House Cleaning and Stain Removal Forum

[atcollege]

Ok so heres my situation:

I'm at college living in an appartment, its finals week, I should be studying, and I leave for home in four days and I'll be gone for about a month. Last night I was sleeping and I woke up and my dog had had an accident and wet the bed.

I don't have any cleaning supplies except liquid laundry detergent, laundry stain remover, and shampoo. Is there anything I can do to at least get the smell out, at least untill I get back? I don't have time to go to the store and get any cleaning supplies, and then as I said I'll be gone for about a month.

Please advise.

[mrscleannw]

Are you speaking about urine on the bedding, or the mattress itself?

If you catch the stain early tossing the bedding in the washing machine and wash using cold water and a little laundry detergent should do the trick. If you don't have a washing machine available, I'd simply rinse the urine stain with liberal amounts of cold water and detergent.

Urine stains on a mattress is a little trickier to remove completely. The important thing is to use enough cold water to remove the urine when blotted, but not enough to soak the stain into the mattress and damaging it further. Do not use detergent, laundry stain remover or shampoo to remove urine from a mattress or carpeting. It's impossible to remove the soap completely and the residue left from the detergent will attract further staining.

I've listed a few other urine stain and odor remedies below. The ingredients are very common and a neighbor or friend may be able to help you out.

Baking Soda
First soak up as much of the urine as you can, then soak the area with 1 cup of water mixed with of 1/4 cup of baking soda. With a clean rag, soak up any excess liquid pressing firmly and repeatedly until dry. Repeat this process using fresh water, and then use another rag to soak up the remaining liquid.

Hydrogen Peroxide
Pour a small amount directly on the stain and allow to dry. Then rinse with cold water and soak up with a rag or paper towel.

Listerine Mouthwash
An antiseptic, Listerine might help with urine odors when a few drops are added to your water & baking soda solution, or when mixed with the hydrogen peroxide solution.

[atcollege]

Ok thanks, yeh sorry for not being clear. I washed the bedding but the mattress is the big thing.

If I can't any of that stuff before I leave will it be ok (other than being a bit unpleasant) if I leave it until I come back, or will it be beyond cleaning?

Thanks again

[mrscleannw]

It's fine to leave it until you are prepared to clean it thoroughly.

The problem would be if you poured various liquids on the mattress in an attempt fix it now. The idea is to extract the urine from the mattress first, not force the urine deeper into the mattress by pouring liquids on top of it. Using soap is not a good idea for removing any stain unless you are able to extract all of it's residue from the material- You'd be left with a soap stain at the end of it.

Good Luck!

[atcollege]

Ok thank you so much

[zimmermancarpets]

Good advice there. Really, the biggest things to have with any stain removal process is a mild liquid detergent (like Ivory dish soap), distilled white vinegar, cold water, hot water, lots of paper towels and hydrogen peroxide.
With your particular situation, I would agree that water rinsing is the most important thing. If you can catch a urine spot within one hour of it happening, you can get it completely clean with some soap and water. After an hour, it turns alkalyn and you'll need vinegar to neutralize it. You can then use some hydrogen peroxide to remove some of the yellow staining.

You can also call a local certified carpet cleaner. Carpet cleaning companies (like mine) also clean upholstery, and we're experienced in getting organic stains out of fabric. You may only need deodorizing, though usually if there's an odor, there's also some protein matter left behind, so keep that in mind. If you need to contact a carpet cleaner in your area, you can visit our site, which is specifically made for carpet and oriental rug cleaning in Greensboro, NC. But, you can read up on the process and visit some of the links on the site to find cleaners in your area.
http://www.zimmermancarpetcleaners.com

[xena_r]

I didn't find my fool-proof way to remove red wine stains: put the garment in the bathtub. Fill a teapot full of water and boil; when it is boiling, pour on to garment from as high a level as you can. Believe me, it's the only thing that works. Now, if someone could tell me how to get a wine spill off my bedroom wall, I'd appreciate it! Xena_r

[mrscleannw]

Hello xena_r,

Not knowing what type of paint is on your walls there are a few options you can try to remove the red wine stains from your painted wall.

First and foremost, always try to get to any spills as soon as possible. That is sometimes easier said than done so here are a few things to try:

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser - these are great for so many home cleaning chores.

Bleach and Water - using a spray bottle, mix a bleach and water solution (equal parts) and wipe down with a clean cloth.

Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) - you can purchase this at a local hardware store. This is a heavy duty cleaner and you will need to use a mask, wear gloves, and have good ventilation when using this product. Follow the package instructions.

If the stains have absorbed and been on the wall for a while, you may have to re-paint the wall.

Mrs. Clean.