How To Clean Dog Pee Off A Couch

Kierstin is the proud fur mom to a calico who daily exemplifies the expression "curiosity killed the cat."

Photo by Zoë Gayah Jonker on Unsplash

I love my cat. I dearest how she uses the internet modem to warm herself or how she avoids my kids all day merely secretly slides in next to them in the hours betwixt the final bedtime story and dawn.

Simply, I don't love when she pees outside of her litter box.

As someone who is kiiiiiind of obsessive almost keeping my minor home smelling as fresh every bit possible, I've go somewhat of an good about cleaning cat urine out of clothes, towels, defunction, carpet, couches—you proper noun it.

Here's how to do it.

What You Will Need to Clean Washable Fabrics

Washable fabrics would be anything from article of clothing to tennis shoes, curtains, and throw blankets.

• A washing automobile and dryer
• Nature'southward Miracle Bio-Enzymatic Formula for cats
• Your regular laundry detergent

Getting Cat Pee Out of Washable Fabrics

1. To offset, check for dampness, indicating that the urine is fresh. If information technology is, rinse the item. Run it under warm water in your bathtub or a utility sink and wring it out. That way you lot're getting as much urine out as possible right away. If the urine is already dry out, just skip this and head to step 2.
2. Throw the item in a saucepan or tub of hot h2o with a dose of the Nature'southward Miracle formula and then let it soak for a few hours. If your washing machine has a soak option, just utilise this!
3. Once your pee-stained item has soaked for a few hours in the warm water/formula solution, it'south time to get down to business. Plow your washing car to its hottest setting, mensurate out a small amount of your usual laundry detergent and hit start.
4. Now, in one case the hot bike is all washed, run your item through on a cold rinse cycle to make sure all of the lather and urine is completely rinsed away.
5. Audit for lingering odor or stains. If there is whatsoever, repeat the launder procedure. If not, thoroughly dry out the fabric to forestall mildew. If the detail is decumbent to shrinkage, hang it to dry since we just used a hot wash setting. If not, but throw it in the dryer.

What You Will Need to Clean Urine Out of Carpet, Upholstery and Other Non-Washable Fabrics

Like upholstered chairs and couches, shag rugs, mattresses, futons, and carpet.

If the Stain is Pocket-size and Fresh

• Paper towels
• White vinegar solution in a spray bottle (2 parts white vinegar, 1 part h2o)
• Blistering soda

If the Stain is Old or Covering a Large Surface area

• An upholstery machine and special pet odor targeting cleaning solution. With specially old or deeply penetrated urine stains, blistering soda and vinegar may not practise plenty to elevator the odour and the bacteria that causes it. If y'all don't get the smell out, your cat is just going to return to that spot to urinate. This is where a more powerful tool comes in handy. This is the i that I own and use regularly. Since I also have two messy little kids and a puppy, I've gotten my coin's worth and more out of it.
• A fan

Need to get true cat pee out of a load of laundry? You need to utilise an enzyme fighting laundry additive to properly make clean the urine out of the material.

Kierstin Gunsberg

Getting Cat Pee Out of Nonwashable Fabrics

Hither are some tips when dealing with nonwashable fabrics.

If the Stain is Fresh

If the stain is fresh, it'southward going to be damp with an ammonia odor and clear or yellow in color.

1. Blot the urine upward using paper towels.
2. Using your spray canteen of white vinegar solution, saturate the stain.
3. Soak it all upwards with more paper towels. Don't rub it in, but keep pressing and blotting then you lot're pulling the remaining urine and excess vinegar out.
4. One time yous have the spot pretty dry (it can be slightly clammy to the touch, but non soaking wet) sprinkle baking soda over the affected expanse. The blistering soda is going to help soak up any excess moisture to forestall mildew and absorb any lingering odors. Don't worry if your house reeks of white vinegar. That'll habiliment off on it's ain quickly.
5. Let that baking soda sit and soak in the odors until the area is completely dry.
6. Vacuum upward baking soda.

Read More From Dengarden

If the Stain is Old or Covering a Large Area

If the stain is onetime, it'll exist dry, mayhap kind of crusty and more of a yellowy-orange or even dark-brown shade. You'll probably need to practice more to remove and former stain than just relying on blotting it up with white vinegar since the urine has likely penetrated more than than the surface of the cloth. Likewise, if your cat has peed over a large area of carpet or upholstery (like an unabridged couch cushion or your bed), you'll demand an bodily upholstery cleaner to clean and sanitize deep down into the affected detail.

1. Follow the instruction transmission on your upholstery cleaner to make full it, add pet-scent-cleaning solution and to turn it on.
2. Saturate the affected area with the designated cleaning solution.
3. Let that sit for a moment to soak in. If you're cleaning a mattress or a burrow cushion, it'southward specially important to give the cleaning solution time to penetrate through so it has a risk to impale bacteria.
4. Once it's done soaking, use the car to suck up the solution and cat urine.
5. Echo this. Spray, soak, suck upwardly. Do this until the water runs clear. Y'all may fifty-fifty need to refill your machine, depending on how big of an area y'all're covering and how deep the urine went through.
6. Once y'all've removed as much moisture as yous tin with the machine (you'll be able to tell by looking at the hose that it's not longer sucking upwards much h2o) you need to set up a fan to go air flowing through the freshly cleaned area. This'll foreclose mildew from setting in as information technology dries.

If you're using an upholstery machine, soak the expanse with the designated cleaning solution and give it a few minutes to soak into the stain before sucking everything dorsum up. Get over it until the h2o runs clear.

Questions About Cleaning Cat Pee

Here are some common questions about cat pee.

Would activated charcoal piece of work to clean cat pee?

Yeah and no. Activated charcoal (also known every bit activated carbon) will probably work to remove the smell since it's basically a sponge that'll soak upward nigh things. The issue with it though is that you lot might be trading one stain for a another—charcoal is black and ashy afterward all. Use it with caution, especially on calorie-free colored fabrics.

Can you clean cat pee with bleach?

Heck no! Remember, true cat pee contains ammonia and when you mix bleach with ammonia y'all create a toxic combination. Here's more near why you should never make clean up cat urine with bleach.

Is cat pee ammonia?

True cat pee isn't straight up ammonia merely there'southward ammonia in it. That's because there'south a bit of ammonia in everyone's urine (yep, even yours). Ammonia in urine occurs every bit a issue of the breakdown of proteins in our diet, and so basically it's but a byproduct of your true cat's food and water intake and comes out as waste.

How do you help a cat larn to pee in their box after you have moved their litter box?

Inquire yourself if your cat is able to get to the box easily or does someone accept to open a door or move something out of the way to aid them notice it easily? As well, bank check that there's nothing nearly or on the way to their box that scares them. Make sure that none of this is the case and if not, bring your cat to the box a few times a day to remind them where it is.

This content is accurate and true to the all-time of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional person.

Questions & Answers

Question: My entire laundry area is approximately a one/2 foot deep with muddied clothes. My cats have had a fun time urinating in my laundry (not my trouble, as I'll have that cleaned up and done today). Only the flooring underneath is plywood. What would be the very all-time products for eliminating the odor and deterring my cats from peeing in that spot in the future?

Reply: I practice non envy you, that sounds like quite the task. Somewhat similarly, I take to deal with cat urine on my laundry room floor, not because they're peeing on the floor but because their urine seeps out the seam in our litter box, ugh! What I practice when this happens is:

ane. Clear the floor (which you're working on)

two. Wipe upward whatsoever pee that'southward on the floor

3. Next, I lay down a product called Arm & Hammer Litter Deodorizer, sprinkling it liberally over the area. I permit that sit to soak up as much wet and odor as possible and and then just sweep it into a dustpan and toss it.

4. Now, I sanitize the floor. Our floors ARE different - mine is cement tile which makes this part easier. I'm nervous about using anything containing bleach when urine is involved since ammonia (in urine), and bleach is not a safe combo. All the same, Clorox has a product that's specifically for pet stains and odors, and information technology's chosen "Clorox Urine Remover for Stain and Odor," and it'due south about $v at Target (U.S.). It works for hard and soft surfaces, so I call up that this will exist practiced for plywood. Employ as directed.

five. Now that things are clean we need to make sure the cats oasis't inspired again. The showtime step is to brand sure that no more laundry piles upwardly on the floor (no judgment, this happens in my house every week, so I get information technology). But effort to keep a tall hamper or laundry handbasket in there to throw dirty laundry in and make sure you lot accept a container for the clean laundry too.

6. At this betoken, the odour should be well eliminated, just since plywood is porous, your cats may still find a lingering scent and want to mark over it with more pee. You lot need to discover a way to cover the previously-peed-on area. You could do this with a carpet, but if yous think that they'd pee on that likewise, you could try a rubber litter mat (I have a big i from Amazon, just search "litter mat") with a litter box on summit! That way if you true cat DOES want to pee there, they can use the litter box. If this isn't an option, I say record downwards trash bags. It's not glamorous, but for now, it'll hopefully keep whatever smells from luring the cats back.

Question: What takes cat pee aroma away also cleaning it?

Answer: The smell of cat pee is never going to get away until yous properly clean information technology thoroughly. However, if the stains and messes that have caused the nasty odor are going to have some time to clean upward (say, if you demand to pull up and throw away carpet, padding and seal the floorboards underneath) so at that place are few things you lot tin can do to try and temporarily subdued the odour while your cat-pee-cleaning projection is underway.

ane. First, you lot demand to air your home out every twenty-four hour period until that stain is appropriately and thoroughly cleaned upwardly. Open upwardly the windows, go your fans going and circulate that urine soaked air out of the house.

ii. Notice whatsoever washable or loose items that have been peed on, and either wash them according to the methods in this article or just throw them away if they're unimportant or so far gone that you don't want to deal with them. Getting rid of as much of the affected stuff every bit possible will assistance.

3. Use a pet stain carpet deodorizer to vacuum your carpets every day until yous get the source of that odor eliminated.

4. Use odor-eliminating plug-ins to temporarily work over the olfactory property of cat pee until you lot accept cleaned up the bigger problem. This isn't going to work long-term considering again, the big problem here is whatever is stained with urine, whether it's a sofa, carpet, flooring or a pile of laundry that the cat peed on.

5. Keep your true cat'due south litter box clean - scoop information technology every 24-hour interval and add a layer of fresh litter over the top afterward to continue things equally fresh as possible.

Question: Can old cat pee be done out of dress?

Respond: If y'all're dealing with an quondam cat urine stain, like the kind that happened iii months agone in the corner of your basement on your pile of summertime apparel and you lot've just at present discovered information technology, then there'due south still promise that you can remove the stain and the odor from the cloth.

First, assess the damage - is it a white blouse that says "dry clean only" with a nasty ol' orangish brown cat pee stain, or are we talking a black tank summit from Old Navy that y'all normally just toss in the washer without a 2nd thought? For more delicate fabrics, know that you lot're treating at your own chance; I tin't guarantee that the stain and odour will come out, or, that if it does using this method that the habiliment will withal exist intact. Just I call up there's a gentle mode to go nearly it that will give you the all-time risk at salvaging your clothing.

Side by side, you'll need four products to get the stain out every bit efficiently equally possible. One, you need laundry detergent; any kind volition do. Two, you lot need OxiClean Stain Remover with Odor Blasters; this comes with a purple lid and is around $8. Three, grab a bottle of OxiClean Max Forcefulness Laundry Stain Remover which has a cherry spray nozzle and is around $4. Concluding, get an erstwhile toothbrush or a new 1, doesn't affair, to help ease out the stain.

The reason I suggest the OxiClean products is that they're affordable and, in my experience, efficient! They work!

Okay, at present downwards to the stain removal. If the stain is really obvious then you can start by spraying the Max Strength Laundry Stain Remover onto the affected surface area and gently piece of work the production in with that toothbrush. Let it sit that style for the rest of the 24-hour interval before going to the side by side stride.

If in that location isn't an obvious stain, skip the spray and go directly to filling a utility tub, saucepan, sink, any, with one heaping scoop of the OxiClean powder and very hot h2o. The ratio is non an exact science but the mode I do it is to eyeball simply enough water to fully emerge the garment while still making sure in that location'southward a high concentration of powder. Yous tin tell the mixture is correct if the water is opaque and white. Now allow the garment soak for a few hours. Brand sure to simply soak like colors together. Don't throw a red polo in with a foam dress because the dyes might transfer. I also sometimes stir the clothing in the water effectually. I don't know if that'due south helpful, but I do it anyway because I feel like it helps to shift the stain around instead of letting the crud that's being lifted by the OxiClean just settle on top of the cloth.

Later on a few hours take passed, pull the brim, superlative or any is in there out and come across how it looks. Recollect that cat urine is composed of enzymes that need to be broken down then the more than time you spend soaking the piece, the better. It probably smells weird, only if the stain looks equally though information technology's begun to elevator, then it'south a good fourth dimension to throw it in the washing machine. Throw that in on a hot setting and the appropriate spin speed. If information technology'south a delicate piece, use knits/gentle; if it's not just utilize your normal cycle settings. Utilize a heaping pour of laundry detergent and another scoop of OxiClean, add an actress rinse and push button first!

The moment of truth volition be when the washing auto stops. Don't simply throw the garment in the dryer. Inspect it and come across if information technology smells and looks as though the stain has been removed. If it has been, hang it upwardly to dry out and if information technology hasn't repeat the soaking process before washing it again. Sometimes these things take time, but with the right product and a footling patience, I've most always been able to remove cat urine stains from my clothing, even if the stain is old.

© 2022 Kierstin Gunsberg

Vanessa on June 23, 2022:

I Need YOUR Aid!! And so my cat CONSTANTLY pees on my clothes. Don't estimate me here. But I have a handbasket of my daughter's dirty clothes and she has urinated all over all of it. ALL. OF. Information technology. It's a tall basket. And information technology's not fresh. I know you said to utilize Natures Phenomenon at the top, then in the questions you said to soak it in Oxiclean powder. Can you requite me a pace past step? Please. I exercise have a soak choice on my washer but I'k non sure how long information technology actually soaks for. Any help would be much appreciated because at this bespeak I'm about to but toss the unabridged hamper!

Krissy on June 09, 2022:

Volition the cats urine bacteria easily killed with detergent pulverization and clorox?

Donna Rayne from Greenwood, Indiana on January 02, 2022:

Kierstin, thank y'all for all the helpful tips, I truly appreciate it! Marvelous writing!

Meows = Thank you,

Donna Rayne

xMew on Baronial 12, 2022:

What if, once I establish that my cat had peed on my clothes, I panicked and through information technology in the washer with hot h2o setting? I was going to practice this twice. Would I just be making things worse? I didn't look up how to properly treat urine soaked clothes, and then I didn't exercise the pre-soak in white vinegar D: Am I done for or can this be salvaged? D:

Nicole on August eleven, 2022:

I was always taught as a child that there is no way to truly relieve something that has been peed on past a cat. This vinegar and blistering soda tricked saved my favorite striped sweater. It took a few washes because it retains water hands, so I would accept to take it out and ring it, rinse information technology past hand then rewash it. Simply I Tin Wear MY FAVORITE SWEATER AGAIN!!

Kierstin Gunsberg (writer) from Traverse Metropolis, Michigan on July 31, 2022:

Aaliya - If the vinegar didn't piece of work, look for a product chosen OxiClean Max Force. It'due south less that $iv and works wonders. I used it last week to remove ruddy juice stains from my daughter'south dress and information technology worked amazingly!!

aaliya on July 31, 2022:

Thanks. I discover this commodity really helpful. Yesterday my cat stained my cat pillow instance . I knew about the use of vinegar for removing stains. I practical it but in a incorrect way, so things didn't plow out good. I am going to effort another tips mentioned in your blog.

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on July 23, 2022:

Nosotros had to rip out our dining room carpeting and supercede it with laminate flooring to get rid of the ongoing pee odor in the house! At first, we idea it was one particular corner, and I was going to merely loosen the carpet there, and pour a huge dose of "Nature's Phenomenon" enzyme pet odor remover underneath, and all over the carpet, let it sit, then add together a ton of h2o, and vacuum it up with the wet/dry out shop vac.

Yet, as I began pulling up the carpet, I could encounter from the stains on the underside, that information technology wasn't merely that corner, and the misdeeds had happened all over the rug, and so there was no saving it.

That was a adept news/bad news story. The good news was information technology was a good alibi to become rid of carpet in the dining room, which I have never liked for just general cleaning purposes (spilled food and drink, etc.). The bad news was, we actually couldn't afford it, and had to open a charge account to buy the replacement floor. Married man did the measuring and cutting, and I laid the whole flooring!

To accomodate her preference for that particular area, I have a litterbox over there! Believe me; I'1000 not thrilled with having a litterbox in the dining room! UNfortunately, we notwithstanding have a problem with 1 of our 8 fur darlings, who still wants to pee on the floor right IN Front end OF the litterbox!

The whole outcome is one of our other kitties who bedevils her constantly, and was attacking her, and making her scared to use the litterbox. She was gettng UTIs, and peeing on the couch, every bit well.

I bought cheap flannel-backed plastic tablecloths to use every bit couch covers, and I can toss them in the wash hands.

So, we had my mother-in-law move in, and she brought forth her much newer couches, so the old pee-smelling ones went to the dumps. I still cover everything with the plastic covers overnight, though, and added a litterbox backside the couch, likewise.

Merely, at least, the laminate in the dining room is tightly fitted, and the pee is easy to clean up. We most e'er catch her in the act! I've now taken the lid on that litterbox, and opened information technology, so hopefully, she doesn't feel 'trapped' in there, and will utilize it. (We have her on long-term Prednisone to prevent the recurring UTIs.)

Only...the down-side to that solution, with the lid, is that the kitty who picks on her too likes to stand up and spray while IN the litterbox, causing pee to land outside. Sigh...I honey them all, but sometimes I could wring their fuzzy little necks! (No, non actually; but they do get pretty moisture from the squirt bottle at times! :-) )

(And yes, they are ALL spayed/neutered)

Perhaps my having foster kittens in is also 'non helping.' LOL

Kierstin Gunsberg (author) from Traverse Urban center, Michigan on October 11, 2022:

Hey Pat, I would definitely dry them on high heat equally opposed to tumble drying or air drying.

Pat on Oct x, 2022:

I am going to try to clean true cat urine stains from rug with an enzymatic cleaner then soak up with damp towels. After washing the towels should I dry them on loftier rut ?

Georgia Cowboy(GaCwby) on October 20, 2022:

I used this method on a bed prepare my blood brother was going to throw away ... information technology is an expensive set ... with the vinegar and baking soda I added liguid dish detergent ... The cat pee stain and odor was removed and now I accept a Queen size bed ... it works cracking ... Thanks for sharing your cognition

Maggie on September 20, 2022:

I take good cats simply I rescued one who proceeded to marker a room where the previous owners true cat olfactory property was. I tried all I could to re-train her, get rid of the odor but it just got worse & worse. She's been re-homed.

I deep cleaned the carpets with pet solution then went over the area with the machine with a water/vinegar solution... one cup/4ltr, in the bad areas I doubled the vinegar.

Unfortunately this alone did not do information technology and then I was very glad to detect a site that said to sprinkle plain baking soda, a lot, and then spray it with a solution of 1/4cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide & 1 tsp Dawn dish soap (multiply it larger areas), use a soft bristle castor to rub it it then leave it to dry out well (a few hours). When it is completely dry vacuum it up. Depending how bad the stain/smell, you may demand to do this a couple time... but it has worked!!!

BTW...another page warned to never used a steam machine for carpets when yous are dealing with a true cat stain/scent as the hot steam volition set it into the carpet... I am wondering if this volition exist the aforementioned for the laundry...???

The folio I got the info off of likewise suggested using products with OXY in information technology equally it about likely contains hydrogen peroxide.

*****One warning about the hydrogen/blistering soda solution... it MAY stain your carpet.

It didn't stain mine and I left it on over night only always test a modest area kickoff and don't be shocked if you lot see the baking soda commencement to bubble, it is supposed to do that... be certain to add enough solution.

Now I go to go tackle the laundry that hasn't been willing to release the pee smell :'(

Past the manner... I have a true cat who pees on laundry if it is left on the floor... the littler box can be completely clean & she is in perfect health she is just a ascendant cat and this is her manner of saying that something is out of place and needs to be corrected (yep, I still consider her a good true cat, she has a valid reason for what she did, lol!).

Cats don't do things just to exist jerks, in that location are always reasons behind things, have the time to find out.

Hi on July 16, 2022:

Thank you for the tip because my true cat but pee'd on my trunk pillow and my blanket and the worst part is that the pillow and blanket were my favourite pillow and coating then at present I'k very sad and I wish at that place is also another pillow the same and as well the blanket besides and this did assistance me a lot but the worst fact is that we don't have white vinegar or baking soda at our place. So I might be out of luck right now but maybe we volition become out and maybe buy the ingredients and mayhap that volition aid me just at the moment I really dislike my cat nosotros are non letting him back in the house because we don't trust him peeing on anything else in our business firm and cheers again for making this website so I volition know what to do if he does it again and I will know exactly which website to proceed and of course I couldn't cheers enough then good day adieu and maybe you'll see me put another message on this app over again I don't know what will happen but I simply wanted to tell you I could not have thanked y'all plenty whoever made this website cheers and I hope you lot will live the all-time life ever you lot probably will since your already making everybody'due south else's lives better and then bye bye now!!!! Your the best

Ann on June 27, 2022:

Worked like a charm, thank you!

Kierstin Gunsberg (author) from Traverse City, Michigan on May 11, 2022:

How-do-you-do Dallas, yep you lot could try apple cider vinegar. Information technology's non going to injure anything and I've used it to remove other pet stains and odors :) Good luck!

Dallas on May 10, 2022:

Can I use Apple cider vinegar instead of white?

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on October 10, 2022:

Great tips. I'll keep this hub in mind for future reference. I use vinegar all the time for laundry loads. I'll endeavour blistering soda likewise.

Source: https://dengarden.com/cleaning/How-to-Get-Cat-Pee-Out-of-Clothes-and-rugs-and-curtains

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