Your cat has just peed on your favorite outfit and looks smugly at you. You don’t know what to do and of course, disposing of the clothing is not an option. So the next best thing is to get rid of the stain.
5 Ways to Get Cat Pee Smell Out of Clothes
Trust me, you don’t want to leave cat pee on your clothes so you can wash them later. Since it’s urgent, let’s delve right into how to get rid of cat pee on clothing.
What You’ll Need to Remove the Smell of Cat Pee From Clothes
Knowing the necessary tools, you will require for the process is important. Being armed with this knowledge enables you to take action quickly the next time the need arises. If your clothes ever get soiled with cat pee, locate your nearest store and acquire the following items if you don’t have them already.
The items include:
- A laundry detergent (specifically enzyme-based and natural)
- detergent booster(a natural one)
- stain remover (specifically enzyme-based)
- oxygen bleach (this is rather optional)
- hydrogen peroxide, which is usually used with dish soap (mild)
- vinegar
- clean napkin, and
- paper towel.
Here are steps you can follow to get cat pee smell out of your clothes:
Method 1: Using Regular Cold Water
Follow these steps to remove the cat pee smell from clothing using regular cold water:
- Using your napkin or paper towel, first of all, remove the liquid by blotting. Note that if you remove the excess liquid by rubbing, you may worsen it. Follow this step immediately if your cat is just freshly urinated, as it is always easier than to remove the cat pee smell as you wash the clothing just once.
- Use cold water to rinse the affected region thoroughly.
- Pour some cold water on the affected region and allow it to remain for about 5 minutes.
- After this, locate your clean napkin or paper towel and use this to blot the affected region dry carefully.
Method 2: Use Oxygen Bleach for Pre-treatment
Most times, your normal detergent may be unable to get rid of the cat pee smell or the stain. On such occasions, a stronger detergent such as oxygen bleach used in hot water could do the trick. Using oxygen bleach would mean you would not have to use any other detergent alongside it.
Follow these simple steps to remove cat pee smell from clothing using oxygen bleach:
- Note that oxygen bleach can be used as pre-treatment when you want to remove cat pee smell and stains easily.
- Apply a little quantity of oxygen bleach directly to the affected area of your clothing.
- Allow it to remain for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Locate a clean sponge and use it to scrub the clothes before putting the clothing in your washing machine.
- Give your clothing a regular wash before allowing it to air dry.
Method 3: Using Vinegar Solvent
Due to its acidic nature, vinegar can very easily neutralize the cat’s urine alkalinity. You could either use the regular white vinegar or cider vinegar, especially when the clothing involved is colored. Where the clothing involved is white, use regular white vinegar.
Vinegar, for one, is very useful when dealing with situations like this because it is an organic deodorizer that could be used to remove any bad smell you may be trying to get rid of.
Follow these simple steps to remove the cat pee smell from clothing using vinegar:
- To use the vinegar, Put your clothing into your washing machine and apply the vinegar.
- Use cold water for the wash as hot water could react with the urine and worsen the smell.
- Add a regular laundry detergent to the wash.
- After washing your clothing, allow it to air dry.
Method 4: Using a Vinegar and Baking Soda Solution
Follow these simple steps to remove the cat pee smell from clothes using baking soda and vinegar:
- For an effective result, apply baking soda to the vinegar and make a solution.
- Put the solution into the wash.
- A single cup of baking soda should be enough to make the required solution for the wash.
- Carefully ensure that the clothing is well covered with the solution before you begin washing.
- Add to the wash a regular laundry detergent.
- After washing the clothing, allow the clothing to air dry.
- After adding the baking soda and vinegar solution, the solution will soak up and neutralize the urine smell on the clothing.
Method 5: Using an Enzyme-based Detergent
Follow these steps to get rid of the cat pee smell from your clothing:
- Where the above methods seem to prove ineffective and the smell still lingers on the clothing, try washing the clothing with an enzyme-based laundry detergent, paying particular attention to the affected region on the clothing.
- Ensure to first of all set up your washing machine to the required setting suitable for the kind of fabric your clothing is.
- Ensure to use a cloth detergent that is heightened enough to remove stains that may have remained effectively.
- After successfully washing the clothing and the smell of the cat’s urine on your clothing is completely removed, go dry your clothing. You could either use a drying machine to do this or go with the natural air-dry method.
- Ensure you examine your cloth after it must have dried. Where the smell still lingers, or any stain is still left behind on the cloth, the alternative here is to repeat the abovementioned instruction. Your clothing should be back to its original state when this is done without any smell lingering.
- After following carefully and meticulously the procedures outlined above and realizing that the cat pee smell persists on your clothing, it is best to consult a dry cleaning expert for professional aid.
What To Do To Remove Old Cat Pee Smell From Clothes
Follow these steps to remove a cat pee smell on old clothes:
- First of all, tackle the cat pee stain on the clothing before washing the clothes to get rid of the cat pee smell.
- Using an adequate stain remover, soak the affected region and allow it to remain soaked for as long as possible. This is because the stain is old and requires a longer time to remove completely than a new stain.
- After the above step, wash the cloth in water using a laundry detergent (enzyme-based). Ensure the water is moderately hot to remove the stain effectively. Again, pay attention to the label of the cloth you’re washing so as not to cause more damage to the cloth.
- After the above step, if the cat pee smell or stain remains visible, repeat the steps above until you get your desired expected result.
- After you have done this, air your clothing and allow it to dry, after which you can then recheck to confirm that all the old cat pee smell is removed.
Conclusion
If you’re a cat owner, you must be very familiar with situations where your cat messes up your favorite clothing with a pee. Don’t just throw away that favorite clothing yet. If you have read the procedures outlined above, you can see that you can very easily treat the matter personally, thereby saving the life of your clothing.