How to Get Pee Out of a Mattress (and Stop the Smell Coming Back)

To get pee out of a mattress, blot up as much as you can, rinse the spot with cool water and blot again, then work an enzyme cleaner into the area, let it sit, blot it dry and let the mattress air out completely. The enzyme step is the one most people skip, and it is the only thing that truly breaks urine down instead of masking it.

Urine is one of the hardest things to get out of a mattress, and it is the accident that seems to come back to haunt you. You clean it, the mattress looks fine, and then weeks later on a humid Orlando afternoon the smell is back. This guide covers how to remove both fresh and dried-in urine, whether it came from a child, an adult or a pet, and how to stop the smell from returning.

Why urine is so hard to remove

Urine is much more than water. As it dries it leaves behind proteins, salts and uric acid crystals, and the crystals are the real problem. They do not dissolve well in water, so plain soap and water rinse away the wet part but leave the crystals locked in the fabric and padding. When the air turns humid, those crystals pull in moisture and release the sharp ammonia smell all over again. That is why a mattress can seem clean and then smell on a damp day.

In Orlando this matters more than it does almost anywhere else. According to University of Florida IFAS Extension, the average relative humidity in Florida is around 74.5 percent, so the damp conditions that reactivate urine odor are with us most of the year. The fix is not more scrubbing or more air freshener. It is breaking the crystals down, which is exactly what an enzyme cleaner is made to do.

What you will need

• Plenty of clean towels or paper towels
• An enzyme cleaner (a pet enzyme cleaner or an enzyme laundry product)
• A spray bottle of cool water
• Baking soda
• For a homemade option: 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, dish soap and more baking soda
• A fan or a dry, breezy spot to speed drying

How to get fresh pee out of a mattress

With a fresh accident, speed is everything. The faster you pull the liquid out, the less soaks into the padding.

1. Blot hard, right away. Press clean towels straight down to draw up as much liquid as you can. Do not rub, which pushes it deeper and spreads it. Stand on the towel if you need more pressure, and swap in dry towels until they come up nearly dry.
2. Rinse with cool water. Lightly mist or dab the spot with cool water, never hot. Heat sets protein stains and locks in the smell. Blot again.
3. Work in an enzyme cleaner. Apply enough to reach as deep as the urine went, not just the surface. Illinois Extension recommends an enzyme product because it digests the urine rather than covering it. Let it sit for the time on the label, usually at least ten to fifteen minutes.
4. Blot, then baking soda. Blot up the moisture, then sprinkle baking soda over the spot to pull out the rest and absorb odor. Leave it a few hours, then vacuum it up.
5. Dry it completely. Air the mattress with a fan or a breeze until it is bone dry. Any dampness left behind is what lets the smell come back.

How to get dried-in urine out of a mattress

Dried urine is harder because the crystals have set into the fibers. An enzyme cleaner still works, but it needs longer contact. Illinois Extension suggests soaking a protein stain in an enzyme product for at least 30 minutes, and several hours for aged stains. Apply enough to reach the full depth of the old stain and keep the area damp, since the enzyme can only work while it is wet.

For a dried stain and lingering odor, a homemade mix helps alongside the enzyme step: combine about eight ounces of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, three tablespoons of baking soda and a drop or two of dish soap. Test it on a hidden area first, because peroxide can lighten some fabrics, then apply it, let it dry and vacuum up the residue. Mix it fresh and never seal it in a closed bottle, as it releases gas as it works.

Cat, dog and human urine are not the same

The method is the same for all of them, but the difficulty is not. Cat urine is the most concentrated and the hardest to remove, and masking it never works. The ASPCA specifically recommends an enzymatic cleanser for cat accidents, both to remove the odor and to keep the cat from returning to the spot. Dog urine is usually easier to lift but often comes in a larger volume, so blot longer and use more enzyme cleaner. Human accidents, from a child, from bedwetting or from incontinence, are less concentrated, but the steps are identical and acting fast still makes the biggest difference. Whatever the source, the enzyme step is what decides whether the smell comes back, and for a pet that keeps returning to the same spot our pet stain and odor removal service treats the urine deep in the padding.

If it is a child's bed you are cleaning, know that you are far from alone. Bedwetting is one of the most common reasons a mattress ends up with urine in it, and it is almost always outgrown. According to the Urology Care Foundation, about 15 percent of children still wet the bed at age 5, and that share falls steadily every year as they grow.

If you have a memory foam or hybrid mattress

Foam soaks up liquid like a sponge and holds onto it, which leads to mold and can break the foam down, so a foam or hybrid mattress needs extra care with urine. Blot as much out as you possibly can first, then dab the enzyme cleaner on rather than drenching the surface, using the least moisture that still reaches the stain. Dry it with a fan for longer than you think you need to, and never use a steam cleaner on foam.

How to stop the smell from coming back

There are only two reasons urine smell returns. Either the urine soaked deeper than the area you treated, or the crystals were never fully broken down and dried out. So use enough enzyme cleaner to reach the full depth of the accident, give it real time to work, and dry the mattress completely before you put bedding back on. After that, keep your bedroom humidity down with air conditioning or a dehumidifier, because humid Florida air is what reactivates any crystals you missed. Finally, put a washable, waterproof mattress protector on afterward so the next accident never reaches the mattress at all.

When to call a professional

Home methods handle most accidents well, especially fresh ones caught quickly. It is worth calling a professional when urine has soaked deep into the padding, when the smell keeps coming back no matter how many times you treat it, or when a pet has used the same spot again and again. A professional hot-water extraction pulls urine and residue out of the deeper layers a towel and spray cannot reach, which is usually the only way to fully clear a badly soaked mattress.

At Pink Upholstery Cleaning we do exactly this for homes across Orlando. A professional hot-water extraction reaches the deeper padding a towel and spray cannot, so our mattress cleaning handles soaked-in accidents and general freshening, and every quote is free.