Mattress Cleaning Tips: Urine Removal

Do you find yourself with a pee stain on your mattress? Whether it has come from a pet or a person, you can use common household items to get the stain out for good! Check out our helpful cleaning tips to remove pee stains and odors from a mattress below, 

How To Remove Pee From A Mattress

When you encounter a fresh pee stain, you’ll want to ask fast, as urine odors can set quickly. You’ll need:

• Baking Soda
• Cold Water
• Clean Towels
• White Vinegar
• Laundry Detergent
• Spray Bottle
• Vacuum

Step One: Strip The Bed

If you’ve come across a fresh pee spot, strip the mattress of it’s bedding as soon as possible. Spray a stain remover or a vinegar solution onto the washable items like your sheets, and throw them in the washing machine. Ensure the urine odor is eliminated from your bedding before putting them into the dryer! 

Step Two: Soak Up The Liquid

Use the clean towels to soak up any remaining liquid from the mattress. It is best to use firm pressure and blot the stain area rather than scrub the mattress, as scrubbing can push the urine further down into the mattress. Continue blotting until the stain area is no longer wet to the touch.

Step Three: Spray & Soak The Stain

The main odor in urine, whether human or pet, is ammonia. The acetic acid in vinegar can neutralize ammonia and the bacteria present in pee. Vinegar will serve as both your disinfectant and deodorizer. Taking your spray bottle, mix two parts cold water to one part white vinegar, and top with a small amount of laundry detergent (a couple of tablespoons). Once the solution is mixed, heavily saturate the urine stain area on the mattress. Let the spray sit for at least 15 minutes. Afterwards, take another clean towel or cloth and blot the area dry.

Step Four: Baking Soda Soak

Baking soda performs double duty. Not only does it help control odors past the vinegar solution, but it will also help absorb remaining moisture from your mattress. Moisture can attract dust mites, so you want as little moisture as possible in your mattress. Liberally cover the entire urine stain area with baking soda and let sit for a minimum of 6 hours. Be sure to have the room closed off while it sits to void any baking soda messes from pets or children.

Step Five: Vacuum The Mattress

After letting the baking soda sit on the stain, it’s time to vacuum up the excess. Using the hose attachment, vacuum up all the remaining baking soda. Regular vacuums can be damaged by damp product, so be sure the baking soda is dry! Otherwise, it’s better to use a wet/dry vacuum to clean up the soda. Once complete, give your mattress an inspection to check for lingering odors or any visible parts left from the stain. If necessary, repeat the process to fully eliminate urine from your mattress.

How To Remove Set-In Pee Stains From A Mattress

If you’ve got yourself a dry pee stain, there’s still ways to get it out of your mattress! You’ll need the following supplies.

• White Vinegar
• Laundry Detergent
• Cold Water
• Towels
• Plastic Wrap

Step One: Soak The Urine Stain

Use the same solution mixture above to fully saturate the stain area on the mattress. Make sure the stain area is soaked to the depth of the original stain. 

Step Two: Wrap The Mattress

Unlike a fresh urine stain, do not attempt to soak up any excess liquid from the vinegar solution. Instead, take plastic wrap, cover the stain area, and let it sit for 24-48 hours. The plastic wrap prevents the vinegar solution from evaporating, so it can penetrate deeper into the mattress.

Step Three: Air Dry The Mattress

After removing the plastic wrap from the pee stain, allow your mattress to air dry completely. At minimum, it’s recommended to let it dry overnight.

Step Four: Repeat If Needed

If after the drying period, the urine stain persists, simple repeat the process again to help remove it. It’s common for set in or deeper stains to need more than one treatment.

How To Remove Pee Smell From A Mattress

Even if you are successful in eliminating a pee stain from a mattress, the odor can still linger for up to a couple weeks. However, you just need a few household items to help get that pesky odor gone for good! Create a mixture of 8oz of hydrogen peroxide, 3 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent, and 2 tablespoons of water. Apply solution onto the mattress and let it site for 15 minutes. Next, cover the area with a thick layer of baking soda and let dry for a few hours. Once the baking soda has turned a pale yellow, it’s time to vacuum it up.

How To Remove Cat or Dog Pee From A Mattress

Animal urine can be more challenging, as animal urine typically has a more potent odor, especially cat urine. Animals also have uric acid in their urine that crystallizes as it dries, which can make removing a pet stain harder. In the case of a pet accident on the mattress, using an enzyme cleaner will help dissolve any uric acid crystals present, as well as fight the stronger odors of animal urine. This is especially helpful because animals have a habit of returning to places to “mark” their scent repetitively. Using the cleaning process from earlier, simply replace the vinegar solution with the enzyme cleaner for the initial stain soak to remove animal urine.

Prevent Future Accidents

A clean mattress is a healthy mattress! Prevent future accidents or stains by investing in a high-performance mattress protector. Regular mattress protectors help keep your mattress clean by preventing dust, dander, dead skin, hair and oil from penetrating your mattress. Waterproof mattress protectors provide even more protection for your mattress, preventing liquids (urine included) from penetrating the mattress. Choosing a mattress protector will help extend the life of your mattress, keeping it feeling like new for longer.