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To remove the smell of urine from clothes I washed them in a load with half a gallon of vinegar and then washed as normal.
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My mom is in a nursing home and she is incontinent. I launder her clothes. At times, she has urinated through her slacks. When I retrieve her laundry, her slacks smell badly. Regular laundering does not remove the odor, it exists faintly. I thought I heard vinegar is a neutralizer?
By Modesta from New Bedord, MA
I used to take care of my mom and she was incontinent also. I would add Febreze to the wash and it worked real well for the urine and other smells. I now have a cat that has accidents and I use white vinegar for that smell plus I use it as a fabric softener as well.
It works for me. Try putting at least a cup of vinegar in the final rinse. vinegar works great as a fabric softener too.
You could try vinegar. It removes lots of odors, but I know that an enzyme based pet cleaner would work for sure, as would peroxide, but it might get costly. I would add Oxiclean to your wash and hang her things out in the hot sunshine so the fresh air and the UV rays can do their work.
I would add Oxiclean (or a generic Oxiclean) to the wash and half a cup of vinegar to the rinse. Maybe mixed in with Downy in a fabric softener dispenser then hang outside in the sun to dry. For stubborn odors, use Febreze and/or enzyme-based pet cleaner and odor remover. I like a brand called "OUT!" sold for $4.79 at Walmart in the pet area.
* In any area where you still smell urine after washing, just spray the enzyme cleaner on to the fabric and saturate the area. Let them sit for several hours or overnight while the enzymes do their work. It helps to put the clothes into a plastic bag so the enzyme cleaner doesn't dry out because it only works while it's wet.
When my son was young and had accidents, I used to wash his clothing with a little ammonia added to the load, but I realize that it isn't as green as vinegar.
Another option, 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry booster powder. Great for eliminating odors. Thank you for taking such good care of your mom. God bless you!
Use vinegar AND Borax.
What about Dreft baby detergent, I used that for my sons diapers.
There is a product called Mother's miracle that take pet accident odors out, maybe that would help? Also, I use Gain detergent. it has such a fresh smell and may work for this.
What works very well for me is vinegar and baking soda in the washer along with reg. detergent. But, you must let it soak for a while before washing. The vinegar and baking soda are very economical and work better than anything I've tried. Hope this helps you.
Add Borox to the detergent.
My 2 year old son occasionally urinates through his diaper and the urine gets on his onesie and pajamas. What I've begun to notice is that even though I wash these items, the urine smell remains. Is there anything I can add to the wash load to help with the smell. I've tried Oxiclean but that hasn't worked.
Thank you so much in advance.
keligator from Bensalem, PA
Use white vinegar. My son sometimes wets his bed and I read on here to use vinegar in the wash. I can't really tell you how much to use, I just dump some in with his bedding. I have a front loading washer and would guess I use between 1/2 a cup per or a cup per load. I would say just experiment until it seems to work. The best thing is vinegar is cheap.
I still use borax if I have smelly laundry! You can find the 20-mule-team borax in the laundry aisle of the store.
I agree .. use white vinegar! It works wonder with smells of any sorts! I use it with my kids clothes in the Downy ball instead of softener. Good luck to you! My 2 year old is in the same boat as yours .. hopefully the leaky diapers will be a thing of the past soon!
Rebekah
if vinegar doesn't work, there is a concentrated cleaner i found at the dollar store called mean green. i think the label says a half a cap per load of laundry. you might try soaking it in that. i soak the hubbys work clothes in it, it has a nice 'clean' fragrance once washed.
To remove urine smell from clothing use about 1/2 cup of vinegar (white not apple cider) in the wash. Your clothes will be whiter and cleaner with no smell.
Karen in Pensacola
Thanks so much for the feedback. Hopefully the inexpensive white vinegar does the trick!!!
If vinegar doesn't work, try 1/2 cup pine-sol. It disinfects and deoderizes. Happened to me when the borax wasn't enough!
You can buy fabreeze under private labels at the dollars store. Spray well, let set, wash, spritz again. This has helped even when the cat confuses the hamper with the litter box, and cat urine is way stronger than human.
I was looking for info. on urine smell remaining in clothes. My mom is 85 and has Alzheimers and I do her laundry. After a while, even the vinegar doesn't work. I will try the mean green. Thanks
OH! I forgot to add...you need to double rinse the pine-sol, just to be safe!
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