How To Get Wee Out Of A Mattress

Mattress stains are an unfortunate fact of life. Whether you have kids, a pet, or a bad sense of humour, urine can end up on your mattress regularly. But how do you get wee out of a mattress?

It's actually rather easy, thank goodness. While it won't be fun so to speak, it won't be overly difficult.

To clean wee out of a mattress, you'll need to soak the area in vinegar and baking soda. Then once dry, clean it up with a vacuum and rags.

Just plan on leaving the mattress alone for a few hours to dry - that means no sleeping on it right away. Let's get to the nitty-gritty, shall we?

Read Next: Get any smell out of your mattress .

How to Clean Wee From a Mattress

To start off, you'll need a few things to make sure this gets done right and with minimal fuss:

• Vinegar & baking soda are miracle-workers when it comes to cleaning, especially with urine. This is because, combined, they strip uric acid from the surface while simultaneously killing bacteria.
• A rag or paper towels are obvious things to grab, though I recommend a rag. You can simply soak it in the same solution you're using now to get rid of the smell and then wash like normal. The upside to a rag is that you don't have to go through as many paper towels - because you'll need a lot.
• A spray bottle to apply your cleaning solution.
• Gloves for the squeamish.
• A vacuum to clean up the baking soda.

Now we can move onto the actual process.

Cleaning The Mattress

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Note that if the urine is already dried, you'll need to move onto the next section. Here's what to do if you do catch it in time.

1. Strip the bed and bedding. After this, simply clean it in the washing machine.
2. Blot, not rub or scrub, the problem area with your rags. Rubbing the problem area can push the urine deeper, which nobody wants.
3. Combine a 1:1 water and vinegar solution in the spray bottle. Then, apply the solution generously to the problem area.
4. Blot excess moisture again.
5. Generously cover the area with baking soda and allow it to sit for at least 8 hours.
6. Vacuum the baking soda up and look for stains or odours.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 until the problem is resolved.

Read Next: How to get baking soda out of your carpet.

Removing Old Wee Stains From a Mattress

If the stains have already set, or it's an old mattress, there's more to do. To fix old stains you'll want hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn dish soap (or a similar soap). Next, follow these steps:

1. Combine 2 parts hydrogen peroxide with 1 part baking soda. Add a few drops of dish soap to the spray bottle.
2. Apply the solution as you did in the previous list.
3. Once it's dried, vacuum the layer of baking soda from the mattress.
4. Repeat until the stain is gone.

Remember that hydrogen peroxide can bleach certain materials, so don't do this if you really like the colour of the item in question. Do not do this on memory foam - it can break down the foam.

How to Get Rid of the Wee Smell in a Mattress

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A combination of vinegar and baking soda will remove the most stubborn smells, though it may take a few passes. Simply apply the vinegar, let it soak in, then apply generous amounts of baking soda. The soda will absorb smells and can be vacuumed off after drying.

Essential oils and scent covering products such as Febreeze can cover up the smell when applied, but they won't remove it.

Why Do Vinegar and Baking Soda Work So Well?

There are a few reasons we recommend you start with vinegar and baking soda before moving onto heavy-duty cleaners like bleach. Yes, bleach will absolutely kill any and all germs, including urine, that it comes into contact with. It's also toxic, can damage fabric, and tends to interact poorly with a lot of things. You don't want to accidentally gas yourself because there are residual chemicals left on the mattress.

Vinegar is great because it's cheap, readily available, and pretty much everyone has it on hand. And due to its chemical structure, it works great on grease, urine, and most germs. Distilled white vinegar can kill up to 99% of all bacteria, 80% of germs, and 82% of all mould. This makes it a great multitasker.

Baking soda, on the other hand, is great at absorbing smells. This is because it is incredibly basic (not the Uggs and puffy jacket type of basic) and absorbs acidic and alkaline molecules. This means that you can litreally leave it in a bowl, open to the air, and it will actively absorb smells.

Commercial Products to Get Wee Out of a Mattress

Now, if you would prefer to use an actual cleaner designed for this, there are a few good options.

Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odour Remover works wonders on most surfaces that have gotten urine, faeces, or vomit on them. Not only will it remove the stains and clean the area, but it will remove any odours associated with it. And the best part? It only costs ~£12.

Rapid Rescue Pet Odour Eliminator works just as well, for a little bit less money. It'll only set you back £9.99.

Final Thoughts

Getting wee on a mattress is never fun, nor is the process of cleaning it up. Luckily, it's not that difficult, just time-consuming. Depending on how long it's been sitting you may need to follow one or multiple lists above, but you'll get it done. And if you're not a big fan of using vinegar to clean, there are plenty of good commercial options out there. (Keep in mind, however, that most of them use vinegar as a primary ingredient.)

As a pet owner myself, I've found that a good bit of elbow grease along with the above steps works just as well as using commercial cleaners, without the cost. If you've got a foam mattress or pad, I do have some unfortunate news for you - you're going to want to dump it. Not only is it excessively hard to clean foam, but many cleaners can actually degrade the memory foam. And considering all of the chemicals that go into foam mattresses , that could be potentially dangerous.

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