Remove odors from a child's mattress, safely?
Question:My daughter had an accident two nights ago. I changed the sheets, washed all the linnens, and sprayed down both sides of the mattress with Febreeze. Stood it up, leaning against the wall. Opened her windows, to allow it to air out while she was in school. Last night it still smelled terrible! I need something that will work, and be safe for her allergies. Today, she can't sleep in the living room again tonight.
Thank you all so much.
Answers:
To remove offensive odors from furniture and rugs: make a solution of 3 parts Vinegar to 7 parts water, pour in a spray bottle and spritz the area. Allow to air dry, in your case I'd suggest leaving the mattress as you have it now, windows up and all, and spritzing one side lightly at a time. Once the mattress is dry you should not have any remaining odors. If possible set a small fan up to blow onto the mattress, or turn on her ceiling fan, if she has one.
To remove offensive odors from linens: use one cup of Vinegar in your wash cycle, along with your usual detergent. This will not damage dark colored items, and will actually boost your usual detergent's ability to clean, as well as help remove tough stains!! The Vinegar will neutralize any smell and will not leave an odor once it drys.
Neither of these should irritate her sensitive allergies, or her skin for that matter.
Hope this helped.
put the mattress outside in a sunny spot after cleaning with products that neutralize urine. I would definitely purchase a mattress cover/waterproof just in case.
is it a plastic kids mattress or a fabric one?
if it is plastic: use bleach. scrub it down with bleach water really well then rinse and dry thoroughly. this might work if it is fabric and colorsafe, but it will smell like bleach.
if it is fabric: make a thin paste out of baking soda and white vinegar (or water if you don't want to use vinegar, but it won't work as well). rub the paste on the soiled area and let stand for 15-30 minutes. rinse well and air dry in a well ventilated area.
good luck :)
use a sifter to put baking soda on the spot. Let it set for several hours and then vacuum it off.
Easy way: Get a spray can of woolite spray foam rug cleaner and spray the mattress...costs about two bucks...worked on my expensive mattress for the body oils over time...
Next would be to get empty spray bottle and fill with white vinegar and let air dry...
Pour some Pine-Sol on the mattress, scrub, and let dry. Febreze is not strong enough for that. Trust me I know, my nephew did the same to the matress on my bed. For further purposes, I would put plastic on top of the mattress so if it happens again you would only have to wash the sheets instead of the urine getting in the mattress.
Odo-Ban or Organic Enzyme stuff at the pet store
In either case, spray heavily & then allow to air in the sunlight... outdoors
Hey TheFireMan... you don't accept E-mails or IMs
and I was gonna share a few tips with you on this matter -- but okay I will go public on this
I have MS & with that I sometimes (and without warning) have bladder issues
When an accident occurs
Well okay, step one would be to remove wet clothing & wash off & move child ot another location -- but after that
Step One: remove all bed linens
Step Two: Cover the wet area with thick towels.. layer a few towels & then plastic (like a garbage bag) and then something heavy (like books)
Step Three: Next morning remove towels (even if you don't have time to wash them right then) & sprinkle Borax over the area
Step Four: Allow that to dry & absorb & then vacume
Step Five: if that isn't enough treat with EnzymePetStuff or OdoBan and allow to air out
Step Six: wash all urine laundry with a 1/2 Borax added to whatever you use for her clothing
For future... buy a waterproof crib mattress pad.. the kind that is flocked & is the size of an entire crib...lay it sideways on the bed under the area her hips rest on most of the time... it is less hot than plastic covers & keep the urine from seeping into the mattress or sliding off the mattress onto the floor
Please, please re-assure here that everything is okay... trust me when I tell you she needs that loving re-assurance from you
E-mail me or have her read that an adult woman has this problem or whatever I can do to help
Borax is about the safest, non-toxic way to not only remove the smell but to neutralize the urine and it is non-allergenic. Simply make a paste of the borax and water, if you think it soaked into the mattress, make it thin enough to saturate. Allow it to penetrate and sit for a couple hours. Then use a wet/dry vac to extract the liquid or simply place a thick terry towel on top and hop on it to be your own extractor moving the towel to dry spots as the liquid comes to the surface. If it merely sat on top of the mattress, make a thick paste of borax and water, agitate it into the stain, allow it to dry and vacuum up the granules.
I would use Oda ban I use it all the time for my dogs messes when he was a puppy.
talcum powder is a very good deodorizer and its well safe
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