Cleaning a soiled mattress is not exactly the most pleasant task in the world. It holds especially true if you live with anyone who has incontinence issues with their bladder. It does not matter if the person responsible for routinely soiling a mattress is an elderly adult. A small child or otherwise adorable furry and four-legged pet, a bed that has urinated for once is not fit for any human to sleep on any rate and as such has to methodically clean, post haste.
Of course, there is a veritable plethora of chemicals and cleaners that have created for the express purpose of cleaning urinary deposits (both droplets as well as uric acid crystals) from not just carpets, curtains, and clothes, but from mattresses as well. Unfortunately, the information on how such powerful chemicals react to human skin that will inevitably come into contact with the bed is in itself a moot question and automatically leads us to another question. That is: If we are going to go the organic way, then how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar?
o Why use vinegar?
Well, first and foremost, vinegar is an all-natural product and as such is not harmful to human skin or health. After all, we put the stuff in our food so it cannot be dangerous at all unless you have some allergy to it, that is. Apart from that, vinegar is a lot cheaper than many other high priced compounds out there and unlike the new inventions that currently exist and are so widely available today. When it comes to figuring out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, we have to partake of collective wisdom of our elders who have been taught these simple home remedies by their elders and so forth, though the mists of time.
As a matter of fact, not only does vinegar deal with disease-causing bacteria. It can also deal with the uric acid crystals that are an overall part of the whole stain and the majorly responsible for the terrible odour that almost always accompanies such urine stains.
Yes, working on getting rid of urine stains on your mattress is hardly a fun activity by any conceivable stretch of even an overactive imagination. Still, it is something that you have to do unless you fancy buying a fresh mattress (and bedding to go with it) after every bedwetting incident. While it is a possible solution, but not even remotely a practical one from the budgetary point of view, especially if you live with a chronic bed wetter.
However, once you decide on how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, remember that you have to act pretty swiftly since removing urine strains from your bed may be a distasteful task. However, it is still nevertheless a pretty simple one too, provided that you act fast enough and try and treat the situation for what it is. And that is a simple accident, not a life-changing calamity. In other words, once you go about figuring out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, you will realize that you have to do it both sensitively and sensibly.
It is because most such stains and by extension, their accompanying malodorous odours tend to set in pretty fast. It is why you must go set upon your cleaning task with regards to how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar so that you can quickly and efficiently treat and clean an otherwise badly stained mattress, as soon as it is humanly possible to do.
However, before doing so, it is prudent to realize that urine (of both animals and human) is essentially an organic compound and as such, is merely teeming with all manners of really nasty microbes. That (should they come into contact with human skin or even get ingested for that matter) could lead to multiple diseases, ranging from skin rashes to upset stomachs. It is why the whole cleaning exercise must be as thorough and quick as possible so that the bacteria do not have the chance to thrive and multiply. It will, in turn, lead to the stains becoming more permanent and also increase the toxicity of the odour so produced, considerably. Sometimes, stale urine smells even worse than fresh urine.
o Dry urine stains
For a dry stain, you should undertake specific measures to lessen the damage.
o Dampen the area around the strain
Here, by dampening, it is meant that you should only sprinkle the vinegar and water mixture lightly and not saturate it thoroughly. It will have the unfortunate result of making the strain bigger and spreading it over a larger area. You only want to dilute it, not make it even more extensive than it already is.
o Sprinkle either borax or baking soda on the strain
Once that is done, you should wait for a few minutes to let the vinegar do its job and then proceed to sprinkle borax or baking soda heavily all over the affected area. Once it is evenly covered, you should then proceed to rub it well and thoroughly into the mattress so that it also penetrates deep in the areas where the urine has already reached. You may use gloves to ensure that your hand does not come into contact with any urine residue and thereby prevent any infections from occurring.
o Allow the mattress to dry completely.
Ideally, this should only happen in warm natural sunshine if that is possible. However, in case of overcast and rainy weather, the next best alternative is to opt the otherwise well-ventilated area, as far away from dampness as possible. If you have a fan installed in the room where you have kept the mattress to dry, then you should switch it on or open the doors and windows, if you can.
o Use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the powdery and urine strained residue.
This step has to undertake, even if you cannot see any visible borax or baking soda residue. Rest assured it is there. After all, you put it there when deciding on how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, borax and baking soda. The last thing you want is for borax, (heavily laced with urine at that) to come into contact with your bare skin for extended periods, even as you lie sleeping on your mattress.
- Now pick up the mattress and return it to its usual place.
Once you are in absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that the urine stain is gone as well as the borax and baking powder mixture, it is time to pick up your mattress and place it where it belongs, i.e. in your bed. Since you have learnt how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, borax and baking soda, you are all set to repeat the same procedure if and when required. However, it will have deemed prudent to take at least some form of preventative measures in case there is any likelihood (however remote) of the same thing happening all over again.
o How to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar in case the stain is still wet.
The stain removal process when you’re trying to figure out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar is different from dealing with the same issue when the strain is old and has dried completely. Here are a few pointers to help you along the way:
o Blot up as much of the strain as is possible to do so
There is two way of going about it. Either you can use paper towels (the super absorbent variety) or a plain old fashioned sponge to be able to absorb as much of the disgusting liquid as you possibly can. Once the sponge is completely saturated, please do not bother to wring it out, but instead, throw it away in a disposable and sealable bag and grab a fresh one. But be sure to be wearing disposable gloves at all times and also try to ensure that as little liquid comes into contact with your clothes and skin, as possible. Otherwise, you will have to either dispose of your clothes or at least have them thoroughly washed at the local laundromat.
o Dampen the area with vinegar
Vinegar has excellent antiseptic and germ-killing properties. Suppose you are not interested in using ‘over the counter’ antiseptic products. In that case, vinegar is a convenient option to get rid of those trouble disease-causing bacteria and germs that are to found in mammalian urine.
Apart from that, when it comes to figuring out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar, a great advantage of using this readily available and inexpensive commodity is that it will be able to dilute the urine and kill the bacteria at the same time. A simple way of finding out if it is working would be to take a sniff now and then. As the dilution works and the bacteria killed off by the acid and salt content present in the vinegar, the foul smell will start to decrease noticeably.
o Allow the vinegar to dry completely.
Open the windows and the balcony and turn on the fan. Make sure that direct sunlight is hitting the area where the strain is so that it gets dried all the more quickly. The heat of sun rays will also go a long way in killing off any residual bacteria, should the germs survive the vinegar onslaught.
However, should the problem persist, there are other remedies as well:
o For all intense smelling urine strains
When it comes to figuring out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar and other assorted chemicals that are commonly available, certain DIY concoctions can help get rid of the most stubborn of urine stains from your bed.
o List of supplies
These include the following:
- A spray bottle
- Measuring cup
- Funnel
- Eight oz. (237 ml) hydrogen peroxide (diluted to three per cent strength only)
- Three tablespoons (around 45 g or so)of baking soda
- At most one drop only, of liquid soap of dishwashing strength
- A spoonful of vinegar
o Mix all the ingredients listed above into a spray bottle.
Here, it is pertinent to note that this should only have done when you want to spray the mattress, per se. It is a potent mixture and should use as soon as it has created or otherwise, it will merely leak from the bottle by dissolving the plastic. Let the baking soda dissolve entirely before adding the drop of liquid soap so that you get enough bubbles to ensure the job gets done right, the very first time.
o Shake the spray bottle vigorously.
It must do to ensure that all the ingredients are suitably mixed. When the mixture is ready, commence spraying it over the strain until it is all wet and saturated. In a little while, you will notice that it is gone and you should leave it under a fan to ensure that it is dry.
Should there be a thin film of baking soda left, vacuum the same. And et voila, your work is done, and you can put the mattress, right where it belongs. On your bed, so that you could enjoy a good night’s sleep since now that you have successfully figured out how to clean urine from a mattress with vinegar along with other chemicals. You deserve a well-earned rest.
Conclusion
Finally, your mattress is as spotless and fresh as if it has just delivered to your home. Now that you know how to clean urine from a bed with vinegar, it is time to put this experience behind you and place some clear plastic covers on your mattress so that you will not have to go through it all over again, should the same problem ever reoccur in the future.