Few would believe it’s easy to get rid of urine smell. This is because most people have been trying to eliminate that embarrassing smell for a long period without success.
However, if you follow the simple steps and carry out the specifics on how to get urine smell out of clothes, you’ll be left amazed at how effortless it is to achieve this feat.
Why Does Urine Smell Bad?
Urine in its natural state has a kind of mild ammonia smell. The odor is rather not noticeable and inoffensive provided the body system is healthy.
However, there can be times when your urine has a bad or offensive smell. This could be caused by dehydration, food and drinks (like asparagus, coffee, alcohol, garlic and onions), or some medical issues (e.g. diabetes, kidney problem, bladder infections).
The medical issues are affirmed if the bad smell is consistent for a long period irrespective of diets and habits. You should contact a doctor for appropriate treatment.
Get Animal (Cat/Dog) Urine Smell Out of Clothes
The urine of pets can give clothes an undesired permanent odor. However, with the following materials and procedures, you should be able to eliminate this smell from clothes and bedding. Also, here’s a video that walked you through how to get cat/dog urine smell out of clothes.
Below are the materials you need to get started:
- Oxygen bleach
- Enzyme detergent
- Paper towels
- White or cider vinegar
- Baking soda (optional)
Steps you need to take:
- Step 1: Pre-treat the Smelly Cloth
- If the smelly cloth has just been messed up by your pet, blot the urine off the cloth or spot with paper towels or a soft cloth. Avoid rubbing or scrubbing to prevent the stain from getting locked into the cloth fabric.
- Rinse the urine spot with cold water and blot it dry with a paper towel. Avoid using warm water to prevent the odor from becoming permanently set.
- Mix half a cup of oxygen bleach with water and soak the cloth or stained spot in the mixture for some time (1 to 4 hours). Avoid using chlorine bleach as it reacts with ammonia to form harmful gases and create weak patches in your clothing.
- Step 2: Wash with appropriate Vinegar
- Mix a cup of white vinegar with three cups of water. Note that white vinegar is suitable for white and colored clothes while cider vinegar stains white cloth.
- Apply the mixture to the urine spot or the whole cloth and allow it to soak for some minutes.
- Depending on the severity of the smell, add baking soda to the cloth. Baking soda has a natural ability to absorb and neutralize the urine odor.
- Put the cloth in a washing machine without adding laundry detergent and wash with cold water.
- Finally, air-dry the clothes outdoor or indoor. Do not dry in the sun nor should you make use of the washing machine dryer. This is because heat can set the urine odor permanently in the cloth.
- Step 3: Laundering
At this point in the cycle, the smell should be almost eliminated or totally. Hence, it only requires mild washing.
- Put the cloth in the washing machine and set it to cold water. Add the required amount of enzyme-based detergent to the water. The enzyme-based detergent will help break down the urine odor and stains, and ensure it’s separated from your clothing. Note that enzyme-based detergents are different from traditional detergents. Hence, make sure you get enzyme-based detergents only.
- Air-dry the clothes outdoor or indoor as you did in step 2. At this point, the smell should have completely disappeared. However, if there is still a lingering smell, you might need to repeat Step 3 again or the whole process.
Get Human Urine Smell Out of Clothes
There are lots of ways you can get rid of the human urine smell from clothes. However, in this guide, we’ll be discussing the two most effective methods.
Method 1: Rinsing with Vinegar and Baking Soda
This method is widely accepted as the best of the lots. The following are the materials you need to get started
- White or cider vinegar.
- Baking Soda.
Steps you need to take:
- Step 1: Rinsing in Vinegar and the addition of baking soda
Place the affected cloth in the washing machine and pour a cup of white vinegar into the detergent compartment of your machine. Rub a bit of baking soda on the cloth and soak for some minutes.
In the case of long-term odor after a series of washes, soak the cloth overnight.
- Step 2: Wash the cloth with warm water
After ensuring the cloth is fully soaked in warm water and baking soda, set the machine to normal spin and the water temperature to lukewarm.
- Step 3: Air-drying
Air-dry the cloth in an open space and avoid using the dryer of the machine. After drying, if you perceive any odor, repeat this process over again.
Method 2: Soaking with bleach and washing with an enzyme-based detergent
Materials needed:
- Oxygen bleach
- Enzyme-based detergent.
Steps you need to take:
- Step 1: Soak the cloth in a mixture of oxygen bleach and water
Add 1 cup of oxygen bleach to 3 cups of cold water. Put the smelly cloth in this mixture and leave for some hours or overnight – depending on the severity of the smell.
- Step 2: Wash with an enzyme-based detergent
Transfer the soaked clothing into the washing machine. Add enzyme-based detergent to the detergent compartment of the machine. Set the water temperature to cold water and the spin speed to normal spin and allow it to wash for some minutes.
- Step 3: Rinse and air-dry
Rinse the cloth thoroughly in cold water and air-dry in an open space. Avoid drying in direct sunlight or with the dryer of the washing machine. Check if the urine smell is still there and repeat the process till you get the desired result.
Conclusion
Urine smell can be irritating and tough to remove from clothes if you fail to follow the specified steps. Also, urine is part of our lives and as such the smell is inevitable in our clothes. Hence, we just have to know how to get urine smell out of clothes at some point.
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