Can you clean a urine soaked matress?

A friend's daughter stayed at the weekend (8 years old) and wet the bed. She never normally does this and therefore i didn't have anything over the matress other than a sheet. As she stayed laying in it for hours afterwards everything was soaked through. I have washed the bedding and taken the duvet into the dry-cleaners to be washed (its too big for my machine).

We left the matress outside all day yesterday and sprayed with fibreeze and it seemed ok but having been inside all night it really smells this morning. It is now on a wire bed base so getting air from top and bottom and window in room is open. Is there anything else I can do? It feels dry to touch but smells and I assume must be wet inside?

The thought of keeping a matress full of urine turns my stomach but buying a new one seems a bit excessive. Can I rescue it or should I ditch it?
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Comments

  • do you have or can you borrow a steam cleaner?

    I know it sounds like madness to wet the mattress even more but the steam will kill the germs in the mattress and neutralise the smell of the urine. Then carry on doing what you are doing, let it air until it's fully dry.
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  • shelly
    shelly Posts: 6,394
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    Personally I'd take the mattress into the garden, then get a bowl full of hot water with disinfectant in it and soak the whole area that has got urine on it.....just pour it on. If you're thinking of ditching it you haven't lost anything if it doesn't work.
  • I was watching Kim and Aggie once and am sure they used bicarb of soda, they sprinkled loads onto a mattress and left it for a few hours, it's supposed to absorb smells, can't say if it works as i haven't tried it myself but good luck.
    Pole Dancer In Training :rotfl: ;);) :rotfl:
  • fsdss
    fsdss Posts: 1,429
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    do you have or can you borrow a steam cleaner?

    I know it sounds like madness to wet the mattress even more but the steam will kill the germs in the mattress and neutralise the smell of the urine. Then carry on doing what you are doing, let it air until it's fully dry.


    clicked the thanks button by accident!! never mind

    i steam cleaned my mattress once when my little boy wet my bed (honestly!!) alll i can say is that if you can stand the smell whilst cleaning.......it really honked... in the end i threw a bucket of water/ dettol on it with some carpet cleaner, and the matress has been ok ever since
    Give blood - its free
  • Kim and Aggie did use bicarb of soda. I think it is something like a tea spoon per 500ml of warm water. Alternatively make up a solution of Ariel (the biological one would be best) and wipe thoroughly. I got this tip from a friend's mum who had an incontinent elderly cat. Apparently it really gets rid of the smell. The really important thing (as also shown on "How clean is your house?") is to get a towel and push hard on the treated patch. Repeating lots of times. This will get the most of the water out of the mattress. Then gently dry with a hairdrier. If you don't get the moisture out you will end up with the perfect conditions to grow mould! Alternatively you can buy a spray from pet shops that breaks down the wee with enzymes but that I'm sure Ariel will work just as well. Good luck!
    Now debtfree except for the mortgage!
  • is to get a towel and push hard on the treated patch. Repeating lots of times. This will get the most of the water out of the mattress.

    Putting a towel on the bed and ' walking ' on it should get the moisture out too.
    Pole Dancer In Training :rotfl: ;);) :rotfl:
  • Peakma
    Peakma Posts: 728
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    yuk what a nightmare,poor girl must of been devestated.Unless it's a particulary good mattress,I'd just be done with it, and get a new one !not very MSE though.But how much is your time worth?Your never going to think of it as clean and fresh again.
    If it were my child I would want to put towards replacing the mattress,without causing further embarrasment to the girl, would this be an option?
    I remember my late grandmother telling me that she had wet the bed at some relatives of my grandad (when she was an adult)She was so embarrassed, she just left it and never mentioned it again!

    If you go with the cleaning option,a dehumidifyer would help it to dry.
  • Threadhead
    Threadhead Posts: 443
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    We've just been given a brand new mattress, still in its plastic wrapping when we got it, but theperson who gave us it is a smoker, and it STINKS of smoke. Even when we took it out the wrapping!! Anyone think the bicarb idea might work for us??
    Threadhead
  • aliasojo
    aliasojo Posts: 23,053
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    As the parent of 2 ex constant bed wetters, I agree with the chuck a bowl of warm water and disinfectant over it to drench the thing.

    The inside of a mattress usually has a wool type padding which will hold the smell forever.

    Unless you actually wash the urine out, then all you are doing is drying it in. You may not smell it again normally but as soon as a hot night comes along then you will get the scent again. Been there.

    I favour the throw out option but if that's not feasible at the moment then at least soak the urine area. Then walk on it with towels over it to soak up the excess and dry beside a heater or with a hairdryer.
    Herman - MP for all! :)
  • Katinkka
    Katinkka Posts: 426 Forumite
    And for the future, I recommend protecting all your mattresses with a protector. WE have them on all our beds and they are really smooth, like a sheet so you dont feel sweaty or anything when sleeping on them. We got ours from boots I think.
    :heart2:I have a child with autism.:heart2:
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