Enzyme cleaner for urine on sofa?

May 12, 2022 8:05 PM

I have a sofa that a family member urinated on. I've treated it 3 times with enzyme cleaner but it still smells. Is there a particularly good enzyme cleaner that might work better? Or another next step?
posted by medusa to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

What have you tried so far? Products labeled "urine destroyer" have worked...okay...for dog marking. Bleach + ventilation has been more successful, instance by instance. While bleach may not be an option for upholstery, I wonder if a spot application of a laundry-safe version (like Oxyclean) plus a few hours in direct sunlight might help.
posted by knotty knots at 8:34 PM on May 12, 2022

Best answer: Of all the enzymatic cleaners out there, I think Bac-Out by Biokleen works best because it contains living bacteria which eat the source of the smell, and will seek it out and consume it completely.
posted by jamjam at 10:05 PM on May 12, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: It was $100 to clean my vintage sofa, no urine, but plenty of vintage must. Call a local cleaning company. They literally specialize in cleaning urine (pet and human) out of furniture and carpets. It's probably cheaper than you think.
posted by Crystalinne at 10:26 PM on May 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Best answer: If it was a lot of urine, it probably soaked deeply into the foam or batting, which means the volume of liquid you need to saturate everywhere the urine ended up is going to be larger than the normal 'spot cleaning' the bottle directions apply to.

Give it one more go with Bac Out and really soak it. If you can do this outside so it can dry in the sun, even better. If it still smells, I'd take it to the professionals.
posted by ananci at 3:25 AM on May 13, 2022 [5 favorites]

if the cushion itself is removable and can fit into a washing machine, like the foam and all (leave the cover on though) put in in with a couple of tennis balls, to help beat the shit out of the cushion filling. Breaks it up, works out the soaked in stuff, allows cleaners to penetrate. LOUD though.
posted by wellifyouinsist at 5:16 AM on May 13, 2022

Best answer: You need to soak it with about double the volume of enzymatic cleaner as there was pee - the pee soaks down deep and every little bit of pee must be covered by the cleaner for the smell to go away. If you miss a spot, that spot will still smell. For cat pee (less than 1 cup of pee) I use a whole bottle of cleaner. For human pee (could be almost a litre of pee) you probably need a full large jug.

I would take the couch outside on a hot sunny morning, dump the enzyme on gradually so it soaks out and engulfs the whole area where any pee could have touched, (do the cushions separately from the couch base), and wait an hour or so for the cleaner liquid to spread and permeate down through the couch. Then you can use a wet vac style carpet cleaner to suck up as much of the fluid as possible so the couch will just be damp instead of sodden, and will dry faster.

I’ve tried about 5 brands and I like BioKleen Bac-Out or Skout’s Honor the best- the scent they leave behind are the mildest. I do not recommend Nature’s Miracle - it works, but leaves behind a very strong chemical perfume scent that lingers for months and gives me a headache.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:27 AM on May 13, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Anti Icky Poo Odor Remover is better than Nature's Miracle, which seems to have changed its formula and is no longer effective for me.
posted by metasarah at 8:10 AM on May 13, 2022 [1 favorite]

Leaving it in the sun for a couple days might help (just make sure to bring it inside if it’s going to rain!).
posted by maleficent at 8:49 AM on May 13, 2022