Urine on mattress - please help!

Grebe

Hi Drea:D , I wouldn't even try to keep the mattress babe. Given how thick a mattress is there will always be a lingering part of the white spirit somewhere in the layers and given the flammable risks it's not worth it.

Sunnyday

Definitely get rid of the mattress asap, found this whilst searching, quoted from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit

White spirit has a fairly low acute toxicity by inhalation of the vapour, dermal (touching the skin) and oral routes (ingestion). However, acute exposure can lead to central nervous system depression resulting in lack of coordination and slowed reactions. Exposure to very high concentrations in enclosed spaces can lead to general narcotic effects (drowsiness, dizziness, nausea etc...) and can eventually lead to unconsciousness. Oral ingestion presents a high aspiration hazard. Prolonged or repeated skin exposure over a long period of time can result in severe irritant dermatitis, also called contact dermatitis. It is highly recommended that skin exposure is kept to a minimum by use of gloves and that hands are washed after coming into contact with it. Occasional exposure to skin is highly unlikely to cause any problems.

SD

Drea

Hi Grebe

He has decided to give it a week but he thinks he is just going to buy a new mattress (a comfy one like mine).

Tim_Deegan

Drea wrote: »

Hi Grebe

He has decided to give it a week but he thinks he is just going to buy a new mattress (a comfy one like mine).

Tell him to get rid of it straight away. Apart from what it says in Sunnyday's post above, the mattress is a huge fire risk. You wouldn't be happy living in a flat full of petrol fumes would you??? :eek:

Drea

He read what Sunnyday said and I told him the rest. He still wants to keep it to see if it gets better for a week. I'm afraid I can't "tell him" to do anything. Unfortunately

Tim_Deegan

Drea wrote: »

He read what Sunnyday said and I told him the rest. He still wants to keep it to see if it gets better for a week. I'm afraid I can't "tell him" to do anything. Unfortunately

Tell him to leave it outside to air for yours and his safety.

White spirit is petrolium base, and won't just evaporate. I'm asking you as a firefighter to please get the thing out of your flat before the whole flat goes up.

babyshoes

Would flushing it out with lots of hot, soapy water work? Then leave it (under cover) outside to dry after removing as much water as possible by covering it with old towels then layers of newspaper and sitting on it / weighting it down with something big and heavy for an hour or so. The water & soap would remove some, if not most, of the white spirit, and drying outside would, I assume, do the rest. It does mean he is without a mattress for a while - I suggest an inflatable one temporarily. We slept on one for a couple of months when we first moved out, and it was fine. Thicker is better than the thin ones, as they always leak some air over the course of the night.

Drea

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

Tell him to leave it outside to air for yours and his safety.

White spirit is petrolium base, and won't just evaporate. I'm asking you as a firefighter to please get the thing out of your flat before the whole flat goes up.

I text him saying what you just said. But I doubt he'll pay attention. Like I said, there isn't anything that I can do about it other than nudge him in the right direction. So hopefully we have no fires anytime soon...

Tim_Deegan

Drea wrote: »

I text him saying what you just said. But I doubt he'll pay attention. Like I said, there isn't anything that I can do about it other than nudge him in the right direction. So hopefully we have no fires anytime soon...

Take the mattress outside yourself. Your life comes first.

Tim_Deegan

babyshoes wrote: »

Would flushing it out with lots of hot, soapy water work? Then leave it (under cover) outside to dry after removing as much water as possible by covering it with old towels then layers of newspaper and sitting on it / weighting it down with something big and heavy for an hour or so. The water & soap would remove some, if not most, of the white spirit, and drying outside would, I assume, do the rest. It does mean he is without a mattress for a while - I suggest an inflatable one temporarily. We slept on one for a couple of months when we first moved out, and it was fine. Thicker is better than the thin ones, as they always leak some air over the course of the night.

I'm afraid the mattress is a write off. It would take far more than soap and water to remove all traces of the white spirit, and you can't scrub the inside of the mattress. Also using so much water could make the springs rust.