So you are in a bit of a predicament and are looking to get rid of human urine smell from your couch? Yes, it can be embarassing or unpleasant but it doesn’t mean you need throw out your couch and get a new one!
I have come across many human urine accidents over the years, caused by folk falling asleep drunk, incontinence, or a toddler who has fallen asleep and gone to the bathroom on the couch by mistake. Either way, if left without treating the smell gets stronger and the urine contamination gets harder to remove. Not fun! I have removed human urine from all sorts of places and this is the technique I use.
What is the Best Human Urine Odor Remover?
Instead of discarding your couch, pour my DIY urine neutralizer onto the affected area and leave for 5-10 minutes to let the chemicals work. Place folded towels under the couch to catch the residues.
Extract the contamination residues with a wet vac machine or place folded towels onto the treated area and apply pressure using your knee or a heavy weight to soak up the moisture. Once the towel has stopped absorbing liquid place the couch in a sunny spot to dry.
If you have an issue with cat urine in your couch, check out this article to find the right solution. Read How to Get Cat Pee Smell Out of Your Couch
How Do You Get Urine Smell Out Of a Sofa?
Follow the steps below to remove the urine from your couch. Contrary to what you may see on the Internet, sprinkling baking soda onto the urine will not break it down or remove the smell. I am surprised as to how many websites recommend this method and clearly they have no experience in removing urine from a couch. Its a tale and will not neutralize urine in a lounge suite or remove the smell.
Why? Common sense tells us that urine will penetrate deep into the cushions and support fabric of the couch so no matter how much baking soda you tip on, none of it will penetrate in and come in contact with the urine. Plus baking soda is not a neutralizer anyway and will soak up sum of the urine but not treat any that remains in the fabric or sponge. The end result is you will have a stink on your hands in a few weeks time.
Here is what I recommend.
How Do You Clean Urine Out of Upholstery?
Step One : Treat the area by soaking the pee with our recommended DIY urine neutralizer.
Place a folded towels underneath the couch to catch the liquid that will come through. Fold the towels to ensure they have enough absorption and lay a good pile of them on top of the carpet to stop any waste liquid soaking in once it works its way through the whole cushion and base.
I premix a 4 part product that once mixed creates very effective oxidizing components which will break down the residues of the urine. You need to be generous so the fluid has contact with all the pee including the urine that has soaked deep inside the sponge and base area.
If the urine is very old you may need several applications to break down all the residues as the salt particles and uric acid combined with urea form very hard particles that can take several times to fully break down. The product contains an ingredient that will stay in the carpet and continue to work on any bacteria that resurface.
Step 2. Leave the couch in the sun to dry.
The couch will take several days to dry in summer time and if you are treating your couch over winter time then I suggest you use a dehumidifier and leave it beside your couch.
Does Vinegar Remove Human Urine Odor?
Vinegar contains 75% water and the other components that have no ability to neutralize the components found in urine. All you will end up with is a couch that smells of vinegar and once that disappears you will be left with the odor contamination flourishing particularly when the couch gets warm and the crystals inside the couch expand and release that foul smell. Strong urine odor does not benefit from vinegar.
You could use vinegar as a wash but vinegar will have no more advantages than just using plain water to flush the urine through the fibres so best to not use it.
Vinegar can however boost other chemicals in urine treatment.
What is the Best Enzyme Cleaner for Human Urine?
I do not believe in enzyme cleaners for neutralizing human urine and prefer to go with the more proven method of chemical reactions via a premixed cleaning fluid that I make myself just prior to treatment.
- The benefit is when the chemicals are blended together they form a new oxidizing compound that is dynamite on urine. It physically breaks down the components of urine ready to be extracted or left to dry. (preferably extract if possible) The mixed chemicals won’t stain or bleach fabrics and will eventually evaporate leaving one component to keep treating any bacteria that may form when the drying process is underway.
The benefit is when the chemicals are blended together they form a new oxidizing compound that is dynamite on urine. It physically breaks down the components of urine ready to be extracted or left to dry. (preferably extract if possible) The mixed chemicals won’t stain or bleach fabrics and will eventually evaporate leaving one component to keep treating any bacteria that may form when the drying process is underway.
What cleaner neutralizes urine?
There are in my opinion, very limited choices of cleaning products for human urine, i.e products that do what they say on the label!. Having stable chemicals in a bottle makes it difficult for them to react when they come into contact with urine and this is why I always premix my product close to time of treatment as the chemicals react with each other and then react with the urine to break it down within 30-40 minutes effectively.
Cleaners that contain enzymes are very expensive and also have little effect on old urine in my experience.
The solution to removing urine is to break it down with chemicals then extract it out of the couch or use towels to soak up as much of the fluid as possible. Do not spray the top of the couch but rather soak the contaminated area to ensure the urine will be neutralized completely.
How to get human urine smell out of carpet
If someone has a full bladder and then empties it into the couch it will seep through on occasion to the carpet. So as well as treating your couch for urine contamination you also need to treat the carpet.
The good news is this is very simple to do.
When following the steps above for treating the spill, just don’t put any folded towels on the floor underneath the sofa and let the urine neutralizer seep through to the carpet area ensuring the liquid is penetrating into the carpet and in the correct area.
Simple!
Key Takeaways On Treating Urine In Your Couch
- Make sure you soak the area with the treatment chemicals
- Don’t treat with just baking soda on its own
- Don’t treat with Vinegar on its own
- Use towels to soak up any residues that may drip down through the couch
- Ensure you are able to dry out the couch properly even in winter time
Don’t throw your couch out. treat it with my DIY inexpensive urine neutralizer and you will be sweet!
