How To Clean Cat Urine Out Of Laundry

Kierstin is the proud fur mom to a calico who daily exemplifies the expression "curiosity killed the cat."

Photograph past Zoë Gayah Jonker on Unsplash

I love my cat. I love how she uses the internet modem to warm herself or how she avoids my kids all day but secretly slides in next to them in the hours between the last bedtime story and dawn.

But, I don't dearest when she pees outside of her litter box.

Every bit someone who is kiiiiiind of obsessive about keeping my small home smelling as fresh as possible, I've become somewhat of an proficient about cleaning cat urine out of clothes, towels, curtains, carpet, couches—you name information technology.

Here's how to do it.

What Y'all Will Demand to Clean Washable Fabrics

Washable fabrics would be annihilation from clothing to lawn tennis shoes, curtains, and throw blankets.

• A washing machine and dryer
• Nature's Phenomenon Bio-Enzymatic Formula for cats
• Your regular laundry detergent

Getting Cat Pee Out of Washable Fabrics

1. To first, bank check for dampness, indicating that the urine is fresh. If it is, rinse the detail. Run it under warm water in your bathtub or a utility sink and wring it out. That way you're getting as much urine out as possible right abroad. If the urine is already dry, just skip this and head to stride 2.
2. Throw the item in a bucket or tub of hot h2o with a dose of the Nature'southward Miracle formula and and then let it soak for a few hours. If your washing machine has a soak option, just employ this!
3. Once your pee-stained item has soaked for a few hours in the warm water/formula solution, information technology'due south time to get downwards to business organisation. Turn your washing car to its hottest setting, measure out a small amount of your usual laundry detergent and hit start.
4. Now, one time the hot cycle is all done, run your item through on a cold rinse cycle to make sure all of the soap and urine is completely rinsed away.
5. Audit for lingering odor or stains. If at that place is whatever, repeat the launder process. If not, thoroughly dry the cloth to forbid mildew. If the item is prone to shrinkage, hang it to dry since we simply used a hot wash setting. If not, merely throw it in the dryer.

What You lot Will Need to Make clean Urine Out of Carpet, Upholstery and Other Non-Washable Fabrics

Similar upholstered chairs and couches, shag rugs, mattresses, futons, and carpet.

If the Stain is Minor and Fresh

• Newspaper towels
• White vinegar solution in a spray bottle (2 parts white vinegar, i part water)
• Baking soda

If the Stain is Old or Covering a Large Area

• An upholstery motorcar and special pet odor targeting cleaning solution. With specially old or securely penetrated urine stains, baking soda and vinegar may not do enough to elevator the odor and the bacteria that causes information technology. If yous don't get the smell out, your cat is only going to return to that spot to urinate. This is where a more powerful tool comes in handy. This is the 1 that I own and utilise regularly. Since I also take two messy niggling kids and a puppy, I've gotten my money's worth and more out of it.
• A fan

Need to get cat pee out of a load of laundry? You lot demand to apply an enzyme fighting laundry additive to properly make clean the urine out of the fabric.

Kierstin Gunsberg

Getting Cat Pee Out of Nonwashable Fabrics

Here are some tips when dealing with nonwashable fabrics.

If the Stain is Fresh

If the stain is fresh, information technology'south going to be clammy with an ammonia odor and clear or yellowish in color.

1. Blot the urine upward using paper towels.
2. Using your spray bottle of white vinegar solution, saturate the stain.
3. Soak information technology all up with more paper towels. Don't rub it in, just go on pressing and blotting so yous're pulling the remaining urine and backlog vinegar out.
4. Once you accept the spot pretty dry out (it tin be slightly damp to the touch, but not soaking wet) sprinkle baking soda over the affected area. The baking soda is going to help soak upwards whatsoever backlog wet to forestall mildew and blot whatsoever lingering odors. Don't worry if your house reeks of white vinegar. That'll article of clothing off on information technology's own quickly.
5. Allow that baking soda sit down and soak in the odors until the area is completely dry out.
6. Vacuum upwards blistering soda.

Read More than From Dengarden

If the Stain is Onetime or Roofing a Big Area

If the stain is old, it'll be dry, perhaps kind of crusty and more of a yellowy-orange or even brown shade. Y'all'll probably need to do more to remove and former stain than just relying on blotting information technology up with white vinegar since the urine has likely penetrated more the surface of the fabric. Too, if your cat has peed over a big area of carpet or upholstery (like an entire couch absorber or your bed), you'll demand an actual upholstery cleaner to clean and sanitize deep downward into the afflicted particular.

1. Follow the pedagogy manual on your upholstery cleaner to fill information technology, add pet-aroma-cleaning solution and to turn information technology on.
2. Saturate the afflicted area with the designated cleaning solution.
3. Permit that sit for a moment to soak in. If y'all're cleaning a mattress or a couch cushion, it's peculiarly important to give the cleaning solution time to penetrate through so it has a take chances to kill leaner.
4. Once it'southward done soaking, use the machine to suck up the solution and cat urine.
5. Repeat this. Spray, soak, suck upward. Do this until the h2o runs articulate. You may even need to refill your machine, depending on how big of an area y'all're covering and how deep the urine went through.
6. Once you've removed as much moisture every bit y'all can with the machine (y'all'll be able to tell by looking at the hose that information technology's non longer sucking upward much water) you need to set up a fan to get air flowing through the freshly cleaned area. This'll prevent mildew from setting in equally it dries.

If you're using an upholstery machine, soak the area with the designated cleaning solution and give information technology a few minutes to soak into the stain earlier sucking everything back up. Go over it until the water runs articulate.

Questions About Cleaning Cat Pee

Hither are some mutual questions near cat pee.

Would activated charcoal work to clean cat pee?

Yes and no. Activated charcoal (also known as activated carbon) will probably piece of work to remove the smell since information technology'southward basically a sponge that'll soak up most things. The event with information technology though is that yous might exist trading one stain for a another—charcoal is black and ashy after all. Use it with caution, specially on lite colored fabrics.

Can you clean cat pee with bleach?

Heck no! Call back, cat pee contains ammonia and when you mix bleach with ammonia you lot create a toxic combination. Hither'due south more about why you should never make clean up cat urine with bleach.

Is cat pee ammonia?

Cat pee isn't straight up ammonia but there's ammonia in information technology. That'southward because at that place's a fleck of ammonia in anybody's urine (yep, even yours). Ammonia in urine occurs every bit a effect of the breakdown of proteins in our nutrition, so basically it's but a byproduct of your cat's food and water intake and comes out as waste.

How practice you lot aid a cat acquire to pee in their box after you lot have moved their litter box?

Ask yourself if your cat is able to get to the box easily or does someone have to open a door or move something out of the way to help them find it easily? Likewise, bank check that there's nothing nearly or on the fashion to their box that scares them. Make certain that none of this is the case and if not, bring your cat to the box a few times a day to remind them where it is.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's noesis and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Questions & Answers

Question: My entire laundry area is approximately a i/ii foot deep with dirty clothes. My cats accept had a fun time urinating in my laundry (non my problem, equally I'll have that cleaned up and done today). But the flooring underneath is plywood. What would be the very best products for eliminating the smell and deterring my cats from peeing in that spot in the futurity?

Answer: I practise not envy you, that sounds like quite the chore. Somewhat similarly, I accept to deal with cat urine on my laundry room flooring, not because they're peeing on the floor but because their urine seeps out the seam in our litter box, ugh! What I practice when this happens is:

1. Clear the flooring (which y'all're working on)

2. Wipe up any pee that's on the flooring

3. Next, I lay down a production called Arm & Hammer Litter Deodorizer, sprinkling information technology liberally over the surface area. I let that sit to soak up as much moisture and odor as possible then just sweep information technology into a dustpan and toss it.

iv. Now, I sanitize the flooring. Our floors ARE different - mine is cement tile which makes this role easier. I'chiliad nervous nigh using anything containing bleach when urine is involved since ammonia (in urine), and bleach is non a safe combo. Yet, Clorox has a product that's specifically for pet stains and odors, and it'south chosen "Clorox Urine Remover for Stain and Odor," and it's about $v at Target (U.South.). It works for hard and soft surfaces, and then I think that this will exist adept for plywood. Use as directed.

5. Now that things are clean nosotros need to make certain the cats haven't inspired once again. The first stride is to make certain that no more laundry piles up on the floor (no judgment, this happens in my house every week, so I get it). Simply try to go along a tall hamper or laundry basket in in that location to throw dirty laundry in and make sure you lot accept a container for the make clean laundry too.

6. At this point, the odor should exist well eliminated, but since plywood is porous, your cats may withal find a lingering odor and desire to marker over it with more pee. You lot demand to find a way to cover the previously-peed-on area. Yous could do this with a carpet, but if yous think that they'd pee on that too, you could endeavour a prophylactic litter mat (I take a big one from Amazon, just search "litter mat") with a litter box on top! That style if you cat DOES desire to pee there, they can use the litter box. If this isn't an option, I say tape down trash bags. It's not glamorous, but for now, it'll hopefully keep whatever smells from luring the cats back.

Question: What takes cat pee smell away besides cleaning information technology?

Answer: The odor of cat pee is never going to go abroad until yous properly clean it thoroughly. Nevertheless, if the stains and messes that take caused the nasty odor are going to have some time to clean upward (say, if you need to pull up and throw abroad rug, padding and seal the floorboards underneath) so there are few things you can do to endeavor and temporarily subdued the odor while your cat-pee-cleaning project is underway.

i. First, y'all need to air your home out every twenty-four hours until that stain is appropriately and thoroughly cleaned up. Open upwards the windows, get your fans going and broadcast that urine soaked air out of the house.

ii. Find any washable or loose items that have been peed on, and either wash them according to the methods in this article or simply throw them away if they're unimportant or so far gone that you lot don't want to deal with them. Getting rid of as much of the affected stuff as possible volition assistance.

three. Use a pet stain carpet deodorizer to vacuum your carpets every 24-hour interval until you get the source of that odor eliminated.

4. Utilize aroma-eliminating plug-ins to temporarily piece of work over the scent of cat pee until you have cleaned up the bigger trouble. This isn't going to work long-term because again, the big trouble hither is whatever is stained with urine, whether it's a sofa, carpet, floor or a pile of laundry that the cat peed on.

5. Keep your true cat'southward litter box make clean - scoop it every day and add a layer of fresh litter over the meridian afterward to proceed things as fresh equally possible.

Question: Can old cat pee exist washed out of clothes?

Answer: If you're dealing with an old cat urine stain, like the kind that happened three months agone in the corner of your basement on your pile of summer wearing apparel and you've just at present discovered information technology, then there'south all the same hope that you can remove the stain and the smell from the fabric.

Start, assess the harm - is it a white blouse that says "dry out clean only" with a nasty ol' orangish brown cat pee stain, or are nosotros talking a black tank elevation from Quondam Navy that yous ordinarily simply toss in the washer without a 2nd thought? For more delicate fabrics, know that y'all're treating at your own gamble; I tin't guarantee that the stain and odor will come out, or, that if it does using this method that the article of clothing volition still be intact. Only I think there'south a gentle way to go nigh it that volition give yous the best chance at salvaging your habiliment.

Adjacent, you'll need four products to get the stain out every bit efficiently every bit possible. Ane, you demand laundry detergent; whatsoever kind will do. Two, you demand OxiClean Stain Remover with Odor Blasters; this comes with a purple lid and is effectually $8. Three, grab a bottle of OxiClean Max Force Laundry Stain Remover which has a crimson spray nozzle and is around $iv. Terminal, go an old toothbrush or a new ane, doesn't matter, to help ease out the stain.

The reason I suggest the OxiClean products is that they're affordable and, in my experience, efficient! They work!

Okay, now down to the stain removal. If the stain is really obvious then you can first by spraying the Max Forcefulness Laundry Stain Remover onto the affected area and gently work the product in with that toothbrush. Let it sit that style for the rest of the day before going to the next step.

If there isn't an obvious stain, skip the spray and go straight to filling a utility tub, saucepan, sink, whatsoever, with one heaping scoop of the OxiClean powder and very hot h2o. The ratio is not an exact science only the way I do it is to eyeball merely enough water to fully emerge the garment while still making certain there's a loftier concentration of powder. Yous can tell the mixture is correct if the water is opaque and white. Now let the garment soak for a few hours. Make sure to only soak like colors together. Don't throw a cherry-red polo in with a cream dress considering the dyes might transfer. I also sometimes stir the clothing in the h2o around. I don't know if that's helpful, but I practise it anyway considering I feel like it helps to shift the stain effectually instead of letting the crud that's being lifted by the OxiClean merely settle on tiptop of the material.

After a few hours have passed, pull the skirt, elevation or whatever is in in that location out and run into how it looks. Think that cat urine is composed of enzymes that demand to be broken down so the more time you spend soaking the piece, the improve. It probably smells weird, but if the stain looks as though it's begun to elevator, so information technology'south a practiced fourth dimension to throw it in the washing machine. Throw that in on a hot setting and the appropriate spin speed. If it's a delicate piece, apply knits/gentle; if information technology'southward not merely utilise your normal cycle settings. Utilize a heaping pour of laundry detergent and another scoop of OxiClean, add an extra rinse and push start!

The moment of truth will be when the washing machine stops. Don't just throw the garment in the dryer. Inspect it and see if information technology smells and looks equally though the stain has been removed. If it has been, hang it up to dry and if information technology hasn't repeat the soaking process before washing it again. Sometimes these things take time, but with the right production and a trivial patience, I've almost e'er been able to remove cat urine stains from my clothing, even if the stain is onetime.

© 2022 Kierstin Gunsberg

Vanessa on June 23, 2022:

I Demand YOUR HELP!! So my cat CONSTANTLY pees on my clothes. Don't gauge me here. Merely I have a basket of my daughter's dingy wearing apparel and she has urinated all over all of it. ALL. OF. It. It's a tall basket. And it's not fresh. I know you lot said to use Natures Miracle at the tiptop, and then in the questions you lot said to soak it in Oxiclean powder. Can yous give me a stride by step? Please. I do have a soak option on my washer merely I'm not certain how long it really soaks for. Any help would be much appreciated because at this signal I'1000 nearly to merely toss the entire hamper!

Krissy on June 09, 2022:

Will the cats urine bacteria easily killed with detergent pulverisation and clorox?

Lillee Rhose from Sparks, NV on January 02, 2022:

Kierstin, thank you for all the helpful tips, I truly appreciate it! Marvelous writing!

Meows = Thank you,

Donna Rayne

xMew on Baronial 12, 2022:

What if, one time I found that my true cat had peed on my apparel, I panicked and through it in the washer with hot water setting? I was going to do this twice. Would I just exist making things worse? I didn't expect up how to properly treat urine soaked clothes, so I didn't practice the pre-soak in white vinegar D: Am I done for or tin this be salvaged? D:

Nicole on August xi, 2022:

I was always taught equally a kid that there is no way to truly save something that has been peed on by a cat. This vinegar and blistering soda tricked saved my favorite striped sweater. Information technology took a few washes because it retains water easily, and then I would have to take it out and ring it, rinse information technology by hand and then rewash it. Only I CAN WEAR MY FAVORITE SWEATER Over again!!

Kierstin Gunsberg (author) from Traverse City, Michigan on July 31, 2022:

Aaliya - If the vinegar didn't piece of work, look for a product called OxiClean Max Force. It's less that $4 and works wonders. I used information technology concluding calendar week to remove carmine juice stains from my daughter's apparel and it worked amazingly!!

aaliya on July 31, 2022:

Thanks. I detect this commodity really helpful. Yesterday my cat stained my cat pillow case . I knew about the use of vinegar for removing stains. I applied it only in a wrong mode, then things didn't turn out good. I am going to try another tips mentioned in your blog.

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on July 23, 2022:

We had to rip out our dining room rug and replace it with laminate flooring to go rid of the ongoing pee smell in the house! At first, we thought it was one particular corner, and I was going to just loosen the carpet at that place, and pour a huge dose of "Nature'southward Phenomenon" enzyme pet smell remover underneath, and all over the carpeting, permit it sit, and so add a ton of h2o, and vacuum it upwardly with the wet/dry store vac.

HOWever, as I began pulling upwards the carpet, I could run into from the stains on the underside, that it wasn't just that corner, and the misdeeds had happened all over the carpet, and so there was no saving it.

That was a expert news/bad news story. The good news was it was a good excuse to get rid of carpet in the dining room, which I have never liked for just general cleaning purposes (spilled food and drinkable, etc.). The bad news was, nosotros actually couldn't afford it, and had to open a charge account to buy the replacement flooring. Hubby did the measuring and cutting, and I laid the whole floor!

To accomodate her preference for that particular area, I have a litterbox over there! Believe me; I'm not thrilled with having a litterbox in the dining room! UNfortunately, we still take a problem with one of our 8 fur darlings, who nevertheless wants to pee on the floor right IN Front OF the litterbox!

The whole issue is 1 of our other kitties who bedevils her constantly, and was attacking her, and making her scared to use the litterbox. She was gettng UTIs, and peeing on the burrow, besides.

I bought cheap flannel-backed plastic tablecloths to use as burrow covers, and I can toss them in the wash easily.

Then, we had my mother-in-law move in, and she brought forth her much newer couches, and then the former pee-smelling ones went to the dumps. I still cover everything with the plastic covers overnight, though, and added a litterbox backside the couch, as well.

Just, at least, the laminate in the dining room is tightly fitted, and the pee is easy to make clean up. We almost e'er catch her in the human action! I've now taken the lid on that litterbox, and opened it, so hopefully, she doesn't feel 'trapped' in there, and will use it. (We accept her on long-term Prednisone to prevent the recurring UTIs.)

Merely...the down-side to that solution, with the lid, is that the kitty who picks on her as well likes to stand up upwardly and spray while IN the litterbox, causing pee to land exterior. Sigh...I love them all, only sometimes I could wring their fuzzy little necks! (No, non really; but they do go pretty wet from the eject canteen at times! :-) )

(And yes, they are ALL spayed/neutered)

Maybe my having foster kittens in is also 'not helping.' LOL

Kierstin Gunsberg (writer) from Traverse City, Michigan on Oct 11, 2022:

Hey Pat, I would definitely dry them on loftier heat as opposed to tumble drying or air drying.

Pat on October ten, 2022:

I am going to endeavor to clean true cat urine stains from carpeting with an enzymatic cleaner and so soak up with damp towels. Later on washing the towels should I dry them on high heat ?

Georgia Cowboy(GaCwby) on October 20, 2022:

I used this method on a bed set my brother was going to throw away ... information technology is an expensive set ... with the vinegar and baking soda I added liguid dish detergent ... The true cat pee stain and smell was removed and now I have a Queen size bed ... it works great ... Thanks for sharing your knowledge

Maggie on September 20, 2022:

I have good cats but I rescued ane who proceeded to mark a room where the previous owners cat smell was. I tried all I could to re-train her, become rid of the smell merely it just got worse & worse. She's been re-homed.

I deep cleaned the carpets with pet solution so went over the area with the motorcar with a water/vinegar solution... 1 cup/4ltr, in the bad areas I doubled the vinegar.

Unfortunately this alone did not do information technology then I was very glad to observe a site that said to sprinkle plain blistering soda, a lot, then spray it with a solution of 1/4cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide & 1 tsp Dawn dish soap (multiply it larger areas), use a soft bristle brush to rub information technology it and then get out it to dry well (a few hours). When information technology is completely dry vacuum it up. Depending how bad the stain/aroma, you may demand to do this a couple time... merely it has worked!!!

BTW...another page warned to never used a steam motorcar for carpets when yous are dealing with a true cat stain/aroma as the hot steam will set up it into the carpeting... I am wondering if this will be the same for the laundry...???

The page I got the info off of also suggested using products with OXY in it as it near likely contains hydrogen peroxide.

*****Ane warning virtually the hydrogen/baking soda solution... it MAY stain your carpeting.

It didn't stain mine and I left it on over nighttime but always test a small area first and don't exist shocked if you encounter the blistering soda start to bubble, it is supposed to practice that... exist sure to add enough solution.

Now I get to go tackle the laundry that hasn't been willing to release the pee smell :'(

By the way... I have a true cat who pees on laundry if it is left on the floor... the littler box tin can be completely make clean & she is in perfect health she is but a ascendant cat and this is her way of saying that something is out of place and needs to exist corrected (yes, I still consider her a good cat, she has a valid reason for what she did, lol!).

Cats don't do things just to be jerks, there are always reasons behind things, accept the time to detect out.

How-do-you-do on July 16, 2022:

Thank you for the tip considering my cat just pee'd on my trunk pillow and my coating and the worst part is that the pillow and blanket were my favourite pillow and coating so now I'1000 very sad and I wish in that location is too another pillow the same and also the blanket also and this did aid me a lot but the worst fact is that we don't take white vinegar or baking soda at our place. So I might be out of luck right now but maybe we will get out and maybe buy the ingredients and maybe that will assistance me but at the moment I really dislike my cat we are not letting him dorsum in the house because we don't trust him peeing on anything else in our house and thanks over again for making this website so I volition know what to do if he does it again and I will know exactly which website to get on and of form I couldn't thanks plenty so bye bye and mayhap y'all'll see me put another bulletin on this app once again I don't know what will happen but I just wanted to tell you I could not take thanked you enough whoever made this website thanks and I hope y'all volition alive the best life ever yous probably will since your already making everybody'southward else's lives better so adieu adieu now!!!! Your the best

Ann on June 27, 2022:

Worked like a charm, thank you!

Kierstin Gunsberg (author) from Traverse City, Michigan on May 11, 2022:

Hi Dallas, yes yous could try apple cider vinegar. It'due south not going to hurt anything and I've used information technology to remove other pet stains and odors :) Good luck!

Dallas on May ten, 2022:

Tin can I use Apple tree cider vinegar instead of white?

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on October 10, 2022:

Peachy tips. I'll go along this hub in heed for future reference. I use vinegar all the time for laundry loads. I'll attempt baking soda too.

Source: https://dengarden.com/cleaning/How-to-Get-Cat-Pee-Out-of-Clothes-and-rugs-and-curtains

Posted by: kinneytryin1978.blogspot.com

Share this post