How to get dog pee out of a mattress (stain and smell)

How to remove dog urine from a mattress

1. 1

   Strip the bed and check every layer

   Pull off the sheets, mattress pad and any blankets the dog was lying on, and wash them separately. Look at the side of the mattress and the box spring too.

   Why: A dog's accident is often large enough to soak through several layers, and any missed layer keeps smelling.

2. 2

   Press out the urine

   Lay a thick stack of paper towels on the wet spot, cover with an old towel, and press down hard with your hands or knees for about a minute. Repeat with dry towels until they come up barely damp.

   Why: The more urine you remove before it dries, the less there is for bacteria to turn into ammonia, and the easier the odor is to remove.

3. 3

   Rinse lightly and extract

   Dampen the spot with cool water, just enough to cover the area the urine reached, then pull it straight back out with a wet/dry vacuum. Without one, press with dry towels again.

   Why: Rinsing dilutes urine already in the padding, and extracting it right away keeps the water from spreading the urine deeper into the foam.

4. 4

   Apply an enzymatic cleaner

   Test the cleaner on a hidden part of the cover, then apply it over the wet area and slightly beyond, enough to reach where the urine went. Don't rinse it off; leave it for the time on the label.

   Why: Enzymes break down the organic residue that holds the smell. They only work where they touch it, and they need time and moisture to do it.

5. 5

   Air-dry completely

   Run a fan across the spot and open a window or use a dehumidifier. Keep the dog off the bed and the sheets off until the mattress is fully dry, which can take a day or more.

   Why: Heat can bake urine odor in, and foam left damp for more than a day or two risks mildew. Some smell is normal until the cleaner finishes and the area dries.

6. 6

   Protect the mattress

   Once dry, sniff the spot, check it with a black light in a dark room, and retreat anything that glows or smells. Then fit a waterproof mattress protector.

   Why: Urine glows under UV light, which finds spots you missed. Dogs return to places that smell of urine, and a protector keeps the next accident out of the foam.

Why dog pee smells stronger as it ages

Fresh urine is mostly water with urea, salts and uric acid, and smells fairly mild. Once it's out of the body, bacteria break the urea down into ammonia, which is the sharp smell of an old accident. Uric acid salts dissolve poorly in water, so dried residue stays in the padding even after the surface looks clean. That's a protein stain with an odor problem built in.

To a dog, that leftover smell marks the spot as a place to go, so incomplete cleaning tends to lead to repeat accidents. An enzyme cleaner is the step that breaks down the residue rather than covering it.

What a mattress can and can't take

Mattress makers say foam shouldn't be soaked or washed, because it holds moisture and dries slowly. Humane society guides, on the other hand, say the cleaner has to reach everywhere the urine went. With a dog accident, which can be a lot of liquid, the answer is to remove as much urine as possible first, with pressure and a wet/dry vacuum, so the cleaner only has to treat what's left.

If urine soaked through to the core of the mattress, cleaning may not reach it all. The urine on a mattress guide covers human accidents and bedwetting.

By situation

Old or dried dog pee

Rehydrate the spot with cool water a few times, extracting between rounds, then apply the enzymatic cleaner and let it dry. Old spots may need several treatments, and a stain on the cover may lighten rather than disappear.

You already used vinegar, ammonia or a household cleaner

Residue from other products weakens enzyme cleaners. Humane society guides suggest cleaning first with an oxidizing pet cleaner, rinsing, then using the enzymatic cleaner.

Puppies and repeat accidents

Keep the dog off the bed until it's reliably house-trained, and use a waterproof protector in the meantime.

A soaked mattress or box spring

If urine ran through to the box spring or the mattress core, a professional upholstery cleaner can advise. Humane society guides note that urine-soaked carpet padding often has to be replaced rather than cleaned, and a soaked mattress core can be the same.

What not to do

• Don't steam-clean the spot. Humane society guides say heat sets urine odor and stain by bonding the proteins into synthetic fibers.
• Don't use strong ammonia or vinegar cleaners. They don't remove the urine odor from a dog's point of view and may encourage it to go there again.
• Don't mix ammonia with chlorine bleach. Together they release toxic chloramine gas. Chlorine bleach also damages mattress foam.
• Don't make the bed until it's completely dry. Covering a damp mattress traps moisture, which keeps odor going and invites mildew.

Other methods that work

Baking soda

Sprinkled on the dry spot and vacuumed up later, baking soda absorbs some remaining moisture and odor. It's traditional, with weak evidence for urine.

Caution: It doesn't break down urine residue, so use it only after the enzyme cleaner has dried.

Oxidizing pet cleaner

When other products were used first, humane society guides start with an oxidizing pet cleaner, then follow with an enzymatic one.

Caution: Test on the cover; it can lighten colored fabric. Rinse before switching products.

Stain still there?

The smell returned after a few days

Urine remains deeper in the foam or in a missed spot. Check with a black light, rehydrate and extract, then reapply the enzymatic cleaner so it reaches as deep as the urine did.

The dog keeps peeing on the same spot

Some odor is still there for the dog even if you can't smell it. Retreat with an enzymatic cleaner, keep the dog out of the bedroom until it's dry, and use a waterproof cover.

Safety

• Wear gloves and wash your hands after cleaning up urine.
• Never mix ammonia-containing cleaners with chlorine bleach, or bleach with vinegar.
• Ventilate small bedrooms while cleaners dry.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Dog urine on other surfaces

• Dog urine stains: the complete guide
• Dog urine on carpet
• Dog urine on a couch
• Dog urine on wood

Other stains on a mattress

• How to clean a mattress
• Blood on a mattress
• Cat urine on a mattress
• Sweat on a mattress
• Urine on a mattress