Getting Urine Smell and Stain Out of a Mattress

Getting Urine Smell and Stain Out of a Mattress

Maybe it was old Uncle Charlie or maybe it was Marmaduke. But someone peed on your bed and now you have the stink of an outhouse and a big yellow stain on your mattress.

Getting the smell and stain of pee out a mattress is not as hard as you might think. It takes a few steps but requires tools and products you probably have at home.

How to Get Urine Smell and Stain Out of a Mattress

Remove those bed linens and put them in the washer so Marmaduke won’t be encouraged to repeat the feat. If your comforter is involved, clean according to care label instructions.

To get started with cleaning the mattress, determine if the stain is still wet. Take a paper towel and blot on the stain. If the paper towel is wet, you need to first dry the stain. Begin with blotting the stain with a clean towel to soak up as much of the moisture as possible. Don’t scrub the stain – just blot it.

Toss that towel into the wash so you don’t use it again during this process.

Mix some liquid laundry detergent (the kind with enzymes if you have it) with distilled white vinegar and spray it on the urine stain. Allow it to soak in for five to ten minutes and then blot dry with a new, clean towel. Treat an area a little larger than the actual stain just to make sure you treat the entire area.

After soaking up the extra liquid, sprinkle some baking soda over the stain and leave it alone for several hours. Overnight would be even better. A little air circulation will also be helpful.

Next, vacuum up the baking soda and check the look and smell of the mattress. If the urine odor remains, repeat the process. You may need to repeat several times to remove the odor, especially if it’s from a pet because pet pee is stronger than Uncle Charlie’s pee (well, usually).

If the stain is set, try the baking soda step again and use Uncle Charlie’s old toothbrush to gently rub it into the stain. As the baking soda absorbs the liquid, it will turn dark. That’s a good sign since it is absorbing the liquid. Vacuum the baking soda and repeat the process until the baking soda no longer darkens.

One last step to help remove the stain if it has not reduced to an acceptable level. Mix baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water. Spray it on the stain. Let it dry and the remove the residue with your vacuum cleaner.

Like stains in clothes, the sooner you treat it the better will be your success.

That’s the best advice we can give you on this subject.