Cleaning Urine Smell from Different Items

I was also very frustrated as a parent of a child that wet every single night. I was told by a friend that taking him to a chiropractor would solve the problem. I decided to try it. After his second adjustment, he was dry. This was on his 13th birthday. He was sooooo happy! We were told that he had a nerve pinched every time he laid down, that was supposed to tell his bladder to hold on. Every time he laid down before, he peed almost as instant as he was asleep. It has been 7 years now, and he has never had another accident.

Also try 1 cup of regular vinegar in with her laundry. That stuff works wonders for getting smells out of clothing and it doesn't leave any vinegar scent behind.

I have used white vinegar to get urine smell out of laundry so I would think it would help in your situation. Depending on the intenseness of the smell, you can mix the vinegar with water.

Have a GREAT day!

S.

P., I feel your pain and frustration with this one. I have a 17 year old son that is still growing out of this problem. It is now to the point of only once or twice a month. I would check into a medical problem, although with my son he had a procedure done and that still did not help. His was also from his fathers side as his father and his uncle wet the bed until their late teens also. We covered the bed with a plastic sheet to save the mattress. All his clothes we washed in hot and only had certain clothes to wear at night time only. I found that the less stress that he had about it the better he did. This is such a hard thing for our children to have happen to them that the easier we make it for them the better it is for them. The pull ups work for awhile but my son quit wearing them after 13. I also had him take over his laundry duties and that helped with his self image. Hang in there it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with letting her know that this is not her fault. It will get better. :) D.

We have had the same issue with three of our children. Hands down, the best thing we have found is a product called Kids and Pets. You can get it at WalMart.

Try Nature's Miracle, it is sold at Petsmart in a white and red bottle. It is an enzyme cleaner and worked to get the nasty vomit smell out of my daughter's clothes when she had the stomach flu! I also have used it for urine when my dog has an accident and it works really well. I have not even had a problem with staining.

I would try one of these. The 'Out' worked for me, I really dumped a lot on the spots. You can find them at wal-mart in the pet section.
http://www.farm-home.com/mn/t7_ssidisp2.mvc?FRGL07+ANC+00...~

Something else that worked good for me for about any stain, etc. is oxi clean liquid.
http://doitbest.com/Laundry+Soap+and+Spot+Removers-Church...

Hope that helps. I know it's frusterating, but remember to try and be patient. I wet the bed for a long time myself when I was a child, and the hardest part of it was when my mom would get upset with me. We all eventually out grow it. Good luck!
S.

I know that several people have giving you cleaning tips and spray to cover the odor. However, just cleaning and covering it, is not addressing the problem. I know that you did not specify as to whether or not your daughter has a medical problem, but as a nurse, I would work on the problem first. Not just for you, but mainly for your daughter. She is at a sensitive point in her life where this problem will cause so many emotional and social issues. There are many things that you can do, from the bedwetting monitor to surgery...but I would explore all of your options.

You can buy urine gone at the pet stores. I think target even has it. It is designed to get rid of urine smells. My cat peed on my bed last week and it worked great.

My niece wears pads and pull-ups 24/7. By doing so, I haven't noticed the urine leaking onto furniture, etc., but she sure does smell bad at times. She doesn't seem to smell it, and has to be reminded to go change these items. (My sister needs to teach her to wrap these items in plastic bags, and not just deposit them in the bathroom garbage can, because the smell is very, very strong.)

For the longest time prior, her parents were in denial about the severity of her problem, and she'd constantly soak through her clothes, then they'd chastise her and act exasperated. Finally, finally, she wears pads at all times. I can't tell you what a relief this has been for me. I was constantly terrified that my car seats and furniture would get soaked in urine when she visited. It wasn't a comfortable topic with my sister.

This is a tough one. I'm sorry.

I'm all for natural solutions first. I was told by a professional carpet cleaner that vinegar is the best urine smell remover (plus the cheapest). I would definitely try a chiropractor first to help her not wet at night anymore. They have ways to heal so many problems, including constant ear infections, etc. Best wishes to you and your daughter.

Hi P.,

Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions for the smell (other than perhaps trying a product called "Bac Out" which I have found at stores like Mountain Mama and Whole Foods. It's an enzymatic stain and odor remover).

But I did want to run an idea by you about the wetting problem itself. Of course, I have no clue about the situation, so this may be no help whatsoever but here goes anyway...

I had a wetting problem for a long time as a kid (I'd be watching TV or sitting at my desk at school -- talk about embarrassing -- and suddenly pee without any warning). Not to age 13 but it might have persisted that long or longer if my mom hadn't found a doctor who told her to stop letting me have soda and chocolate for a while. No kidding. She had to make sure I got *no* caffeine at all. And the problem eventually went away. I think they called it "neurogenic bladder" or something like that. I just googled that term and found this link:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/453539-overview
So, it looks like there are lots of forms of neurogenic bladder, so it might make sense to seek out medical help (We went to a doctor in Michigan, so unless you're willing to travel I don't know who to recommend here...besides, that doc is probably long since retired by now!).

Hope this helps.
L.

I see you have a lot of great advice but no one's mentioned hydrogen peroxide (1 small bottle- 6 or 8oz?) + baking soda (about 2 teaspoons) + a drop of dish soap -- unless I missed it!) We once rented a house w/a strong urine smell on the carpet and on a concrete floor in the basement and it knocked it out w/no more than 2 applications. Mixing this solution up, saturating anything with it-- concrete floor, mattress, pillow, carpet, what have you (though not hardwood) and letting it dry thoroughly is a godsend. Reapply until smell is gone. People charge money sometimes for this free, common-sense formula online. You can google and see more.

I'm sorry for your daughter's problem but with your support she's sure to get through it okay. Good luck!

I had a boyfriend who had the same problem. He would never go to the dr though he was so embrassed. What I had to do was febreeze the heck out of the clothes and let it dry. Then I would hand wash the clothes a couple times. Letting them air dry. Then I would wash them regularly in the washer and dryer. It was a pain but it was better than the smell.

You have great advice on the cleaning bit. My son was a bedwetter for a long time. The tablets he took made him grouchy. When he was 10, a new doctor prescribed a nasal hormone that he sniffed. It was absolutely miraculous. He used it for 2 years until he was able to wake up at night. Please ask your Dr. about it, and if he doesn't know, ask a Dr. who specialized in Urology, and I am sure they will know. Please do not let your poor daughter continue to wet. That is just devastating for her.

You've had similar advice as what I was going to give you.
But I wanted to add to it a bit. If you have a "soak" cycle in your washer (mine doesn't) :( You can add white Vinegar to your rinse cycle as well as the wash cycle for the clothes & give it a chance to soak a bit. I put it in both the soap & the fabric softener & the bleach dispenser (I have a dispenser for all 3). I've had to do this because we had a Tom cat that started peeing all over the clothes & blankets & if it can get the order of a Tom cat out.....it should for a person too.
Also, I would use the white vinegar full strength in the area on the carpet that she's laid on (test the carpet first). Spraying it on the carpet is only going to get the very surface of it, but you've got to get the vinegar down to the pad & let it soak up in that just like the urine did.

You didn't mention if your daughter's wetting is a medical issue or not? Is her drinking stopped an hr or so prior to her going to bed? Is there any issue going on with her that's made her "regress" to wetting her bed?

Good luck

Vinegar is the cure to urine-scented items - Put a cup of distilled white vinegar in the wash - or diluted vinegar water on carpeted areas that have that scent, and wa-laa, smell is gone.

I don't have a 13 year old with this problem, but a 6 year old who was wetting frequently most nights. I finally went to the doctor and thought it was maybe a surgical problem. He told me that it is a more common problem than I would think, and to try using a bed-alarm. He used it with his 12 year old, and it worked wonders. I purchased and have used it with my child and it completely solved the problem within a couple of weeks. Look into it, as long as your daughter doesn't have a medical issue, it is well worth the 70-80$ I paid for it, and worked so great. My child feel so much better about himself now; That must be so hard for you daughter to still be having this problem at 13, I hope you get it figured out! Good luck!

How the bed-alarm works: It is a moisture sensitive pad that gets placed in the childs underwear and has a cord attatched to it that fastens onto their shirt. At the first drop of moisture, an alarm sounds, and wakes up the child, (and parents) to get them to the bathroom. The first week, you typically end up racing into their rooms and getting them up to go to the bathroom, the second week, they are able to wake themselves and by the time you get to them you are meeting them in the hall; the third week, their brain is conditioned to awaken before the alarm sounds because they are able to recognize the sensation of needing to urinate. It is basically a conditioning process. It actually went even faster for us, only took maybe 2 weeks.

Also, my doctor prescribed a medication that when taken, they WILL NOT urinate at night. I don't know how it works. He had me give my son a half a tablet about 4-5 days before using the bed alarm to kind of bolster his confidence that he was able to 'stay dry' by himself. My doctor said his 12 year old son occasionaly has the bed-wetting happen now if he is under alot of stress. He uses this medication now very occasionaly on nights he knows his son is undergoing stressful situations. I can't remember the name of it without going through my cupboard, I would ask your doctor if this is of interest to you.

I'm so glad to see someone else recommending Kids n' Pets (from walmart)! I've been recommending it on this site for lots of questions like yours (getting stains/smells out of stuff). It does have an enzyme neutralizer like other moms are recommending with the Nature's Miracle and other suggestions. That's why it takes out the urine smell. Anyway... it's by far the best thing I've found for urine, as well as other kid and pet messes! I'm pretty sure you can use it as a laundry pre-treat also. I haven't used it for that, but I'm 99% sure the bottle says you can. I would also ditto the other moms who suggest finding out if there's an underlying medical issue if you haven't already. Bed wetting, and wetting at an older age is common, but when it's lasting into her teens, it would be a good idea to make sure it's not just a phase she hasn't grown out of yet. I know my cousin who was wetting at 12 or 13 ended up having to take medication for it. It was decided that it wasn't something she was just going to grow out of on her own. And the medication really helped her psychologically and socially as well. Anyway... I guess I didn't have any new information for you. Just agreeing with some other moms' responses so you know there's more than one person who feels the same way! Good luck with it however you decide to proceed.

My daughter often wets her pants too. We use and love Sol-U-Mel! I use a capful of it in the laundry and I use it to clean her mattress. I also use it on the carpet for various stains too. It is amazing at getting both stains and smells out. I buy it online, let me know if you want more info. Good luck!

P.,
Try plain white vinegar on things like clothes, the carpet and bed. You can also throw some into the washer to try and get it out of linens and clothes. For things like the capet and bed, I recommend putting it into a spray bottle, which helps you control how much and where you put it. Once it dries, the vinegar smell shouldn't be there either. I have used this when my 4 year old would have some accidents in his bed. You can also put some into a spray bottle and use a little essential oils to make a scented spray.

My heart is so sad to hear about the issues your daughter is dealing with and her embarrassment associated with it. I hope this solution will help ease her fears, and help you protect your daughter from feeling those emotions during such an emotionally vulnerable time in a young woman's life. Remain positive and don't let her feel your frustration with this issue.

Blessings,
M. in Denver

I agree with Audrey S. !I use Sol-U-Mel for the toughest smells in our house. I have a dog and two children. My son is only two, but sometimes his Pull-Ups leak while napping on the couch, and I use Sol-U-Mel to get the smell out.

I don't know where you are located but go to your nearest janitorial store and tell them you need the enzyme cleaner to remove urine. It works wonders! Good luck

I have a 8 year old that has the same problems. The best thing I can tell you is to have her wear cotton instead of pollyester that will help with her smell. (Sorry that sounded so bad). Have you tried to clean the mattress with your carpet cleaner? You don't want to use a lot of water and soak the mattress. You also need to make sure that it dries completly before putting sheets on. I also bought a new matress protector that I gaurantee won't leak through to the matress. The only place that I know that you can buy them is at a My Comfort Store. Which I own and am not trying to get you to buy just because I own it. Since I have a daughter that has this problem I have learned the hard way. The best thing about this matress protector is that it is thin and doesn't have the plastic gaurd on it that makes noise as if you move and is washable!! As far as the carpet clean it with the pet urine carpet cleaner (As thing for the mattress) this really works at taking the smell out of the carpet. Try to go over the area a lot and get as much of the water out so that the smell doesn't stay. GOOD LUCK and I hope some of this will help you!!