When we raise dogs, we make an effort to train them to relieve themselves in appropriate areas and not on household items. Nevertheless, accidents can happen, especially when the dog is ill. When soft items like blankets become soiled with urine, it can be challenging to clean them. While the immediate reaction may be to toss them in the washing machine, this is not enough to remove the odor of urine, which can still linger even if the blanket looks clean.
To truly eliminate the smell, it’s necessary to use cleaning agents that target the different components of urine. In this article, we will discuss how to properly clean a blanket soiled with dog urine and explore various methods that can be used to remove the odor. If your blanket has been soiled, don’t despair and throw it away. Read on to discover what you can do to effectively clean it.
Why does dog urine smell
Dog urine is made up of water, pheromones, bacteria, urea, creatine, ammonia, and a couple of other components, all of which contribute to the smell of dog urine. Ammonia is one of the main components of urine that contributes to the smell. Ammonia is said to have a pungent odor, which characterizes the smell of the urine. The urine also contains the waste products from some bacteria in the body of the dog. Because of these several components, water alone might not be good enough to get the urine and the smell out of a blanket.
How to clean dog urine from blankets
To get the blankets clean, you can follow the following methods. Using the first two might get the problem sorted for you. If not, you might consider the later options. You need to first prepare the blanket for washing by removing some of the urine from it. Use a paper towel to soak as much urine as possible from the blanket. Use as many fresh sheets as possible till you cannot soak any more of the urine.
Soak the blanket over night
Soaking clothing helps to makes the material soft and loosen the stain. A lot of stains are water soluble and so will come out of the clothing with just soaking. For stains that are not water soluble, the softness of the material makes it easier to wash them out. To make sure that your soaking works effectively, you could also make use of some white vinegar. White vinegar contains acetic acid which is in itself a solvent. It can break down other chemicals that can be responsible for the stain. It is also effective as a disinfectant as it helps to prevent the growth of mold and mildew. The cleaning action of white vinegar does not negatively affect your fabric.
Prepare a bucket of water by mixing two cups of white vinegar in a gallon of water. Make sure you use a bucket that can allow you to completely soak the blanket. Drop the blanket in the bucket and make sure it is completely covered by the water-vinegar mixture and let it sit overnight. On the next day, remove the blanket from the bucket and wash it in a washing machine. You can also add a cup of vinegar in the washing machine. You might need to repeat this step more than once if the stain is old.
Wash the blanket with baking soda
Washing the blanket with baking soda helps to break down the chemicals that make the urine smell and get rid of the odor. After removing as much urine from the blanket as possible, add two cups of baking soda in the washing machine together with your washing detergent. The baking soda has a similar cleaning effect to white vinegar.
Dry the blanket in the sun
After washing the blanket in the washing machine, do not put it in the dryer. Take your blanket and dry it in the sun. UV light from the sun can help to kill some bacteria and other organisms that can contribute to the smell. Allow your blanket to completely dry before taking it inside. Bringing a blanket with some damp spots inside can make it begin to smell again and even allow some bacteria to begin to grow on it.
Make use of an enzymatic cleaner
Enzymatic cleaners are a lot more effective at breaking down the enzymes, pheromones and other waste products that cause the urine smell. They can be used to soak the blanket, or you can use a detergent can has enzymatic cleaning properties. Although they work much better than homemade solutions, enzymatic cleaners can be quite expensive as you will require a large volume to properly soak the blanket. You should first test a small portion of the cleaner on the fabric to ensure that it does not damage the fabric. For older and stronger urine stains and odors, enzymatic cleaners might be your best bet.
Employ the services of a dry cleaner
After trying all possible methods, you should consider employing the service of a professional. This is because they usually have more powerful cleaning products and can decide what will work best for the kind of fabric you have. Before you give up on your blanket, take it to a dry cleaner, this might just save you the cost of getting a new one.
How to prevent dogs from urinating on blankets
Accidents happen. This is why even when your dog is well trained, it might still urinate on your blanket. If you notice any change in how often your dog urinates, you should consider contacting the vet as this might point to some underlying health issue. If you also seem to have some problem potty training your dog, your vet or animal behavior specialist will be able to help you with this. Cleaning urine stains and getting rid of the odor can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. It is important to take appropriate steps to make sure that it does not happen in the first place.
On mixing cleaning agents
While you might get some suggestions from people on different chemicals to use, you can avoid mixing household chemicals that you are not sure of or that you cannot find adequate literature to support their use. For example, bleach and toilet cleaners produce chlorine gas which is very toxic.
Mixing bleach and hydrogen peroxide will produce oxygen gas in a very violent reaction which can cause an explosion. As a rule of thumb, do not mix cleaning agents. As you have seen in this article, the cleaning agents recommended are very easy to use and it is hard to go wrong with them. Any stain that cannot be removed with them should be referred to a professional.
Summary
The smell of urine is unpleasant and can be hard to get rid of. You don’t ever want to wrap yourself in your blanket and be greeted with the pungent smell of animal urine. However, when your blanket gets soiled, you should take proper steps to clean it. You should begin cleaning as soon as you notice it.
This increases your chances of getting rid of the odor and will save some money. Allowing the urine to linger or even dry up on the blanket makes it a lot harder to get rid of. Of course, we hope our tips helped you along the way and that your blanket didn’t end up in the garbage can. If you have any other tips that might help, please let us know in the comments!
