Dear Home-Ec 101:
Help!! Our adorable, yet slightly dumb dog has decided to use back of our lovely microfiber couch as a toilet! We contacted the manufacturer, who suggested spot cleaning the urine stained area with diluted dish soap. This got the stains out. Unfortunately, the smell of pee still remains. I’ve (unsuccessfully) tried some pet cleaner and multiple soakings with Febreze, but it just won’t go away! Any suggestions? Needless to say, the next time we purchase furniture we will pay extra to have it Scotchguarded!
Signed,
You May Want to Sit Over There, Really, I Insist
Heather says:
First, check the care tag on your couch and make sure that it has a W or W/S on the tag.
I am guessing that you did not immediately discover darling Fido had peed on the couch. I’m not picking on you, why should you expect your pet to use the couch when the floor is ever so much more convenient? If this is the case, urine probably soaked further into the couch than just blotting would fix. I would use the upholstery attachment of a carpet cleaner to apply and remove a solution of 50 /50 water and white vinegar. Yes, until the couch has thoroughly dried you will smell vinegar, but that odor dissipates quickly. Alternately, you may wish to use an enzymatic cleaner with the upholstery attachment. The goal is to make sure the cleaning solution penetrates as far as the urine.
When the couch is dry the microfiber may feel a little stiff. Use a brush, like a nail brush to gently brush the material until the fibers feel as the should.
Another possibility is that the urine dribbled down through a seam and soaked into the wood frame. I hope this is not the case as it would be very difficult to remove without some disassembly. If you believe this to be the case, contact a professional through the helpline you first used to avoid voiding your warranty.
Did you know that urine glows under a black light? If you’re still having trouble with a urine smell, borrow a black light from a friend who never left the 60′s. Oh come on, if you aren’t friends with someone like that, you’re related to them. When the room is as dark as possible, yeah by that I mean at night with all the lights off, turn on the black light and make sure your precious hasn’t used any other areas of the couch or carpeting. Mark those areas with chalk. There are handheld black lights sold at pet stores for this purpose if you can’t borrow one.
Good luck!
[...] Odor Removal for Urine Soaked Sofa Odor Removal for Urine Soaked Sofa. December 10th, 2009 by Heather. Dear Home-Ec 101: Help!! Our adorable, yet slightly dumb dog has decided to use back of our lovely microfiber couch as a toilet! We contacted the manufacturer. Written by admin in: General | Tags: black light, clean, dog urine odor removal, smell, urine stains [...]