We all know accidents happen from time to time. Sometimes it could be something as simple as forgetting to take out the trash, or a “happy little accident,” a la Bob Ross. A lot of times, though, it involves a bodily fluid and your mattress. Whatever you want to call it, you need to know how to clean pee from a mattress.
In most cases, having to clean urine out of a mattress involves a leaky diaper or a toddler who’s still getting used to using the potty at night. Still, even though a lot of us don’t like to talk about it, 5 million Americans struggle with adult bedwetting, or sleep enuresis.
It's worth noting that bedwetting in adults is actually different than what children go through. And while that might not remove the embarrassment, you must know that nocturnal enuresis is involuntary and not your fault. Regardless, you’re going to want to know how to clean pee from a mattress in any event.
How to Clean Pee Stains out of a Mattress
It’s time to take action and clean pee stains out of a mattress. The first thing you want to do is strip off your sheets and throw them in the wash. Next, you’re going to need to assess the situation. Are we talking about a little bit of urine or a pool of pee? How you proceed will depend on the situation.
Regardless of whether it’s a little bit or a lot of pee, you’re going to want to avoid wiping the area. It doesn’t matter if it’s paper or cloth towels, wiping the urine will only push it around the mattress, making a much larger mess. In this instance, you’re going to want to use a dry towel and dab or blot the area to absorb the liquid. Depending on how much there is, it might take more than one towel.
Once the area is sufficiently dry, you’re going to want to go with a 50/50 mixture – 50 percent white vinegar and 50 percent warm water – in a spray bottle. Take the solution and spray it generously over the affected area and let it do its thing for a few minutes. Using another dry towel, dab the area to draw out the moisture and do it all again. If you were unlucky enough to have the pool of pee, you’re going to want to repeat this step at least three times.
How to Get the Urine Smell Out of a Mattress
Once you’ve cleaned the pee stains out of the mattress, you might still be left with the lingering urine smell. It’s not pleasant and, even though it might fade with time, it’s still going to be noticeable when you’re trying to sleep.
There are several different types of sprays you can buy that will help to mask the scent, but it’s only covering it, not getting the urine smell out of the mattress. Good news, though. The remedy is cheaper than you might have expected.
For generations, families have placed opened boxes of baking soda in their refrigerators to eliminate nasty odors – and it will work to remove the urine smell from your mattress, too.
Once you’ve taken care of removing all of the urine and the pee stain, you can then take a box of baking soda and sprinkle a good amount over the area and even outside of the area, just to be on the safe side. Let it sit there for 10 hours or longer, if possible. The longer the mattress has to dry, the better. The longer the baking soda has to do its job, the better the results will be.
Once enough time has passed, just use your vacuum and suck up the baking soda (and anything else that might happen to remain.
How to Prevent Future Pee Stains in Your Mattress
You buy insurance for your car so that if you’re in an accident, you can either fix or get a new car. Homeowner’s insurance protects you against fire, theft, etc. Sadly, there is no insurance plan that protects your mattress from pee stains. That’s not to say there isn’t something you could do to protect your mattress, though.
You might have heard of the expression, “You don’t know you need something until you need something.” That’s certainly true when it comes to mattress protectors. When someone tells you it’s a good idea to buy a mattress protector for your new mattress, you might think you’ll never need that. Here’s the dirty secret – you do need it.
How much did you spend on your cell phone? Did you buy a case for it? Of course you did. Why? Sure, it looks cool, but also to protect it. You probably spend about as much – if not more – for your mattress that you’ll have for eight to 10 years. Even if you go that long without having an urine issue, mattress protectors keep things such as dust mites, sweat, dead skin flakes, and other gross things out of your mattress.
Before you need to worry about cleaning pee from a mattress, you might want to invest in a little mattress protection so you can sleep dry and clean.