How to Get Dog Pee Smell Out of a Couch

Our pets are perfect, aren’t they? They are, except when they leave little puddles on the couch and carpet. Discover how to get dog pee smell out of a couch or other household fabric with these proven methods and simple solutions. Get rid of lingering pet smells, and get back to enjoying your home and your precious pup.

Our relationship with dogs stretches back thousands of years. In 2011, archaeologists stumbled upon a burial site in the Czech Republic. Inside, they discovered a dog lovingly buried with a mammoth bone. That site is believed to be 32,000 years old.

It’s safe to say that dogs love us, and we love them back; our connection is one of mutual affection and respect. This is why the odd accident is forgivable and fixable. Learn from this tested step-by-step guide to getting dog pee smell out of the couch. Pass these easy, homemade dog pee cleaning solutions along to your fellow pet owners with confidence.

How to Remove Dog Urine Smell From the Couch

Don’t let a naughty dog get you down when the couch smells musty. Get rid of pee stain smells quickly and effectively with this handy guide to pet pee management. Find some great tips for cat pee smell, too.

You can also take charge before the problem arises and use a homemade potty training spray for dogs to help show them that they aren’t allowed to go to the bathroom inside the house.

Blot the Pee Immediately

Remove bad smells right away, like dog urine smell on the carpet when they first appear. If you see a spot, stop and blot. Don’t leave puddles to soak into the fabric and dry. Ignoring the stain creates a bacterial smell that encourages your pet to urinate in the same spot over and over.

Start with a paper towel and gently blot to soak up as much dog pee or cat pee as possible. Blot with care so as not to push the urine into the fibers. Stop blotting the fabric when there is no more liquid transfer to the paper towel.

Avoid putting pee-soaked paper towels in the kitchen garbage. Dispose of the wet paper towel in a compostable or grocery bag and put it outside immediately.

Toss Soft Fabrics in the Washing Machine

Soft fabrics are the enemy where pet urine odor and getting dog pee smell out of the couch are concerned. Urine particles cling to the fibers, making it a challenge to rid your home of the smell entirely. Your best bet is to strip your couch of all affected soft fabrics.

While some couches have fixed cushion covers, many are removable; check yours. Remove throw pillows, take off the covers, and gather blankets caught in the crossfire. Check the tags inside the cushion covers for washing instructions. Some fabrics like suede or faux leather aren’t meant for the machine and should be hand-washed.

Boost your dog pee smell success with a specialized detergent. Your regular laundry detergent is a great place to start, but investing in an emergency container of veterinarian-recommended laundry soap takes your odor-fighting routine to the next level. Try LaundraPet or similarly effective products for maximum results.

Try Soda Crystals for Light Urine Stains

What happens when you can’t strip the couch cushions for a thorough washing? For fabrics that can’t be stripped and cleaned, try soda crystals. Also known as washing soda, these crystals are naturally occurring compounds containing sodium, carbon, and oxygen.

Soda crystals look similar to baking soda and are the main component in many homemade laundry recipes. If you’re curious about how to remove dog urine smell from the couch with soda crystals, it’s super-easy.

Find a bag of inexpensive soda crystals in your local laundry aisle, cover the dog urine stain in crystals, and leave it to sit for 24 hours. Vacuum the area thoroughly and perform the pet urine smell test. This method works well for light pet urine stains. However, we have more suggestions for set-in and stubborn stains.

How to Get Dog Pee Smell Out of a Couch With Listerine

Use Listerine to get dog urine smell out of the couch. To many Americans, Listerine is synonymous with mouthwash. Developed by American chemist Joseph Lawrence in 1879, Listerine was intended to be a surgical antiseptic.

However, since the 1920s, Listerine’s claim to fame is its ability to kill mouth-borne bacteria. This surprisingly effective antiseptic mouthwash also does double duty on urine-based bacteria. It is an effective odor remover that will get dog pee smell out of the sofa without damaging fabrics or leaving a toxic residue for your pets.

Get a clean spray bottle; it’s ok to repurpose any spray bottle you have around the house. Add the water and Listerine, and give it a good shake. Spray the area, cover it with a paper towel, and let the urine stains sit for a half hour or so.

Blot the wet area with a clean, damp cloth and allow it to air dry. Listerine has a low concentration of methyl silicate and is not considered toxic to dogs. However, it’s always important to observe for signs of irritation in your pet when using new products.

Vinegar Spray for Pet Odor Elimination

When it comes to the most recommended tips for how to get dog pee smell out of a couch, white vinegar always tops the list. At its simplest, vinegar is an organic acid created through two-step fermentation of ingredients like apples, grapes, and malted barley.

Distilled white vinegar has been around for over a hundred years; many studies confirm there are naturally antibacterial and antifungal properties present in humble white vinegar. In fact, the American Kennel Club even recommends using vinegar to get dog smell out of a couch as the vinegar kills the urine odor.

This handy vinegar spray is easy to whip up and lasts for several uses. Mix your ingredients in a clean spray bottle, give it a shake, and you’re ready to fight stains all day. Spray the stain, let the mixture sit for ten minutes, and then blot it away with a clean cloth.

If you find the smell of distilled white vinegar unpleasant, feel free to add a drop or two of dish soap or a few drops of an essential oil known to be non-toxic to dogs and cats, such as cedarwood oil. To ensure safe use around your pets, always keep the essential oil concentration under 2% in your cleaning products.

Getting Dog Pee Smell Out of the Couch

Enzyme cleaners are all the rage in the fight against dog pee stains, and for excellent reason. Enzymatic cleaners are just about the only thing that consistently works on cat urine and dog urine smell 100% of the time. Use an enzyme cleaner to clean set-in urine and fresh stains; it’s effective for both.

What is an enzymatic cleaner, and why is it so great against pet urine? Urine is a biological stain with proteins and compounds, making it difficult for traditional cleaners to cut through and destroy the urine left after the initial wipedown.

Cat urine is meant to be smelled by other cats to indicate territorial lines, and it’s hard to destroy. Many pet owners say that cat urine smell is considerably more aggressive than dog urine due to the hormone and protein levels in cat urine.

Helpful enzymes come in and destroy lingering molecules with absolute effectiveness. Did you know it’s possible to make a DIY enzymatic cleaner? We have the recipe coming up.

DIY Enzymatic Cleaner to Clean Urine Smell

Let’s talk about how to remove strong pet smells from the couch with the best homemade enzyme cleaner for dog urine. This easy-to-prepare odor eliminator provides the best parts of enzymatic cleaners without the price tag.

This homemade enzymatic cleaner is safe around pets. It offers a non-toxic alternative for those concerned about commercially manufactured chemical cleaners.

Place the citrus scraps of your choice into the container; we recommend lemon and lime. Add the brown sugar, and top up with water. Put the lid on and shake the container until the brown sugar dissolves fully (about 45 seconds).

Place your newly minted enzyme cleaner in a dark place to ferment. When making DIY enzyme cleaner, it’s essential to release the gasses from the fermentation process every week. Crack the lid for a moment or two, and then return the container to its place.

The container may explode in your pantry if the gasses aren’t released regularly. The fermentation process usually takes about three months, but you have a considerable supply to use at your leisure. When fully fermented, mix one-half cup of enzyme cleaner with four cups of water to get a powerful urine cleaner.

Try Steam Power for Pet Pee

When all else fails, try the power of steam. Breathe some life into tired old fabrics fast; consider contacting your local carpet cleaner to keep on top of pet stain odor. Yearly carpet cleaning is a great way to manage multi-pet households; there are often great deals to be found with a little online searching.

Additionally, many pet owners swear by portable upholstery cleaners. These small steam cleaners are designed for convenience, maneuverability, and easy everyday use. A decent upholstery cleaner runs around a hundred dollars. It is an excellent investment for those with older, accident-prone pets.

We hope you found value in this article teaching you how to get dog pee smell out of a couch. Use a natural spot treatment or enzymatic cleaner to bust stains, and don’t be afraid to contact professionals with questions.

Remember to stop and blot if you see a spot. Remove the pee-stained fabrics immediately (where possible) to deter other animals from urinating in the same place.

Dogs may pee inside for various reasons, including urinary tract infections, bladder stones, incontinence that comes with age, or genuine excitement to see you. If your dog is continuously peeing in the same spot, contact your veterinarian; our duty to our pets doesn’t end with playing fetch.

If you enjoyed learning how to get dog pee smell out of a couch and other household fabrics, share this article with friends on Pinterest or Facebook who love dogs and are always looking for new stain-fighting strategies.