Ok, it happens… whether you have toddlers or pets, pee happens! It’s annoying, it’s frustrating and it seems to ruin the day and perhaps seems to feel like it’s ruined your furniture.
Well, we had one of those days a few days ago. Our toddler was exhausted from a busy morning, came home, and fell asleep on the couch. I decided not to move him into his bed and let him be. Well, let him be meant a couch covered in pee a couple of hours later. I was thankful this was the first time for him and the first in a long time, but it was still like…WHY?!? I know that whenever my kids fall asleep hard, they are going to wet their pants no matter where they sleep. They must be too tired to realize they need to get up and use the potty.
It’s okay though because it’s not as bad as it could be and it’s a simple…ish problem to solve, whether it be your toddler, dog, cat, or other pet.
I want to show you what I did from past learning experiences to remove the pee, disinfect and remove odors from the couch.
Above, you will notice the nice wet pee spot on the couch cushion. It spread to the whole cushion, with the epicenter being the most saturated.
Well, let’s get on this problem with natural, frugal, effective solutions!!
How to remove pee and urine from a couch
With any new cleaning method/product, test on an inconspicuous spot first!
Step #1: With an old rag, soak up as much of the urine as possible. You can do this no matter where on the couch the pee is located, but it is especially easy on a removable cushion where you can “step” on it with the most force to soak it up!
Step #2: Deodorize. With a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part distilled white vinegar, you can easily and naturally deodorize the couch cushion and give it a good cleaning! I know what you may be thinking…”vinegar’s smell is just about as awful as the pee itself…are you crazy?”
Well, I might be crazy on many things, but when it comes to this, I am perfectly sane. 🙂 Vinegar is a #1 natural household cleaner. It is also a fantastic product to use in every load of laundry. It actually does not leave a smell! It’s weird! You will smell it as you apply and clean with it, but afterwards, there is no smell. I have always found this to be such a strange household ingredient, but it does marvelous work!
So with a rag, just wipe and rub and scrub the vinegar into the pee spot until you feel like you have covered the spot well. Please note, if you catch a “dry” pee spot, you would skip step one and go right to this one. It works the same way. You could spray with a vinegar/water solution, soak it up and then scrub it to be sure you are getting it all up! Basically by re-wetting the pee spot with the vinegar, water solution. If you feel confident that the pee is primarily on the surface, there’s no need to re-wet – just scrub and wipe with the vinegar.
Step #3 – Moisture and odor removal and restore to original shape.
For this third step, you just need 2 ingredients: Baking Soda and Lavender Essential Oil. The power of the two of these natural ingredients together will accomplish your odor and restoration goal.
Just simply measure out about 1 cup of baking soda, at least for a spot size about as big as one cushion. Then add about 15-20 drops of lavender essential oil per 1 cup (adjust your amounts based on how much you need).
Blend this mix with a fork to evenly distribute the oil throughout the baking soda.
Then generously sprinkle the baking soda/lavender oil mix over the soiled area on your couch.
Step #4 – Let this sit for several hours, or even over night to dry out, soak up and absorb the odors. Then come back and vacuum it all up and it should be good as new and smelling great!
*If the spot is old or very saturated, you could consider doing this a second time as needed.
This has been the most effective solution for couches and mattresses in our household and we hope this frugal, natural solution is a help to yours too!
This is a link HERE all about Lavender Essential Oil, it’s uses, where to get it and more in case you don’t have any on hand!
lorrie Sutherland
What to use for old pet pee in carpet?
Thank you
Cassie
Hi Lorrie – I actually use the same process, the step of using the vinegar will re-wet it to clean it up! In that case, I do put it in a spray bottle to re-saturate the stain and then soak it up and scrub with the vinegar and then proceed onto step #3. Thanks for asking!
Smyrna
Hello, I’m using the same method. When you have pets it’s very important not to use harmful detergents! 🙂
Angela Says
I also use this method to get pet stains out of the carpet and to prevent them when I catch it right after it happens. 🙂
Blaming the kid
You know, it’s funny; I have tried many different products and so far my favorite one is at a pet store and it’s $52 per gallon. It works but I might as well just be pouring gold down the drain.
Along with vinegar iPhone that vodka is another really good item for cleaning and taking orders out of items. Some people come over to my house and comment on all the different vodka that I have like I’m an alcoholic but I’m on three different narcotic meds so I can’t drink. But I do love my vodka.
I was on a long drive 15 hours I think, and I was so close to home and I was desperate to P. I thought to myself I just have 20 more miles to go I can make it. Alas, I didn’t. It wasn’t a lot but it was enough, that on a hot day I could smell it still in the car and this is the following summer. I’ve used it really expensive natures miracle product that I normally use and cat urine in the car but it just didn’t quite cut it.
I found your blog quite by accident while looking for something completely different. So I thought why not give it i’ll try. Are used a different essential oil, but I don’t think it really matters in the long scheme of things. Menthol is the best because of what it is but then it smells mentally in the vehicle for quite a while.
So use the citrus oil instead because I love tangerine some of those other ones. Anyway doing it your way but with tangerine oil instead worked beautifully.
Been two weeks now and I can’t even detect the faintest hint that I accidentally wet myself a little bit in the car. Thank you so much for this Blog post I greatly appreciate it.
No more making excuses and blaming it on my daughter.
Nancy H.
3 different Narcotics, peeing your pants in the car, your plethera of Vodka Bottles?!?! Boy, I’d sure say you stumbled upon this site by accident! 😂😂😂😂😂
Emily
I found myself in a bit of bewilderment upon reading this casually stated information, too 🤣
Stacey
Would apple cider vinegar work too??
Natalie Wallace
why not just do as they advise? if its not broke why fix it
JJ
I believe apple cider vinegar would also work (I’ve done this, when I didn’t have regular vinegar); however, be aware that it can attract bugs (especially fruit flies, they LOVE it). If you continue to dilute and clean until the smell of ACV is gone then it shouldn’t be a problem (I’ve never had an issue) but I have made fruit fly traps in the past using ACV so I know it’s an effective attractant.
Sammy Alvarez
How do i get the smelll out of the actual foam and styrofoam is it the same procedure?
Tanya
Any recommendations on what to use besides lavender? I’m allergic to it 🙁
Cassie
Hi Tanya, Tea Tree Oil (a.k.a. Melaleuca Oil) is another great one. I use this in loads of very soiled laundry! Hopefully that helps!
Mel
Not for pets… It’s poison to dogs
Blaming the kid
It’s sad but there’s many things that we use for ourselves that are highly toxic to our pets.
I have an African gray with just a huge vocabulary, how about 2000 words and maybe 600 phrases. He knows what a lot of things mean so he uses them in a proper context.
Anyway birds in general especially African grays are highly sensitive to many things, I’ve had a couple friends Kildair’s by using a cleaning product or boiling something or you know random stupid things we never think about.
So I have to be extra careful. Many people don’t think about it until it’s too late; good job at mentioning the pets. Thank you in the name of all pets that might be saved if somebody read your comment
Laurie
Tea Tree oil is toxic to cats.
I’ve used several different tea tree dog shampoos on my own dogs, as well as when I worked in a pet grooming salon, so tea tree is not toxic for dogs.
Definitely toxic for cats, though! Try eucalyptus essential oil for a similar smell as well as disinfectant properties.
Cecilia
Eucalyptus is toxic to dogs and cats.
Ceci
Hi! Do you know if I can use this on a microfiber couch?
Cassie
Hi Ceci, Yes, it works well on microfiber too! That was the type of couch we had before this one.
Blaming the kid
I know this is two years after the question, but for any future readers. If you’re not sure just tested on the backside of the couch near the floor, spot that nobody ever sees. Give it two days once it’s dry do you know if it works or not or if it marks your couch.
If you clean any microfiber item, do the entire item otherwise you will see the spot that was wet versus not
Debra Bailey
Thanks for all the information. My question is how do I get the foam cushion dry & stink free if I’m wetting it with vinegar & water?
April
I have a black couch will the baking soda bleach the spot or dicolor it I should say
Jenna
Sometimes it is good to replace the batting around the inside of the cushion. Easy job and it is available at craft stores.
Blaming the kid
Do you up and if you can get some soft plastic that isn’t noisy putting it over the phone cushion under the cover also saves you a lot of work. Everyplace the phone twice and my favorite couch until I learned that 8 yard garbage bag under the skin batting inside the cover saved me from doing that ever again.
Who would’ve thought kids and cats ? It’s all good now
Tatyana
My dog licked the carpet cleaning powder on the rug one day, so I found something more natural to clean his “this is mine” territory markings. I found this: https://ecohabitude.com/products/16063/pet-fresh-natural-deodorant-and-pest-deterrent and was pleasantly surprised as the smell is great… this powder has baking powder and essential citric oils which I’ve heard are great pee stain and odor removers.
I am looking to make the solution a little more powerful and seeing how a few blogs mention ‘hydrogen peroxide’ and you are the second to mention white vinegar I am highly considering adding both plus the natural pet carpet deodorant into a bottle and seeing if I can get rid of some of the older pee stains he’s left.Thank you for your post!
Blaming the kid
Be careful and mixing different products that are liquid. I’ve mixed I did and peroxide was something else Once and knocked myself out.
I’m pretty sure in this case you’re safe but initially makes it outside just to be sure you see it bubbling walk away
Animal Lover
Citrus oil is poisonous to dogs.& cats according to the ASPCA..
Cleaning Day
We have posted something similar here: http://cleaningday.co.uk/sofa-cleaning-tips .
Dawn
Hi thanks for the great tips. I do not have any Lavender oil or tea tree oil on hand. Is there anything else I could use ? Thanks
Blaming the kid
Really the point of the essential oil is just to put a pleasant scent that will last a little while. Some do better than others such as menthol or a mint, but I can get overpowering.
Just you sent me find pleasant peppermints also good for going to sleep in sleeping well. I prefer Wintergreen-ish smell over all of the me really the point of the essential oil is just to put a pleasant scent that will last a little while. Some do better than others such as menthol or a mint, but I can get overpowering.
Just you sent me find pleasant peppermints also good for going to sleep in sleeping well. I prefer at Wintergreen-ish smell over all of the mints
Iris
Since baking soda is used for whitening, will it discolor the fabric at all?
Michelle
No, it will not harm your fabric
Blaming the kid
If you look at the whitening items include baking soda, the active ingredient is always something else.
Baking soda is just calcium carbonate it by itself doesn’t really do anything other than absorb orders like activated charcoal absorbs toxins and water toxins in the water.
Siri is not always best with the voice to text
rose
I don’t normally leave comments on blogs, but this cleaning method really exceeded my expectations! I have a sofa from ikea that, unfortunately, has unremovable cushions and there are no covers available for this model. My cat has peed on it a few times in the last year and I haven’t been able to remove it with anything I’ve found in the shops. I really saturated the entire couch – even the areas without stains – with the vinegar and water mixture, left that for about fifteen minutes and then used a dry towel to soak it up (I did this because the stains are old and I felt like they needed a little extra help). Then I very liberally covered it with baking soda and lavender. I used two arm and hammer boxes! it’s a pretty big couch though, to be honest. Anyway, when I vacuumed it all up I was so happy to see the results and to find that all the pee stains were gone…gone!!! finally, victory! (lol!) It even did a great job fading hair dye that spilled on the couch. I’m going to do this process again in a month or so and I expect it to look even better! THANK YOU!!!
Amk
Have you heard of bemz.com? They do have great covers for Ikea furniture.
Dogpeedonmysofa
I looked at Bemz for a similar reason but the covers for the Friheten corner sofa for example, are more expensive than buying a brand new friheten. How they justify those prices I have no idea and they don’t prevent liquid going through so they’re not really a viable solution realistically. I looked this morning and thought YES! then saw th price and immediately closed the website.
Sharon
Can I use lemon essential oil instead of lavender or will that bleach the upholstery?
Blaming the kid
If you look at the whitening items include baking soda, the active ingredient is always something else.
Baking soda is just calcium carbonate it by itself doesn’t really do anything other than absorb orders like activated charcoal absorbs toxins and water toxins in the water.
Susan
Thank you so much for posting this! I dreaded the day when I would have to clean an accident on my favourite couch…so I was very happy when I found your site this morning at 4:30 in a bit of a panic! I used a spray bottle with the vinegar/water solution and just used baking soda since I didn’t have any oils. I just finished letting it dry and vacuumed the cushion and it looks great! No markings and no smell! Thank you!!
Sol
Just wanted to say a huge thankyou for this tip. We are in the process of potty training our son and he’s had a few accidents. Tried all the products on the market and was losing hope. Tried this method and it’s completely got rid of the urine smell, woohoo!
Laura
Can you use peppermint oil??
Blaming the kid
You can technically use any oil but the minute family is the best at order control. It’s something about the waxy oil’s from mints that are natural at that type of thing good for your digestion to
Jacquie Androsko
I cant believe this worked! I bought 2 new couches in January. We adopted our new dog in July and did not know she has a “leaking” problem. My couches smelled like one of those saturated pee pee diapers after a baby took a long nap. I was too embarrassed to invite anybody over. I totally smelled it and finally couldn’t take it so got on pinterest to see what I could find. I took your advice and I let the baking soda stay on all night. This morning I vacuumed up the crusty baking soda off the cushions. They did have a crispier feel so I damped them again some more with lavender/water I have in a spray bottle. I will take the little crispy feel over the wet pee pee smell anyday. I am sitting on my couch right now and enjoying it.
Now, how do you train a dog to no longer get up on the furniture?
Blaming the kid
Two things. One after your furniture is dragnets got that crispy feel get a washcloth and get it the ever so slight it’s damp and just run across it a few times and it’ll break up that crispy or put a furniture brush on your vacuum and run over it it’ll do the same thing.
To train your dogs not to get up on the furniture is a little bit more of a trick because once you let them know I always want to do it.
When your dog jumps up on the couch the first thing you want to do is tell him to get down and make them if you have to initially.
Then you tell him to sit and stay. And then you give them a treat after they’ve done that for you know 10 seconds or so.
Then after a while when they get used to that instead of sit and stay do you have a laydown. After 15 seconds of laying down the new pet him on the head and then give them a treat.
Then whenever they decide to lay down on their own next to your feet you give them a treat. Basically you’re reinforcing them to do the behavior you like.
If they still jump up on the couch do you have them get down do you have a laydown and you don’t give them a treat wait a minute or two and walk to the other side of the room have them follow you then you come back down this yet you sit down you have them laydown and then you give them a treat eventually the learn it but it’ll take a while. And then you never let them on the furniture again or you’ll confuse them.
I’ve been training dogs and birds for many many years. They all learned but you got to stay consistent
Tasha
Hi, I have a microfiber couch with kids and dogs…it gets stained. After I do this cleaning and it is dry and kinda crusty, I take a kitchen scrubber for glasses( you know the kind with a handle that you can put dish cleaner in) and I do a light scrubbing in a circular motion and it gets rid of the crusty feel. Good luck.
Kathryn
I have just had my $4000 plush furniture lounge delivered yesterday and my crappy dog has weed on it during the night….you could just imagine the smoke comming from my head… It stinks like wee. quickly I used a baby wipe to wipe over the massive wee stain and left the fan on all day… I am wondering if i should rewet the stain with the distillled water and vinegar and start again I am worried it will take the colour out as its a woolen kind of knot fabric and i dont want to scrub anymore? so annoyed and i cant stop puttin my nose in the couch only to get cranky again
Blaming the kid
Tested in the spot like on the backside where nobody would see it.
But vinegar and baking soda will not take the color out of furniture fabric, most furniture is colorfast so as long as it’s not a bleaching agent you’re fine.
And the vinegar will dissipate it smell pretty quick you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you give it a shot
Stephanie
Do I wait for the vinegar and water mixture to dry before putting the baking soda/oil mixture on?
Thank you
Blaming the kid
No, give it an hour maybe. You want it to wet and contact everything that was contaminated with the Ureic acids in the urine.
Then give it time to naturally — enzymatically combat the urine acids. It will chemically change them and lock up the ammonia and smell agents.
The baking soda will then pull out those chemical compounds. It only works if they are moist, else your just dusting the spot with calcium carbonate
Krystal
You are a genius! I LOVE your explanation. Very thorough!
KatieK
I’ve seen and experienced so many vinegar/baking powder magic cleaning techniques fail… but this actually worked! Believe me! I did it to my entire couch and the entire living room smells better, let alone the couch! We have a boston terrier and I watch his sister during the day; with 2 7 month old bostons running around, smells, and little piddles add up quickly!
Mike
What about a down couch? This method is not going to get the smell out of all the feathers is it.
Blaming the kid
Not really. Down as one of those funny things. Birds use either oils are dust to protect their fathers and then the still replace by plucking and growing new feathers every so often.
I would give it a shot but with down typically any so much liquid to penetrate everything and then went down is wet and dries it never really gets back to like it was.
You can work but it usually requires a big ass tumbling device like a dryer and you really don’t want to do that the furniture. Unfortunately in this case I would give it a spray on the masking agent like natures miracle and then think about a water resistant furniture cover at least for the questions.
That’s why I’ll never buy anything down except pillows and a throw blanket. You still need to replace the pillows every so often and a blanket can only view are so many times before it gets lumpy.
Where in the hell did you get it down couch? And how much did you spend on that I can’t imagine it being affordable for the average person
I know this is more than a year after you posted your question, and I’m not trying to be insulting I’m just curious I looked at it down cushion chair but her you’re going to cheer itself is like two grand
Sandy
It worked ! Thank you for sharing this natural method and saving our beautiful couch.
Laura
I usually don’t leave comments on these kind of pages but I’ve had a really positive result from this advice! I bought a new sofa about a year ago and it’s already accumulated all sorts of stains- one was from when I spilt some tea and tried to remove the stain with a stain remover I bought and it made it 100 times bigger and worse! And then yesterday my puppy had a bit of a pee accident on the sofa 🙁 after finding this page I went about getting all the things together and bought a cheap spray bottle to put the vinegar/water in to so I wouldn’t risk over saturating the material. I followed the steps and left the baking soda (called bicarbonate of soda here in the UK) and lavender mix on the sofa over night. I hoovered it off this morning and honestly the results exceeded my expectations!! ALL the stains are gone- the old, massive tea stain, the pee stain, the water mark stain- everything! It looks brand new! And smells so fresh! Thank you for revitalising my sofa 🙂
Blaming the kid
you Britain all your funny words for simple things like who in the world would want to torch inside of their boat really it would burn my car to the ground where my toes depending on which boot
However in light of making fun of you and I do that only and just to me is and how some simple little things do a miracle in early expensive crap there’s nothing however in light of making fun of you and I do that only and just amazing how some simple little things do miracle not really expensive crap does nothing, huhh?
At least you don’t have a want to be dictator like trump in charge of your country. Are you guys taking applications for new residents. (Immigrants)?
Champ
Really??? Why do you have to get political? That crap isnt necessary…. This is a amazing solution!! Ty sooo much for the post… Is obviosly helping people all around the world…
Monica
How hateful to bring politics into a simple couch cleaning remedy. You are clearly monetizing your post, so why make it divisive and lose 50% of your potential viewers? This same recipe is blasted on many other blogs, I’ll save them to my account instead of yours.
Karl
Had my great moko (grandchild) stay with me had a little accident. Tried this and I was amazed all good.. Thanks From Taupo New Zealand
Katrina
Do I wait for the vinegar and water to dry before sprinkling the baking soda????
Alex
No, you will want to apply it while it is wet. 🙂
Karen
Any advice for how to do the baking soda on the side of a couch? Thank you
Barbara Graun
A friend of mine spent the night and had a bladder condition. I’ve tried everything. But now it’s been a week and 3days,vn the smell is there. I have leather furniture, the smell is in my cushions, how can I get the smell out since it’s been there this long?
Liz
Hi there, for some reason after I tried this method there’s still a very strong smell of vinegar remaining. Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea how long it lasts?
Thanks
Alex
I haven’t and I have used this multiple times. I would just wet it with water again and soak up the rest this way. Let me know if it works. Once the vinegar is dry, it shouldn’t smell.
Stephanie
Any thoughts on how to do this on the SIDE of a couch? My dog loves to pee on one of my chairs and lifts his leg to the front of it and lets loose. I have a hard time getting any baking soda or other powders to stay on, because. well, gravity. 🙂
Any tips would be appreciated!
Tiffani
You may have to turn the couch over and leave it that way until the process is done! Hope that helps! 😉
Hiba
I used this on my IKEA couch.. and there is a new stain from the baking soda and lavender EO.. why 🙁 please help!
Sai
This postcard literally saved my life, and the life of my favorite chair that a certain adorable, asshole Yorkshire terrier did a number on. THANK YOU.
Sai
*post
Jacky
Where did you get your couch?!
susie K
THANK YOU! Worked like a charm!
Alex
YAY!
Lawrence
It’s good info for those who have pets.
Jerree
Do I need to wait until the vinegar is dry to put the baking soda/lavender oil on?
Tara
Do I have to wait for the vinegar/water to dry before I put the baking soda/lavender down?
KIMBERLY C
I very nervously tried this method on my brand new charcoal gray couch. It worked great!!! Thank you! My only suggestion is to let the vinegar dry. Once the cushion is dry I’d use the baking soda / oil mixture. The baking soda sort of cake on and was difficult to get off. BUT smell is GONE! So happy!🙃
Beth
Thank you for a great natural and cheap clean up for urine stains! When I googled my question, the first option had soap drops in it! NOOOOOOOOOO! While it may work at first, the stain will reappear with soap! Soap is “sticky” and dust will continually stick too it causing the spot to look dirty again later on and so on and so on! Soap is never the answer for any cloth or carpet surfaced stains! So I was so glad for your post! It works perfect! Vinegar is an often purchased product in my household, it’s perfect for so many cleaning needs, as well as cooking and canning!
Colin
These are great tips for cleaning a sofa yourself, and will save people money but if you are having trouble removing the stain or odour completely from your sofa sometimes it requires hiring a professional upholstery cleaning company, which will have the experience, and the commercial solutions, to effectively treat the urine stain and the odour. So you can choose to follow these great tips in this article or hire the services of a professional sofa cleaning company, whichever suits your budget and the problem you face.
Helene Cusson
Thank you! It will help meso much, as I happened to have a cough on which a cat peed many times. I didn’t know about lavender, so I will use vinegar & baking soda… and simply vaccum it.
Joyce
This ruined my new couch!!! My beautiful gray sectional now has a big discolored spot. I followed the directions to a T. My suggestion is to use this method on an inconspicuous spot first. Thanks for nothing!
Cassie
Hi Joyce – I would recommend an inconspicuous spot as well with ANYTHING you apply to anything porous. For the record, what is the fabric/material of your couch? Out of hundreds, you are the first to have an issue, so I’m curious what material your couch is made out of and if that is a potential factor. I don’t know how “new” it is, but there is a good chance that the rest of your sectional is just dusty/dirty and it cleaned the dust and dirt out at the same time in that spot and a regular cleaning/shampooing (by a professional perhaps) of your entire couch would be helpful. Vinegar and baking soda are not normally known to cause discoloring as it is used as a laundry alternative (specifically vinegar to brighten colors). I would love to see a picture too! Can you send a picture to thriftyus@thethriftycouple.com? That will help get to the bottom of the issue! Thanks!!
Cassie
Oh, one other thing – urine itself is discoloring. Depending on the material, the urine is like an ammonia and can cause discoloration. Depending how long the urine set before cleaning, it could have already bleached/stained the color in the couch permanently like bleach. How old was the urine?
Champ
She did…… You should have paid closer attention..
Holly
The same exact thing happened to me when I went to go clean up a spot on the couch of the family I nanny for, where the baby had an accident after falling asleep. I felt as if it were my responsibility to clean up because I forgot to get the little one to try and use the potty before sitting down. I did some research and saw the great reviews left here and just knew it was going to work. I followed your instructions EXACTLY and the lady I nanny for vacuumed up the baking soda this morning. I get there today and it had discolored the couch. I’m trying to figure out how to fix it because I feel at fault and there’s no telling how much they paid for that couch!
melody
when i saturated my cushion do i take the cushion out and spray or leave the it on
Elsa Hanley
Thank you SO much for posting the great idea about mixing lavender oil in with the baking soda!
Grateful mom with children, two cats and one dog. ?