep on keepin' on.Still though, there are more things to say, so today we'll cover what to do about other kinds of stains that commonly occur on mattresses, like blood and urine.
We'll also touch on what you should know if your mattress develops a mold or mildew problem, and talk about routine mattress care.We spend a lot of time in our beds and all kinds of stuff goes on in there, so it's likely that at some point along the way, you're going to end up with a mess of some sort that needs to be cleaned up. But the "how" of removing a stain from a mattress isn't all that intuitive—I mean, you can't just chuck the thing in the washing machine and be done with it. We're going to talk about some specific stains that can commonly occur on mattresses, but before we do there are three general rules of thumb to follow.The first is that you want to be aware of not saturating the mattress with water or liquid cleaning solutions—in addition to being not-washing-machine-chuckable, a mattress also poses the problem of being tricky to dry out when it's gotten wet. And a wet mattress is not only unappealing in terms of a sleep environment, but also is a breeding ground for mold and mildew.
It probably goes without saying that you don't want to be sleeping atop a sea of mold.The second thing to say about dealing with a stain on the mattress is that, provided you know what it is, you'll want to treat it with the right product. That's especially important because a number of substances that typically stain a mattress (think: blood, sweat, urine) are protein stains which, when combined with bleach, for example, can be made worse.The third thing to say is that the Letter Writer's approach—using a damp rag and a small amount of soap—is a very good one that you can and should bear in mind in the event you, too, spill some beer or wine or juice or soda in bed and catch it immediately.Blood stains can happen on mattresses (or pillows) for a number of reasons; menstruation is an obvious one, but things like nosebleeds happen, sometimes dry skin cracks overnight and bleeds, etc. There are a lot of ways to treat blood stains—you can make a paste of baking soda or crushed up aspirin, use hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice, or a product like Carbona Stain Devils #4 or Zout.If you go the paste route, apply it to the stain and allow it to sit for 30 or so minutes before wiping away with a clean
To use a liquid stain remover, start by applying it to a slightly dampened rag or sponge, and then dabbing at the stain. That will help you to control that amount of moisture the mattress is exposed to, though you may have to take several passes to fully remove the stain.*Or the dog, cat, child, etc.If they happen to you, and you catch an accident right away, grab some paper towels or rags to soak up as much of the urine as possible. Then, use a product like Nature's Miracle, which is designed for use on pet messes but can be used on human messes as well, or a laundry pre-treatment spray like Zout, to remove the remaining stain.After removing the stain, there may be a lingering odor; if that's the case, when the mattress has dried, spread baking soda on the area, allow it to sit for 30 or so minutes, and then vacuum it up.In the event that you have a mattress that's developed mold, you should think seriously about replacing it. Mold spores aren't things you want to be breathing in while you sleep, and mold can be particularly trick to eradicate entirely when it takes root in a mattress.
However, there are cases where replacing a mattress isn't an option. Lysol can be a good choice for blasting mold out of a mattress, though you can certainly also employ rubbing alcohol, bleach, or white vinegar. To use one of those options, apply to a sponge or rag and scrub at the moldy spots until they're gone. Then allow the mattress to dry completely.If you live in a warm, dry climate, you're in luck—a damp or wet mattress will dry fairly quickly, especially if several windows are open to help with air circulation. Setting a fan and/or dehumidifier near the mattress can also speed along drying time, and is recommended for those in damper climates. If the spot you've been treating is on the small side, a hair dryer will allow you to quickly dry that area out.Sometimes mattresses may take on a funk that is unrelated to stains, and sometimes those stains leave behind an odor even after cleaning. Here's what to do about that: Sprinkle plain baking soda or one of the scented household deodorizers that Arm & Hammer makes on the mattress.