On a cold, stormy night, a few years ago, my younger one slid into my bed. Next morning, he presented me with a wet mattress. I had put mattress covers on the kids’ beds but not on mine. So, there I was looking for the best method of cleaning up urine.
I wanted solutions that were safe for my kids. Luckily, I had chanced upon the issue while it was still wet. Let me share with you the method that worked for me. I will tell you other methods too.
Remember that time is of essence here. The sooner you deal with the problem, the better. It will also be important to take pee smell out from the mattress. That doesn’t mean dry urine stains on your mattress need to stay lifelong.
Cleaning Fresh Wet Urine
Act fast. As soon as you have toddler pee on your mattress, get down to work. My experience tells me, that is foolproof advice. You will need to get hold of the following things.
- A spray bottle
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Essential oil
- Dishwashing liquid
- Towels – paper or cloth
- Hydrogen peroxide ( to use in extreme cases)
You need to prepare a spraying solution. Mix equal parts of vinegar and water in the spray bottle and keep handy.
Take off all the bed covers and put for laundry.
Start by blotting the area with towels. Don’t press too hard. There is a risk of urine penetrating deeper. Continue using dry towels until they have soaked up as much as possible.
Now spray the diluted vinegar on the area, generously. Blot. Repeat a few times.
Cover the area with dry baking powder. Pat and put more. Let sit for as long as possible, preferably the more than eight hours.
When you return, the baking powder would have caked with the soaking liquid. Time to vacuum clean. Inspect and repeat, if needed.
These steps can safely clean urine from bed if it is fresh. What to do if it is an old stain or the urine has dried up?
Cleaning Dry Urine Stains
What if you discover a stained mattress on your bed? If you are unlucky enough to discover the problem after the kid’s pee has dried up, here’s the solution. Urine tends to leave its odor as well as yellow stains on mattress. You must tackle them for hygiene reasons.
Analyze the stain. Is it light? Is it very old? Is the urine odor strong?
If the stain is mild and not so deep
Make a solution of vinegar, water and 1 to 2 teaspoons of dishwashing detergent. Put in your spray bottle.
Spray liberally on the area. Soak to the depth of the urine penetration. Do not rub.
Let sit for, ideally 24 hours. The longer, the better. Cover with a plastic sheet or film to avoid quick drying.
After 24 hours, dry in the open air for as long as possible. Repeat, if needed.
Once you have achieved the desired result, spot clean the area with water. This will take care of the vinegar stains. Blot to dry. You may use a hair dryer to aid heat drying.
If the stain is old and stubborn
The worry about how to clean mattress stains is more when the stain is old. You will need a chemical mixture that is stronger. These are again easily available items.
Take your spray bottle and fill it up with eight ounces of hydrogen peroxide. Add three tablespoons of baking soda to it. Add half-a-teaspoon of dishwashing detergent.
You can add a few drops of essential oil – any oil of your preference, but lavender will help you sleep better.
Refrain from shaking the bottle. Swirl lightly to mix the ingredients.
Spray openhandedly on the area. Cover evenly. Let sit till dry. You may consider keeping it covered for some time.
When dry, vacuum the residue off.
This should work. If the stain or odor remains, repeat the process till the complete problem is solved.
In most cases, these above methods are good enough to remove bed stains – whether fresh or old. There are specific types of mattresses that might need special action. Let us look at some of them.
Cleaning Memory Foam Mattress Naturally
Your precious memory foam mattress may go through this bad exposure. Wondering how to clean urine from a memory foam mattress? Here are a few easy ways.
Try a natural way first. Soak up the urine by blotting with dry towels or paper towels. Next, spray full-strength vinegar on the area. Soak the affected area well. Use a toothbrush to rub the stains lightly. Switch the fan on to let the vinegar sit for about ten minutes.
Use paper towels to soak up the vinegar after it has acted on the urine. Now is the time to sprinkle baking soda on the area. Cover completely. Make a thick layer.
Get on with your other commitments while the baking soda pulls up the vinegar. When the baking soda has formed clumps, vacuum. You need to pull out baking soda soaked in vinegar entirely. This will get rid of the urine and its smell. Baking soda is a master mattress odor remover.
Cleaning Memory Foam Mattress with Chemicals
If you are up for using chemicals on your bed try this. Make sure that your kids and pets do not get into this bed for some time.
Mix 8 to 10 ounces of hydrogen peroxide and about three tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl. Put in a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Stir carefully. Avoid foaming.
Pour into your spray bottle and spray to cover the affected area. Let sit for more than an hour. Vacuum. This would work to remove stain and urine smell properly.
Cleaning Memory Foam Mattress with Enzyme Wash
A biological enzyme wash is safe on the mattress. If you are reluctant to use hydrogen peroxide and bleach on your Tempurpedic mattress, try enzyme wash mixture. Let me tell you how.
You would still need baking soda to blot out wetness and remove the smell.
Take the biological enzyme wash in a spray bottle. Mix the powder enzyme with water if you don’t have the liquid form. Spray directly on the area. Let sit for about 5 minutes or according to the instructions on the product.
After the required time, blot away the wetness.
Sprinkle baking soda generously. Leave for about a day. More than 18 hours give baking soda the time to work on the area.
Vacuum well. Air outside if possible. I find this a great method of human urine cleaner that I trust.
You can repeat all these methods if the results are not met. Continue till all the stain and odor are gone. This should be a foolproof way to get pee stain out of mattress.
Cleaning Pet Urine
Have you ever been unfortunate enough to get your pet wetting the mattress? Our dog had troubled us a lot when he was a pup and untrained. The worst thing about dog urine on mattress is the lingering odor. It is not something we get to smell, but they do. And then they consider that spot as their washroom. A real nightmare.
Here I will tell you the best way to clean up puppy pee. These are the steps I take and they work for me. They are easy to follow and easy on your pocket too. You can use the same to clean cat pee. You need to be more careful about getting cat pee out of bed mattress quickly. Cat pee has a stronger odor than dog pee.
You have to act really quickly on the pet pee. You will be using the same materials as for human urine.
Don’t try to blot the pet urine. Immediately sprinkle baking soda on the area. When it clumps, vacuum it. Continue till you feel most of the urine is soaked out.
Now clean the area as you would normally clean human urine. Use enormous amounts of baking soda if needed. This also helps to dry a wet mattress properly. Try not to use chemicals since they would harm the pet.
Since pet pee is stronger, the enzyme wash available at pet stores is more effective.
To camouflage any remnant odor, use essential oils that pets dislike. This would ensure that they would never spoil the same area.
You would realize that baking soda and vinegar are your best friends. When you wonder how to get urine smell out of mattress, the duo helps you. The vinegar works on the stain. They help remove any microorganisms developing in the area as well. You can avoid the biggest danger of urine in a mattress soaking deep by blotting with copious amounts of baking soda.
Feel free to use commercial stain and odor removers according to your discretion. All said and done, do invest in a good mattress cover for pee-protection. You must have mattress covers if you have small kids or pets in the house. A mattress cover goes a long way in taking care of your mattress.