Dry your mattress quickly to save it from life in a landfill. A soggy mattress soon takes on a musty smell, and within a day or two, may even begin to grow mold deep inside it. Of course, not every wet mattress is salvageable. If the mattress was in a flood, the water likely was contaminated with biohazards and dangerous chemicals or fuel. In that case, even if you could sanitize the inside of the mattress sufficiently, mold from lingering moisture could invade unseen. Mattresses that avoid complete saturation -- such as those wet from spills, rainwater leaks, water used to put out a minor fire or similar sources -- can be salvaged, as long as you work quickly and dry them thoroughly. Blot up the moisture if the spill or wet area was minor and small. Use a clean, absorbent cloth or towel and apply as much pressure as possible to force the moisture out of the mattress, into the drying pad. Follow with a hairdryer, set on high. Hold the hairdryer a few inches from the mattress surface and apply heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
Allow the area to cool down completely before determining if it is dry or not. After 30 minutes, proceed to another drying method. Sprinkle clean kitty litter over the mattress surface. Apply pressure to the litter to force moisture out of the mattress and into the absorbent littler. Place a towel or cloth over the litter before pressing, if you prefer. Wait an hour or two and press again. Suck up the litter with a wet/dry vacuum. Repeat with fresh litter if moisture remains, then vacuum. Follow with heat from a blow dryer or proceed to another drying method if moisture remains. Flip the mattress up, on its side, and securely prop it in place so there is at least 2 feet of air space on either side. Place a fan at the end, blowing down both sides, or use two fans to point directly at the mattress on either side. Open windows in the room and turn on ceiling fans, as applicable, to create as much air movement in the room as possible. Turning up the heat, using a space heater -- set as a safe distance from the mattress -- or similar measures also help accelerate drying.
Alternatively, take the mattress outside. Set up a platform, if possible, such as concrete blocks or sawhorses, to rest the mattress on and allow maximum air movement. Otherwise, turn the mattress on its side and securely prop it up. Allow the mattress to stay outside in the wind and sun until it is dry. Speed the drying process with a couple of fans, hooked up to extension cords, pointed at the mattress. Return the mattress inside once it is completely dry. Things You Will Need Absorbent cloth or towel Hairdryer Cat litter Wet/dry vacuum Fans Concrete blocks or sawhorses (optional) Extension cords (optional) Tip Warning References North Carolina State University: Cleaning Flooded Upholstered Furniture, Curtains, Bedding, Table Linens, and Other Household TextilesRestoration SOS: Clean, Dry, Repair and Disinfect MattressesMattress Detective: How to Dry a Mattress With Ease Photo Credits Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionSpecific techniques can be used to remove wet and dried urine from your mattress.
Whether in their own bed or in the family bed, with young children and pets, it is inevitable that eventually you will have to deal with pee on your lovely memory foam mattress. Even if you have a zipped off mattress cover, such as the GhostBed CertiPUR-US certified plush cover, you will still want to get that urine out before heading to the washing machine. The pee smell and stain may only get embedded when machine washing with standard detergent. You will want to work fast to remove any urine that could be soaked into the mattress. The dreaded wet urine problem should be tackled immediately but do not fret if the stain is not found until dry. There are methods to remove both dried up and fresh pee and its stains from your mattress. Along with a roll of paper towels a spray bottle, toothbrush and vacuum, all you will need is baking soda, and distilled white vinegar. Wet stains should be soaked up by blotting with paper towels as best as possible. Be sure to not press the towels hard onto spots as this may push the urine deeper into mattress.
In addition to using paper towels to blot a stain that is wet, you will need hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish detergent, a bowl and spray bottle. Mix together in the bowl 10-ounces of hydrogen peroxide with 3-tablespoons of baking soda and a couple of drops of ordinary dish detergent. Then pour the mixture into your spray bottle. To prevent from foaming you do not want to mix directly in spray bottle. Special Enzyme cleaners are on the market in both liquid and powder form that are made to specifically attack urine stains. In addition to your enzyme cleaner of choice you will need paper towels to blot wet areas, baking soda and a vacuum. Blot up any wet stains with paper towels and you can sprinkle baking soda as well for drenched areas. Once the baking soda has dried up brush it off of the area before proceeding. Hydrogen peroxide can be used full strength, but poring it onto a mattress will just soak through layers of memory foam creating a drying nightmare. Instead mix up a recipe to create a stain removing paste.
Remember that any of these methods can be repeated numerous times to ensure that the urine issue is removed as best as possible. If one method is not working for you then try another. Once you have removed the pee stain you will want to stay ahead of any future urine problems. Before making up the bed use a sealed waterproof mattress protector on a child’s bed. A waterproof protector type mat can easily be placed anywhere such as on a parents’ bed, sofa or taken along when traveling.Here's how to clean a mattress and remove vomit, urine and their smell. You CAN save your expensive soiled memory foam bed or pad. Here's quick & easy step by step instructions to eliminate stinky stains and restore your sanity.If you're reading this you are probably facing a pee or puke panic or a spill situation. If it's an old stain and you're looking for one last thing to try before you throw out a stinky, soiled memory foam bed or topper link over to "How to Clean a Mattress - Part 2". Don't go through this again!
Buy two of these waterproof mattress protectors now. Click on image below, get it tomorrow.One to go on the bed after you finish cleaning up. And one for the closet in case your child or cat is sick several times in a night! This is the best selling one on Amazon. Your child just peed on your memory foam mattress...and the cat. Your feline was so scared that it projectile vomited before running off to hide under the bed. What do you do first?If you've got a good mattress cover, you've got nothing to worry about. But you're in a panic so... Do not scream or yell. The most important thing you need to know about how to clean a mattress is to work quickly. So save your breath and run to the kitchen and grab: Step 1) Fill half the bowl with vinegar and fill the other half with water. Get back to the mattress without spilling the vinegar/water mix or dropping the other items.Step 2) Gently dab up the liquid mess with the paper towel. Carefully remove any sheets and mattress covers for later laundering.
Press firmly with fresh towels to absorb more liquid. Do not squeeze or twist the foam.Step 3) Wet a paper towel with the vinegar/water solution and dab it where the urine and vomit were. Press in gently, then immediately use a fresh towel to dry it up. Keep this up until you've covered the entire stained area.Step 4) Then open the box of baking soda and pour it on top of the stain. Yes, the whole box. Spread it out so that you get a generous layer that extends a couple of inches beyond the stain(s).Step 5) Let the baking soda sit there for a couple of hours. Then vacuum it up. Warning: This will cause the cat to fly out from under the bed like a miniature clawed tornado, which might scare the pee out of you. With any luck you'll have caught the spill in time and you won't have to do anything else. And your bed will smell clean and fresh.If this didn't work, go to "How to Clean a Mattress - Part 2" for the last thing you should try before throwing your memory foam mattress or topper away and buying a new one.