How to Take the Cat Urine Smell Out of a Mattress

The smell of cat urine is difficult to remove, especially from a mattress.

Cat urine gives off an incredibly pungent odor that rarely goes away permanently by using regular cleaning products. When urine is on and in a mattress, the problem is compounded because some of the liquid probably has soaked into the porous mattress fabric. The best way to get the odor out is to saturate the area with the right kind of cleaning product--one made especially for pet accidents.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Enzyme-based, liquid pet-accident cleaner
• Fan
• Activated charcoal or baking soda
• Brush

Instructions

1. Remove all bedding and other objects from the mattress. If the urine is wet, blot as much of the moisture as you can using paper towels.

2. Check the label on the liquid, enzyme-based pet urine cleaner for the appropriate ambient temperature--some state that the house needs to be about room temperature for the cleaner to be most effective. If your house is cold or hot, adjust your thermostat to balance the temperature. Look for these cleaners at pet supply stores.

3. Pour or spray the cleaner directly on the urine. Don’t be afraid to let the product soak into the mattress. If the cat urine soaked below the fabric’s surface, the cleaner needs to get down there too to be most effective.

4. Leave the mattress alone for about half an hour. The enzymes need a little time to start breaking down odor-causing molecules in the cat urine.

5. Return to the room and turn on a fan. This will help dry the mattress faster. You do not need to rinse any cleaner off the mattress unless the label tells you to; most need not be rinsed.

6. Check the mattress for remaining odor after the fabric has dried. If any odor remains, spread a half-inch-thick layer of baking soda or loose, activated charcoal granules over the smelly area. Leave this on undisturbed overnight. In the morning, brush off the mattress with a hair brush or upholstery brush; don’t worry if you can’t get everything off. It won’t hurt anything.

Tips & Warnings

• You can look for loose granules of activated charcoal in many stores that sell odor-removal and cleaning supplies. Activated charcoal is specially formulated to draw in and neutralize odors.

• If a cat has urinated on a mattress, chances are good the cat will do it again, even after you clean the mattress thoroughly. Consider buying a protective, removable mattress cover to make clean-up easier.

References

• Whatremovescaturine.com: Using Enzyme Cleaners on Cat Urine