How to Get Urine Smell Out of Couch

The definitive guide on how to get pee smell out of your couch

A lot of us have had that moment where your heart drops when you find out there’s been an “accident” with your new or beloved couch. That sinking feeling of realizing smelly urine has started to seep into your favorite spot where you like to relax after a hard day’s work.

The reality of it is, these things happen more often than you’d think and if you’re reading this, then chances are you’re currently facing this problem and are looking for a solution on how to get urine smell out of your couch (unless for some reason you just enjoy reading about how to get rid of urine smell).

Fortunately, it’s easier than you think to learn how to get urine smell out of your couch. With a few simple steps, you can restore your precious sofa to its previous or even better state.

Note: Be sure to read the label on your couch before applying any kind of cleaning solution on it.

If it’s unclear whether your sofa can handle the products or chemicals, be sure to first test it on a small inconspicuous area to ensure your couch doesn’t get damaged.

Prep Work to Get Urine Smell Out of Couch

In order to increase your chances of being able to fully remove urine smell out of your couch, you need to tackle the “spill” or stains as quickly as possible.

Some products that you will need (most of these are standard household products):

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Baking soda
• Dish soap
• White vinegar
• Paper towels
• Enzymatic cleaner
  

Getting Rid of The Excess Pee

If the “spill” is still fresh, grab some paper towels and gently remove any urine on the surface. Make sure not to scrub hard as you may end up accidentally damaging your couch or even pushing the residual urine deeper into the sofa. Instead, dab with the paper towels to try and remove as much of the pee as you can.

Create The Cleaning Mixture

When choosing a washing solution to clean the stains off your couch and get rid of the pesky smells, you have the choice of going with a store bought solution or creating your own DIY solution. Depending on the urgency of the situation (how fresh the urine incident is), the availability of the supplies and the label on your couch, your choice may differ.

For a DIY solution:

In a spray bottle, mix a few drops of dish soap, 3 to 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide.

Once ready, ensure you test the cleaning mixture on an inconspicuous small area of the sofa in order to confirm it does not damage your fabric. Give it 15 minutes to settle and then check for any damage.

Applying The Treatment

Now we get to the real action. Once you’ve successfully tested the solution and confirmed it’s safe for your couch, go ahead and start to spray the cleaning product onto the affected area.

Ensure to spray enough so that the pee stained segment is completely soaked. Do not over-pour the solution, instead use the spray functionality, otherwise you risk damaging your sofa.

Cleaning the Sofa

Do not scrub yet. Instead, using a wet rag, start pressing on the solution sprayed area. If this is an older stain or you feel like the urine went quite deep into the quite, you may give it a very light gentle scrub.

Do not put any force behind it as you risk damaging your fabric or even end up making the pee problem worse. I would suggest repeating step 4 and step 5 a few times in order to ensure you are thoroughly getting to the urine. Once finished, let the area dry completely.

Sprinkling the Magic Baking Soda

Now it’s time to let baking soda do its magic. Sprinkle generously a layer of this mystical powder onto the affected area. Baking soda is known to help get rid of odors by absorbing them, so you want to let it sit for at least 2 hours to allow it to work its magic. Once the waiting period is complete, proceed to vacuum up the baking soda.

Using an enzymatic cleaner

If you want to go an extra step to try and remove any lingering odors or stains, the next stage would be to use an enzymatic cleaner. Using this kind of cleaner can increase your chances of getting rid of that pesky pee smell from your couch. I guess you may be wondering what an enzymatic cleaner is.

Enzymatic cleaners are solutions composed with enzymes that help with the decomposition of soils at a neutral pH. There are different kinds of enzymes in these cleaners, which facilitate breaking down various types of soils. Before using an enzymatic cleaner on your couch, be sure to read the label on your couch to ensure you won’t be damaging it.

As in the step with the DIY solution, start by first testing the cleaner on a small inconspicuous area to ensure it’s not harmful to your sofa. Let it sit for approximately 15 – 20 minutes before making your decision. Be sure to follow the instructions on the back of the cleaner as different cleaners may have different instructions on how to use them.

The Final Effort – Steam Cleaning

There can be cases where not even an enzymatic cleaner is able to get rid of the stain or odors. In this situation, we turn to extreme measures. Take your couch and burn it. Just kidding, maybe. In these cases, one last option is to steam clean your sofa.

Steam cleaning for couches is the process of using hot, pressurized steam to clean and sanitize upholstery. This method penetrates deep into the fabric, loosening dirt, stains, and allergens, which are then extracted by a vacuum or steam cleaner.

Steam cleaners are usually available to rent at your local home hardware or improvement store. If you do decide to proceed with this option, ensure to read the instructions manual to understand how to properly operate the machine.

These are the steps you need to follow to get pee stains out of your couch.
Although these steps are not difficult, its understandable you may not want to do this yourself as it can be somewhat unpleasant dealing with urine smells and odors. There’s always the option of going with hiring a professional to do the work, but that may cost you much more than what a DIY solution may cost you.

I hope I was able to help you learn how to get urine smell out of your couch.
If you do face this challenge, I hope this tutorial is helpful to you and that you are able to act fast enough to get to the pee stains to avoid hiring a professional.