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If stains and odors are taking over the mattress in your child’s room, use this simple 3-step method to clean pee out of a mattress!
This is the very best way to clean pee out of a mattress. This easy process will remove those nasty odors and stains from wetting the bed will quickly become your best friend.
How to Clean Pee Odors and Stains From A Mattress
This may be an odd topic to discuss on a food blog, but it’s a real life issue that we deal with on a weekly basis when my son was younger. Years ago I talked about my son’s bedwetting issues and I had a lot of feedback from moms dealing with the same thing. I figured maybe you could use some cleaning tips like this as well.
I would clean it as best I could but nothing worked. Febreze and other cleaners simply masked the urine odors, and some cleaning solutions that I’d found online would remove the odor but didn’t work well on the stains.
So I created my own method with a mattress cleaner based on items in my pantry, and it’s been working great! This method of removing odors from your mattress is really simple and doesn’t require any fancy scented oils or kitchen utensils. I also like that the products I use aren’t harmful and my son can help with the clean-up.
Follow these easy tips for how to clean your mattress with my easy, all-natural mattress cleaner.
Here’s What You Need:
There are only a few ingredients and tools that you need to clean pee out of a mattress.
- A roll of paper towels (or lots of rags that you don’t mind washing)
- Baking Soda
- Distilled White Vinegar
- An empty spray bottle
- Vacuum Cleaner
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Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One: Blot the pee as dry as possible with paper towels or rags. If it’s already dry, move on to step 2.
Step Two: Saturate the stain with distilled white vinegar. I highly recommend using a spray bottle as pouring the vinegar directly on the stain could over-saturate the mattress. If you’re concerned about a heavy vinegar smell, you can dilute the vinegar with water, which a lot of methods call for, but that just didn’t seem to work as well. The straight vinegar is very strong and really helps to pull out that nasty urine odor.
Step Three: Let the vinegar sit for 5-10 minutes. If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on, or run a stand alone fan if you can. At the very least open the windows. The increased air flow helps to speed up the process.
Step Four: Blot with paper towels or rags to soak up the vinegar. Press several layers of paper towels into the mattress for this step. You want to soak up as much of the vinegar as possible.
Step Five: Sprinkle baking soda all over and around the stain. You can get real fancy and use a sieve or a sifter for this step, but I don’t think it’s necessary. If there are a lot of clumps just break them up with your fingers. Let the baking soda sit for several hours. The longer the better. After a couple of hours, you’ll begin to see the baking soda caking as it soadks up the vinegar (and takes that nasty odor with it!).
Step Six: Vacuum up the baking soda from the mattress. Make sure to go over the crevices several times. It makes me kinda happy making those lines in the powder with the vacuum cleaner.
That’s it! If the stains and odors are really bad, you may have to repeat this process, but it really does work! And it doesn’t just get pee out of a mattress. Readers have used this method to remove blood stains, wine and more from their mattress. Be sure to read all of the tips readers have shared below.
Pro Tips
- If you have some really difficult stains, use an old toothbrush to rub the vinegar into them vigorously.
- I highly recommend using a spray bottle for the vinegar. However if you just don’t have one, saturate a rag with vinegar and lay it over the stain to pull the odor out.
- Some methods online tell you to dilute the vinegar. You can do that, and it will help with the vinegar smell. But it also dilutes the effectiveness in my experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend Distilled White Vinegar. I keep it on hand in the gallon bottles because it is amazing with so many different household cleaning tasks like this mattress cleaner, and it’s super cheap.
Other vinegars are for cooking and are more expensive, and really just won’t work as well. However I did have a reader mention that she used apple cider vinegar and it worked great. The vinegar is just a strong acid that breaks down the odor causing proteins.
We do – I actually have 3 of THIS ONE. It works really well, except for that time you are so tired that you forget to put it on, or it rips and you didn’t know, or your son makes his own bed and forgets to put it on, or it slips off the corner because he thrashes around too much at night, or he just doesn’t like the sound/feel of it so he takes it off without telling you, or he wets more than once in a night and you don’t have a back-up, or sometimes, they just fail.
It’s not for lack of trying, believe me. Sometimes these accidents just happen and are totally random and it’s always good to have a great mattress cleaner method ready to go.
Reader Tips
Here are some tips from readers who have tried this method.
Set your mattress in the sun.
Jim says, “Vinegar and baking soda do an excellent job for cleaning a mattress. It has always worked for me. If there is too much odor, you may have to put the mattress out in the sun.” (editor’s note – this is great for freshening pillows, too!).
Works on pet stains and odors, too.
Hadley says, “This method works wonderfully on urine odor and stains from pets, too! Last weekend, my sister’s dog had an accident on the end of my bed, and there was a large, yellow urine stain. I was going to purchase some fancy expensive pet stain remover, but I found your website, and read about your method, instead. Ingenious!
I saturated the stain with distilled white vinegar, let it set for about ten minutes, blotted the vinegar with some paper towels, sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on the stain. I let the baking soda sit for about three hours, and I literally just finished vacuuming the baking soda up, and the stain and smell is completely gone! Thank you so much for telling folks about this method! Your mattress cleaner saved me time and money!”
Bridget says, “I just had to tell you I wish I could give you the biggest hug! I have a tempurpedic mattress and my cat decided to pee on it! I almost had it out my door to throw away and I was so angry that I knew I would NEVER get that smell out! Yes it had ALL the appropriate waterproof covers too! Still soaked through! Well something told me google it before you throw it. I did and I saw this. Well I did it and oh my god! It worked!!! No smell at all!!!! Thank you!”
Add vinegar to really smelly laundry.
Cassie says, “Thank you! I am going to try this! Why didn’t I think of vinegar before? It’s the best to use on any odors, and I’ve even used to get odors out of clothes and bedding. I tried the baking soda [but] didn’t try vinegar! Genius – I will be doing this today. FYI, they do make vinegar for laundry [too].”
Worried about the strong smell of vinegar? Add scented oils.
Katie says, “I have found that adding a few drops of essential oil (lemon works well) to the vinegar in the spray bottle works wonders to mask the strong smell of the vinegar.”
Don’t have vinegar? Try…vodka?
Sheridan says, “I also have another remedy that is great for getting rid of smells… Vodka! I tried it once to get mildew smell out of a hat and have used it for smelly fabric issues ever since. Same principle, put it in a spray bottle, spray the fabric object down with it until it’s pretty moist to the touch, but for best results put it in a warm sunny spot to evaporate. You can’t really do that with a mattress but alcohol evaporates fairly quickly anyway, and using a fan helps. It doesn’t do much for stains, but works wonders on smells, including mildew!”
*Editor’s note: Basic rubbing alcohol would work the same way, similar to how hand sanitizer works.
Works on vomit, too.
Laura says, “I tried it today on vomit as my son got sick on my bed this morning. It worked great, and luckily there weren’t any stains. I also used a hot iron and damp cloth to get the stains up (to soak up the vinegar & stain), before the baking soda. It’s not great on the iron, but the stains come up so much easier. It’s the same trick used to get (pet) urine stains out of carpet.”
All-Natural Mattress Cleaner
Equipment
- Spray bottle
- Paper towels and/or rags
- Vaccuum cleaner
- Fan optional
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Distilled white vinegar
Instructions
- Blot the pee as dry as possible with paper towels or rags. If it’s already dry, move on to step 2.
- Pour vinegar into the spray bottle and spray all over the stain to saturate. Let sit for 10 minutes. Run your ceiling fan or open window so air can circulate.
- Blot with paper towels or rags to soak up the vinegar.
- Sprinkle baking soda liberally all over and around the stain. Let sit for 3-4 hours.
- Vacuum up the baking soda from the mattress.
Notes
- If you have some really difficult stains, use an old toothbrush to rub the vinegar into them vigorously.
- I highly recommend using a spray bottle for the vinegar. However if you just don’t have one, saturate a rag with vinegar and lay it over the stain to pull the odor out.
- Some methods online tell you to dilute the vinegar. You can do that, and it will help with the vinegar smell. But it also dilutes the effectiveness in my experience.
- For really stubborn stains and odors, you may need to repeat the process.
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Try peroxide in a spray bottle!
Do you have to blot it up with paper towels? I just did this, but forgot this step, and I don’t wanna redo it. Is there any recommendations since I forgot this step? I’m currently letting the baking soda sit on the bed.
It depends on how much liquid you used. It can still work but will take a lot longer to dry.
I sprayed the whole bed.
Just found this I am definitely trying this tomorrow thank you so much cant wait
With 3 kids from 6months, 4, and 8 years old. I could have never imagine that using vinegar and baking soda works better then all of those chemical cleaning products. Plus, a whole lot safe with kids too. I will have to admit that this is really embarrassing topic for most of us. But I am glad that you were able to address this topic with us moms. Thank you so much, Kristin.
You are so welcome! Thanks for stopping by.
Most grateful thanks, Kristin, for this invaluable tip. Has worked like a charm both times I’ve needed it. A great comfort to know there’s such an easy solution to an embarrassing problem associated with the later years. Best regards, Fred Halgedahl
You are so welcome Frederick! Thanks for stopping by.
The mattress protector you refer to gets some really bad current reviews on Amazon – just noting…it sounds like it leaks through if the liquid sits through the night. You might want to find another one to recommend.
I’m not sure where you’re looking, but the link I have in the post has 4.3 stars and nearly 800 ratings. Every product will have bad reviews and there can be a lot of reason why, including user error. We used this cover exclusively for years and that’s why I personally recommend it.
It really does work! I have epilepsy and well sometimes when having a seizure you end up, yeah. So I did all the steps and as i was waiting i could see the stains fade away and the smell vanished. Very happy with this, a life saver!!
Nice! Glad it worked out Ashley.
Hello Kristin, will this work on older stains too.Thank you!
I have used it on older stains with varied success. But yes, it will work with older stains.
It works!!! Thanks
My 5 years old sleep with me ,,, I know! But I love him so much… and if he drinks a lot you know the results:(…
That’s Great Edith! Thanks for stopping by
Hi I don’t have a vaccum would it still work if I let it air dry?
Can I use apple cider vinegar? Thank you
No apple cider vinegar is not the same thing.
So I tried this and my mattress still looked yellow with stains it don’t smell I left baking soda on for like 5 hrs and yeah so what else can I do to take stain off
Is baking soda the same as bicarbonate of soda or is it the same as baking powder? Thanks for your advice and cleaning tips.
Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda.
If i use salad vinegar which is black, will it stain the matress even more?
Only use white vinegar. Any other type of vinegar has colors and odors that are different and can stain your mattress.
You’re the best!! THANK YOU for the vinegar/baking soda “recipe.” It worked great!! Consider me a fan. The few things I’ve read on your site are inspiring me to get my photography/book company up and running.
You are so welcome Suzanne! Thanks for stopping by.
I hate the smell of vinegar, would i still smell it afterwards? Can i skip that part? N go straight to the baking soda? Scared of over soaking my mattress as well but my moms dog had an accident on my bed and it reeks of urine
The baking soda should help take care of the vinegar smell.
Can I use a shopvac instead of a vacuum
Yes that would probably work even better!
I use vinegar in my laundry all the time. I don’t use any thing in my dryer. Vinegar helps with that. I used to use borax but vinegar is liquid so there are never clumps.
can I use baking powder or cornstarch instead of the baking soda?
No those wouldn’t work the same.
What if we don’t have a vacuum?
This method probably won’t work well for you.
Does it matter if the baking soda I found in my house is like 10 years old I mean it’s cheap I don’t care about that I’m just wondering if I can like start this process right away I’ll wait till tomorrow when I get out of work and buy new baking soda
I don’t really know how well it would still work, I recommend buying some fresh.