How should I clean a peed on mattress?

July 7, 2010 10:12 AM

What is the best way to clean a mattress after bedwetting?

I used one of those washable absorbent pads for an adult guest who is a bedwetter (and don't worry, she's seeing a doctor about it), but it didn't cover the entire area and a fairly large area of the mattress was peed on. In future, I'm going to be keeping a full-coverage waterproof mattress cover on hand for such situations, so I'm covered on how to prevent this in the future.

Before I put that (or anything else) back onto this bed, how should I clean the mattress? I'm in an apartment in the city, so taking it outside isn't an option. Do I need to rent a rug cleaner with an upholstery attachment? I sprayed it with Febreze this morning and left it without sheets this morning before I left for work. Was that an okay thing to do?

The mattress is a fairly standard one from (I'm guessing) the 80s or 90s (not foam or any special material; there is no box spring).

posted by ocherdraco to home & garden (10 answers total)

One thing that's handy to have around is enzyme pet cleaner (nature's miracle type stuff: you want it to say it has enzymes). In my experience, it works well on both dog and kid pee. You spray it on and then cover it with something absorbent.
posted by leahwrenn at 10:20 AM on July 7, 2010 [2 favorites]

I would hit it with some of that Nature's Miracle enzymatic stuff they sell for pet accidents.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 10:20 AM on July 7, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure it's best but what I've done is:

1) scrub and sop up as much as you can with soap and a little water and then dry rags
2) cover the spot in baking soda or pet pee removal stuff
3) dry with fans, a heater, by dragging the damb thing onto the porch, or just waiting several hours
4) vacuum up the baking soda

I don't have a great sense of smell so I'm not positive, but I think this has worked fairly well on several years of kid bed pee spills.
posted by serazin at 10:31 AM on July 7, 2010

Nthing Nature's Miracle
posted by labwench at 11:04 AM on July 7, 2010

Kids & Pets is a similar cleaner. Works great.
posted by kindall at 11:15 AM on July 7, 2010

Seconding serazin's answer. Also, for step 3, definitely use a fan. Moving air does a great job of accelerating the drying process. Just put a fan blowing over the mattress and open a window.
posted by cftarnas at 11:15 AM on July 7, 2010

I've also used Nature's Miracle for this with great success. The thing, however, is that you have have to absolutely soak the stain, not just mist the surface. It will take a long time to dry. Keep it uncovered as much as possible. If someone has to sleep on the mattress before it's totally dry, put a thick pad of towels under the bottom sheet, then remove everything in the morning to let it keep airing out.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:42 AM on July 7, 2010

I'm going to try Nature's Miracle. Thanks for all the suggestions!
posted by ocherdraco at 12:10 PM on July 7, 2010

FYI, the seemingly knowledgeable guy at the local pet store recommended the Wee Wee Stain and Odor Remover over Nature's Miracle, which he says is significantly watered down (and therefore has a significantly higher unit price for the same cleaning power). He also recommended using a spray bottle.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:43 PM on July 7, 2010

Just got the automated AskMe reminder. Wee Wee worked wonders.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:12 PM on August 6, 2010