Oh the Vinager

Updated on February 27, 2009
E.B. asks from Tacoma, WA
26 answers

My 4 year old had a small accident yesterday during nap time. I always was told to put vinager on the matress to get out the pee smell. so I did. I then lefted his bedroom window open for oh six hours while we were out. hoping that would clear out the smell. oh god no it didnt. now i keep thinking what have i done!! have i ruined the matress?? i sprayed lysol trying to cover the smell...yeah right. What do i do now?? i want him to be able to sleep in his bed tonight and not have it smell horrible.

What can I do next?

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C.F.

answers from Portland on

Baking soda is amazing. Try that. Sprinkle some over the spot and let it sit for awhile. Then sponge it off??? I don't know if you need to make it a little damp first- but I'd try some variation of baking soda.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Seattle on

first of all I would not recommend baking soda it will foam, you know like the volcano science project.

and second, I use vinegar on everything once it is dry the smell goes away. I use it on my carpets and once it dries there is no more smell but it does take some time

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K.H.

answers from Portland on

I actually "bought" this recipe online, and it works on virtually any odor. It not only removes the odor, but the bacteria associated with it. In a spray bottle, place 8 oz. of hydrogen peroxide, 1 level tsp. of baking soda, and 2 drops of dawn dish detergent and lightly shake. Spray on the spot, let sit for 5 minutes, then begin blotting up with paper towels, or a white regular towel. It takes up anything. Good luck! PS, the measurements need to be exactly as stated, for the formula to work well.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.D.

answers from Portland on

E.,
I am a firm believer in natural products and remedies versus chemicals like lysol, febreze, etc.

What I do for these issues is use a product called "Mother's Lil' Helper by Venus Laboratories, Inc. I get it at a local children's store called Segal's. It does have a fragrance, but it's better than chemicals.

It is a prewash, so I use a shampooer I bought at Sears to "rinse" it out, then let it dry.

Mother's Lil' Helper ###-###-#### (Berkley, California)

We use it on furniture, beds, carpet and clothing. We have had great luck.

Lastly, even though our boys are potty trained, we still put the waterproof vinyl liner on the mattress under the water resistant mattress cover and sheet. I purchase all of this at Target.

Best of luck to you.

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A.M.

answers from Seattle on

Vinager usually takes a smell out but leaves its own lingering smell for several days! Also, depends on what your viniger water mixture was, the more viniger the longer the viniger smell will last. You may try a pet odor remover to help get out the smell. Otherwise, the only way I know is to just let it air out.

Good luck, and if you find a good solution make sure you let us all know!

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J.F.

answers from Portland on

I've used vinegar in our mattress before, and the odor went away after a while. I did dilute the vinegar w/ water, so maybe that's why the smell wasn't as strong for us. You could try sprinkling baking soda on it to abosorb the odor. :)

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I.L.

answers from Medford on

Hi E.,
I don't think you ruined your mattress. I just had 2 of my daughters and 4 grandchildren visit and 2 of them still have accidents 1 of them every night. Even though we took precausions one of the mattresses got soaked on the last night of their visit. I use Shaklee products and had some Basic H2 on hand and used it. I just sprayed the mattress where it was wet and let it dry and there was no smell at all. When I can I am going to use the upholstery tools on the shampooer and clean it with it, with Basic H in the water instead of the store bought cleaner. I used it last fall on my carpet and there was no dirty wet carpet smell and my carpets turned out great. I also use it when my little dog has accidents on the carpet, cleans the spot and doesn't leave any odor. I am a Shaklee distributor, I started using Shaklee products early last year because I got tired of the fumes and harsh smells of the cleaning products I was using. All Shaklee products are non-toxic and won't harm you or your children. If you want to learn more about the Shaklee products you can review them at my website at: www.shaklee.net/healthybodyandhome and contact me through there or call me at ###-###-#### if you want more information. Since you have small children you may want to take a look at the toxins in any of the cleaning products you use that may harm them.
If you want to find out what kind of harmfull ingredients that may be in the products you use, go to: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm. Look up the products you use and see what kind of harmful side effects could occur.
Hope this helps,
I. Lockhart

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L.M.

answers from Seattle on

hi,
a long time ago i posted a note about a booster seat smelling like urine.. and all the great mamas told me about nature miracle sold in pet stores like pet smart.. wow, wonderful stuff and not too expensive.. it has natural enzymes that eat up the smell instead of masking.. i have used it also to clean up my car when my daughter threw up all over!! I use it on my carpets too..
Lenc

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B.D.

answers from Seattle on

Not quite sure on how to rid of the vinegar smell. HOpefully, should eventually disappear. As for a way to help in case of future accidents...try purchasing a plastic fitted sheet for the mattress. I used this when my son was first potty training. He's almost 6 now and it comes in handy for those little accidents. :D

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M.K.

answers from Seattle on

hi E....
you have plenty of good replies for the already happened incident.
with the mattresses.. the best way to not worry about the urine in the mattress is to keep it from getting there.
I use the left-over absorbant crib liners (that had the plastic on the underside.) Then a protective mattress cover (w/slight padding) on top of that. then they both can be put in the washing machine - no worries about the mattress.

I didn't have to go this for for my older son.. but with my younger one, I might even get a full on plastic cover to go underneath the two above. btw.. I am not the super-organized type..I do this to keep me from having to do any more work than is absolutely necessary :)

this stuff is available at wal-mart.. not to expensive.. each was ~ $5-10. worth it.

all the best
-marg.

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A.Z.

answers from Portland on

You're going to need to dilute it. Pour some boiled water on it (boiling the water kills bacteria in the water). Then pour a bunch of baking soda on it to absorb as much water as possible. I would also run a heater in the room to help dry it out. You will need to open up the room every couple of hours to release any humidity trapped in the air if it's a lot of water, but the heater should dry it out. To help speed up the drying process, tip the mattress on it's side. This will help air to circulate through both sides and you won't end up with mold on the bottom!

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K.L.

answers from Seattle on

Yikes! Vinegar on the mattress? I have done that for urine stains on the floor, but not on the mattress. I have used baking soda sprinkled over the urine and let it dry throughly before vacuuming it up. Then you might want to buy a waterproof mattress pad to put over the mattress. Good luck!!!!!

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E.B.

answers from Seattle on

The two best things i know about to get rid of odor on surfaces is baking soda (just pile on top of the stain, leave on as long as you can and vacuum it up), and vanilla extract (a little pricey, but smells great and covers up even the strongest smells). I've never tried vanilla on a mattress, but it works great in smelly coolers and fridges...

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C.A.

answers from Portland on

All right - If you have a covered porch or some nice weather and place to stand it up OUTSIDE get it out of the house. Lean it up against something and spray, spray, spray with Febreeze (was my saving grace in the military). Buy one that says odor neutralizer on the bottle. Then spray the lysol in the room and leave the window open in there. I vote for a waterproof matress cover for next time as well as the Kids n pets odor stuff. It seriously works miracles. My son has explosive diarea and throw-up one time and it removed ALL the odor.

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A.W.

answers from Seattle on

I would saythat Febreeze (with the odor control on the label) spayed generously on the mattress, open the window and put a stand up fan on facing the mattress for a few hours. My little one had an accident and I used this method and it seemed to work well.

Hope this helps!

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M.F.

answers from Spokane on

There is a natural stain and order remover clearner by Biokleen called Bac-Out. It is non toxic and made from live enzyme cultures of lime peel. It smells great, a natural smell not a perfume smell that it bad for kids to inhale like other cleaners. We use it on for bed wetting and dog throw. It works wonders and it will be useful for the next time something like this happens. If you have a Fred Meyer near you, you can get it in their natural section or at a health food store.

C.S.

answers from Medford on

Yuck! Vinager? My mom uses the stuff for everything. I cant stand it! Next time use KIDS 'N' PETS INSTANT ALL PURPOSE Stain & Odor Remover. I personally buy it at Walmart. It works perfectly, smells like Blueberries, and doesnt require 6+ hour dry time! You just pour it on the spot and you are done...

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

mix about 1 oz rubbing alcohol with 8 oz water and a little dish soap. spray it on, let it sit for a few seconds, then lift it out with a cloth and repeat until the smell and stain in gone. I have used this one my carpets and furniture, and it works great. It even took the smell out when my Husband spilled a gallon of beer on my carpet! I actually got the recipe from a Mammasourse mom, and who ever it was, thank you so much for this wonderful and cheap cleaner.

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L.S.

answers from Portland on

I would be cafeful about spraying lysol in a childs room. It is a harsh chemical.. I would air out the room just to get the airborne particles out from that. You might have to buy another mattress if the mattress got too wet to dry properly, and smelly. I wouldn't let him sleep in that room until it totally clears.. both Lysol and Vin.
Sorry to be so.....

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J.R.

answers from Seattle on

Sorry about the vinegar! I can't help you with that, but for future reference, baking soda gets the smell out!

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J.M.

answers from Portland on

Try Natures Miracle - you can find it at pet stores, Target, Fred Meyers. I use it all the time on any type of urine pets or people. It takes a few days but it is natural and the smell and bacteria will go away.

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M.J.

answers from Richland on

I think Kids n' Pets is fantastic! Works great on accidents, vomit and other unpleasant things.

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R.M.

answers from Portland on

Look for something called Kids and Pets. Its a great cleaner and deodorizer. I have used it for accidents on beds too. Also, its great at getting stains out of clothes and carpet. I would do the same thing you did and leave the window open for a while after using the kids and pets too. I get it at fred meyer or safeway.

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B.O.

answers from Portland on

You have to use the vinegar(mixed with water) as a cleaning agent, not just pour it on and leave it. At this point, I would try to rinse some of it out with water, then sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on the spot to absorb the moisture, then vacuum the baking soda. It is best to leave the baking soda on overnight to get all the moisture out. Good Luck!

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J.W.

answers from Seattle on

The key to this is to soak up as much of the urine as possible first. Then spray white vinegar water over the area effected, rub it in, soak it up and then lightly spray again. You don't soak an area, as the smell will persist. I suggest taking your blow dryer and drying the area out completely, then spraying with white vinegar water over the effected area again and allowing it to dry. The vinegar will help break down the urine. In the future, take a flannel backed rubber sheet to prevent future accidents to your mattress. You won't get all the smell out. It doesn't happen, sorry. But you will cut the odor considerably.

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A.B.

answers from Portland on

Try baking soda to neutralize the smell and absorb the vinegar...

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