How to Remove Urine Smell From a Couch

Cleaning up accidents is a part of parenting and pet ownership.

If you have small children or pets, you deal with urine stains and smells on your couch from time to time. Accidents happen, and can be cleaned up successfully using common supplies. The removal of urine stains and smells is easiest immediately following the accident but older urine stains and smells can be removed, as well. Remove the urine stain, which is the source of the urine smell, completely to enjoy relaxing on your fresh, clean couch once again.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Baking soda
• Vacuum
• Spray bottle
• Water
• White vinegar
• Clean cloths
• Wet vacuum

Instructions

1. Lay paper towels on top of the urine stain on your couch. Apply pressure to blot up as much of the urine as possible. Continue blotting with fresh paper towels until urine no longer transfers.

2. Sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda on the urine stain. Continually scoop the baking soda from your couch when it turns yellow, then add fresh baking soda until it no longer soaks up the urine. Leave the last application of baking soda on your couch overnight to remove any last trace of moisture and to neutralize the urine smell.

3. Vacuum the baking soda from your couch.

4. 

   Spray bottles help you apply cleaners directly onto stains.

   Mix 1 cup water and 1/2 cup white vinegar in a spray bottle. Mist the site of the urine smell with the vinegar solution. Work the vinegar solution into the fibers of the couch with a clean cloth.

5. Dab at the site of the urine smell with a clean cloth dampened with warm water. This will remove the vinegar solution from your couch. Air dry your couch or use a wet vacuum to remove moisture.

Tips & Warnings

• Pour an enzyme pet odor neutralizer on the sites of persistent urine smells. The enzyme neutralizer dissolves odor-causing bacteria in the urine stain.

• Avoid using ammonia on urine stains and smells. The smell of ammonia will attract pets back to the site of the accident.

References

• Cat World: Removing Cat Urine from a Mattress
• The Partnership for Animal Welfare: Dog Tip: Cleaning Tips