How to clean dog urine from microfiber couch

Dogs, cats and the small people in our lives mean accidents are bound to happen on our lounges.

Urine stains are unattractive but it’s their smell that’s the most stubborn to shift.

We show you how to tackle the stench and let you know when it might be time to call in the professionals.

Why is it important to clean your carpet?

Just when you thought you’d gotten rid of the stain, the smell returns, often days or weeks after.

The reason urine stains emit such a formidable stench is because there’s nothing ‘wee’ about them.

Urine is a waste-product, containing a number of ingredients, including bacteria. The problem child in this ingredient list though, is uric salts, which cannot be broken down by anything other than an enzymatic cleaner.

How To Treat Urine Stains

Step 1

Take the stained cushion off the lounge, if you are able to.

Step 2

For fresh stains, blot with a paper towel as much as possible. Some of the research we found indicated that putting dirty towels where your pet should be doing their business may reinforce better behaviour.

Step 3

We recommend testing the below solution on an inconspicuous section of your lounge fabric before proceeding.

Step 4

Mix a 1:3 parts vinegar and water solution in a spray bottle, and spray generously on the stain. Scrub lightly before letting dry. It’s important to note that a dried stain will require more spraying to re-wet the stain. Vinegar’s disinfecting properties will target the bacteria as well.

Step 5

Make sure you wait until the cushion is dry, and then sprinkle a generous amount of Bi-Carb Soda to help remove odours. Leave the Bi-Carb on for a few hours before vacuuming up.

This combination can remove much of the stain and target the smell. It won’t remove 100% of the stain though, which is why you need an enzymatic cleaner.

Enzymatic cleaners treat urine because they break down the chemicals in the urine which cause the smell. Follow the instructions closely and use a cleaner suitable for your upholstery type. We recommend investing in a high-quality product to avoid having to re-do the job.

A couple of cleaners we recommend are Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer and Integrity Health.

Why Won’t the Urine Stain and Smell Go Away?

Urine is a surfactant which means it breaks down surface tension. Because urine breaks down the surface tension in the fabric (and padding) the urine is likely to penetrate deep into the padding of your sofa, especially if the pet has had multiple accidents in the same area.

Once the urine penetrates the padding, topical treatments like that we’ve suggested above are unlikely to treat all of the uric salts, which means the odour is likely to return. To treat it, a professional needs to inject a solution into the padding of the lounge to dissolve the uric salts.

Tough stains like these need professional expertise, solutions and equipment to effectively treat the urine stain and the smell it leaves behind.

What Is the Electrodry Difference?

We know you want to avoid damaging your furniture, and want the assurance of a job done right, which is why a professional may be what you need.

A professional clean is also a great option if you have particularly delicate fabric or a tough stain and stench. Depending on your fabric type, a qualified technician will tailor the cleaning and stain removal method.

Here’s what Electrodry can do for you.

• We’ll do a colour test if needed on your fabric to ensure the treatment doesn’t make the fabric colour run.
• Our technicians can detect moisture in your couch using special equipment; this is how we exactly where to use the spot treatment

• The Electrodry pre-vacuum includes our industrial-strength equipment to ensure debris is removed from your couch.

• The technician will inject a solution into the affected area of the couch to treat the uric salts.
• The pre-spray solution contains antibacterial and sanitising properties.
• We apply a specialised upholstery cleaning spray, which includes Electro-Shield, a strong sanitiser that removes odour-causing bacteria, germs and fungi.

We are confident we can treat most stains and odours and offer a 14-day guarantee on our upholstery service.

It always helps if you know what the stain is and roughly when it occurred – that’s how we know what chemicals are best to treat it with.

Please keep in mind that the greater the level of contamination, the harder it is to treat the uric salts and odour. If the lounge has been contaminated regularly, then you may need to replace the lounge. Old urine stains on cotton fabrics can be very difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

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