There are many joys of parenting. One of those joys is not having to remove pee stains from a mattress, a mattress that had a waterproof mattress protector on it.
One of my daughters, unfortunately, has an issue with wetting the bed at night. While she’s been potty trained for over a year, and doesn’t wet her bed every night, it’s still regularly happening. Unfortunately this has led to urine stains on her mattress. Multiple urine stains that smell.
The waterproof mattress protectors we placed under our daughter’s sheets, failed. I think the heat from the dryer or their less than top-of-the-line materials, left them anything but waterproof.
Since our twins don’t have assigned beds, not only did I have to clean a mattress that has urine on it once, but twice. This stank (literally) because they were new mattresses. And I really wanted to remove the stain and the smell, as quickly and easily as possible, because I couldn’t afford to replace them. And because I love efficiency.
Thanks to an internet search I found this awesome post from the Inspired Housewife, that had a cheap, easy, and effective way to get urine stains out of a mattress. I decided to try it out for myself on my daughters’ very urinated on mattresses, with old pee stains, and their nice musty pee smell. I wanted to see if it really would work and how well or not it did.
I did the following urine stain removing method and then promptly bought this new waterproof mattress cover so I would never have to do it again.
You can watch the video below for the tutorial. But be sure to read on for more tips and advice on how to do it, like recommended spray bottles, and more:
The Pee Stained Mattresses Before Cleaning:
First, I want to show you just how bad my kids’ pee stained mattresses were:
Yuck! Definitely not what I want my kids’ mattresses to look like and to be sleeping on! Plus, the smell was not so hot.
*If you want a print-friendly version of the following tutorial, CLICK HERE or enter your name and email in the boxes below:*
How to Get a Pee Stain out of a Mattress
**Please spot test a small area before doing your entire mattress. Some mattresses, like memory foam or pillow top mattresses, may not do well with this treatment. It will depend on what your mattress is made out of and how you are supposed to clean it. Use at your own risk. I am not responsible for any lasting damage that may occur from you doing this. I used the following tutorial on a regular spring mattress and it worked great. Thousands of others have also used it with the same great results.
Pee Stain Removal Cleaning Solution
To remove a pee stain from a mattress you need:
- Empty spray bottle
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Baking Soda
- Liquid dishwashing soap.
- Drop of Lavender Essential Oil (optional)
- Handheld vacuum or canister vacuum
Take the empty spray bottle (these ones are supposed to not clog) and pour in 8 ounces of hydrogen peroxide, 3 tablespoons of baking soda (add with a funnel. , and a drop of liquid hand dishwashing soap.
You can also add in a drop of lavender or other essential oil to help neutralize the smell. Plus, lavender oil is said to help induce sleep.
Spin everything around a little bit, but don’t shake it up too much or it may bubble up way too much. Now your urine removing formula is ready to go!
Spray it all over your mattress and get it nice and saturated, especially on the nice yellow pee stains. 
And that’s it! Just make sure to use the mixture right away for best results as the peroxide starts to break down in light.
Within a few minutes you will magically start to see the pee stains disappear! It’s really that simple!
**If you have problems with clogging, try using less baking soda, mixing it in the peroxide really well then pouring it into the spray bottle, applying directly to the bed by pouring or scrubbing it in with a cloth, or getting a better spray bottle.
I had to make another bottle since I had quite the surface area to cover with two twin mattresses, so I ended up spraying both mattresses twice as I had extra solution made up. I also realized I forgot to get the sides of the mattress (who knew there were stains there, too?).
The end results are amazing! There is a slight yellow residue, but vastly improved.
To get rid of the gritty baking soda residue on top of the mattress, wait an hour or so, or until the mattress is dry, and then vacuum the mattress with a high-quality vacuum (I love my Kirby vacuum for cleaning mattresses – I use it as part of my regular mattress care).
The Mattress After Removing the Stains:
Here are the results!:
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Be sure to Follow my Cleaning Board on Pinterest for even more cleaning tips and ideas!
And check out my more of my amazing How to Clean tutorials!:
- How to Remove Baby Poop Stains from Clothes
- How to Remove Poop Stains from Carpets (and the Smell)
- How to Remove Drink Stains from a Carpet (with just 1 ingredient!)
- How to Remove Dried Blood Stains
- How to Clean a Mattress
- How to Clean a Curling Iron
- 50+ Deep Cleaning Tips and Tricks for Every Room in Your House
- Spring Cleaning Checklists and Printables
- How to Remove Crayon Marks from Walls (11+ Ways)
- How to Clean Stove Drip Pans (4 Ways)
- How to Use Bar Keepers Friend on Stainless Steel Pans
- How to Clean Copper Bottom Pots
What have you done to remove a pee stain from a mattress?
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Sheila says
OMG, THANK YOU THANK YOU! This worked like a dream. No scrubbing, no chemicals! The mattress looks brand new again! YAYYY
Katelyn Fagan says
Wonderful to hear!!
Frustrated says
Thanks a lot! I mixed your ingredients exactly and all it did was eat the pillowtop so now I have a pee stain and small holes in a brand new mattress!
Wendy says
That’s why you ALWAYS need to test cleaning products on a small area first to see if there is any damage or discolouration. Sorry, but you can’t blame someone else for your laziness.
Jill says
👈 exactly!! EVERYone has said, “TRY A TEST SPOT”!!!
Sheena says
So I used this method and set my spray bottle down on my enteratainment stand afterwards and the thing started shooting water out of the spray bottle right at my televisions and all over!!! Completely ruined my 60 inch t.v. This mixture should not be in a spray bottle!! Sooooo frustrated!
Katelyn Fagan says
I am so sorry to hear that! The pressure of the baking soda and soap will make the bottle foam and bubble, that’s part of the reason I tell you to use the formula right away (also because the peroxide breaks down in light after a while). I’m not sure how else you would apply this mixture to your mattress without completely drenching your mattress, which could lead to issues with it drying super slowly. It can also help if you turn the nozzle to off when not in use, and definitely don’t put it next to electronics and other things that should not be wet.
I will add a statement in the post.
Showna says
We used your method on really old stains and found that a cheap scrub brush(new and tossed after) got all stains out, not even a slight stain left. No odor either, Thank You
Katelyn Fagan says
Wonder!! Yeah!! And a scrub brush is a great idea to help out really old stains.
Cheryl Beglau says
Thank you sooooo much. My cat pee’d on our really nice mattress and even though I cleaned it right away. I applied your recipe and then tried to smell the area. I disappeared right away. Now to dry and vacuum. This will be attached to my clipboard in the laundry room for easy access. Thank you and those who posted before you.
Heidi says
No way! It totally worked right away!!!! You’ve made my night!
Cici says
OMG, I cannot believe how well this worked, I also wish I would have taken a picture before and after as the after is so clean. no stain at all , no smell. yeah. THank You, Thank you , Thank you
RK says
I had to come back to testify. This is an AMAZING remedy. I mean Amazing!! Granted I had to use 3 bottles of peroxide because We have a pillow top mattress, but it worked it worked it worked. Highly recommended the mattress looks infinitely better and not gross !
Katelyn Fagan says
Yeah!!!! Thank you so much for letting me know! I love hearing that it worked so well for others!
Tonya Godfrey says
Is there a certain amount of everything to use??
Beverly McCarter says
Why not dissolve the baking soda first?
Katelyn Fagan says
Sure! Why not? That would probably work well too. Give it a shot!
Roy says
You saved my mattress… this solution really works. I don’t have the before photos of my mattress . I can show my he difference between after and before.its like magic.. my mattress now looks like new… thanks again.
Sierra says
I just used this and am in awe of how well it worked! I did personally use a sponge to get it way in there and it literally got rid of everything.
Kim says
Ok- that was amazing. It’s like magic. I really thought I was going to have to throw out another mattress. Thank you!
Kim says
I will say that the solution kept clogging up the spray bottle- so I poured it into a bowl and saturated a rag with the stuff and blotted the stain until it was saturated.
Katelyn Fagan says
Great idea! I know, the biggest complaint is the clogging of the spray bottle. I am glad it worked!
Danielle says
I was wondering if this solution would also work for a pillowtop mattress and if I would need to do anything different? I have a horrible stench of urine that I have tried to get rif of but I really want to try this now. Thanks for any info!
Katelyn Fagan says
Test spot first! Not all pillow tops are made the same, so I can’t tell you it won’t damage anything because I don’t know what yours is made out of.
a mom says
FYI…. I don’t wash our waterproof mattress cover, I just clean it with spray and microfiber cloth after accidents. It has stayed good. (i checked mattress once) I have the one that you recommended in your post.
Lisa says
Started out with the spray bottle and had the clogging issue. I then used an old bicycle water bottle (squeeze type), and opened the spout half way to control the flow. It worked really well and I’m happy with the results. Thanks for sharing your magic cleaning solution! Kind regards, Lisa
Herry Hermawan says
Thanks for sharing, i will try with my mattress
LeslieAdrienne says
Absolutely fabulous solution!!! Previously tried other odor banning solutions and a rousing amount of ammonia… none of these worked… I was at my wit’s end… Thank God for this solution… worked like a charm. No stain, no odor no more issue!!!!!
Katelyn Fagan says
Yeah!! I am so glad it worked out so perfectly for you!!!
Joyce says
Leslie, it’s 530am and one of my 12yo twins is in bed w me after an ‘accident’. I’m frustrated but I just laughed out loud at your ‘rousing amount of ammonia’ comment!
Thank you!
Rebeca says
I just tried this, and the pee stain was gone completely, and previous stains faded dramatically. I will give it another shot tomorrow. This really works though, and I did add lavender essential oil and smells so good! Perfect for my daughters mattress, thank you!!
Katelyn Fagan says
Yeah!! So glad to hear! Thanks for letting me know!
Joh says
What strength of peroxide do you use?
Thanks
Susan Smith says
Well, my dog is out of the doghouse–sort of! Your “recipe” worked unbelievably fast!! Since I have a pillow top mattress, I called the store where I purchased it to make sure it would be okay. She said she felt it would not be harmful, but she also gave me a good tip which I’m passing on. She said not to spray the mattress but use old rags, wet them and BLOT THE STAINED AREA. Every time you blot, use a clean area of the rag so you’re not putting urine back on the mattress. I did that and also used dry rags to blot and help dry the area. Since I didn’t soak it, the drying time was just about two hours. I turned on the ceiling fan over the bed to help with drying time. Thanks so much for your great recipe.
Greg says
My daughter wet her mattress yesterday so badly I thought it trash. It had a waterproof protector on it, too that failed. Googled if there was any way to clean a soiled mattress and found your method. I used it just now and actually watched the stains disappear as I stood there for a couple minutes. I really can’t believe it. I’m very relieved. Thanks very much. Going to check out your other posts as well.
Judy Decker says
I used your directions and it worked great!’ So happy cuz mattress is fairly new. Will tell anyone who has that problem what to use. My mattress looks new nand I’m so happy!! Thank u so much
D. Hillis says
I realize this is an old article but this saved my mattress. My littlest was sleeping in my bad and had an accident. Our mattress protector failed to keep the pee off the mattress. I looked led this up and it was amazing!! Thank you!
Yolanda says
Worked just as well on pillow top mattress. I have a mattress cover, a down pillow top on that and another mattress cover over that. Unfortunately my grandson pees like an old man. I told my daughter they would have to move out if the stain didn’t come out so you concoction saved them😁. I used cedarwood essential oils instead of lavender and the mattress and room smell great.
Thanks for sharing!
Kelley says
To everyone still having problems getting the smell out, try spraying a high percentage rubbing alcohol, or straight cheap vodka, on it! I had a couch that smaller terribly of wet dog, and saturated the surface with rubbing alcohol. Worked great!
Best Folding Wagon says
As a mom to two boys, one who didn’t potty train until after age 4, I could have used this trick back then. It was a crazy time of urine on mattresses, having to get new ones all of the time as you could never get them clean or smell out. I am certain this will be helpful for parents who had to deal with the same thing!
Dana says
This is a old post, but as I was putting the mixture I my mattress it like renewed the pee smell. So gross. But it already seems to be working… it seemed to help quite a bit witha blood stain (my son) fairly quickly. Fingers crossed. I have to do another one on my son’s mattress.