How to Get Dog Urine Smells & Stains Out of Blankets: 5 Effective Ways

Whenever you are dealing with dogs, there will be a point in time when they have an accident. Whether they are a young puppy still being potty trained, a senior who has trouble controlling their bladder, or a healthy adult who just had a one-time accident, dog owners sometimes have to deal with unpleasant messes. It’s not a big deal cleaning urine off of a hard surface, but getting urine odor out of soft surfaces, like blankets, is not as simple.

The first thought that usually crosses people’s minds is to toss the blanket in their washing machine and hope for the best. While it will technically get the blanket clean, it’s possible that the smell of urine still lingers. Don’t give up just yet. Instead of tossing your blanket in the trash, try out one of these methods for getting urine smells out of blankets and other soft surfaces.

Pre-Cleaning Tip

This might not be possible with old urine stains that have already dried, but if the mess is fresh, try to remove as much of the urine as possible. Instead of rubbing the urine in, take some towels and blot at the area repeatedly. Allow the paper to soak up as much urine as it can. You may have to use several fresh sheets until no more moisture lifts into them. The less urine there is in the blanket, the better the chances of removing the smell completely.

The 5 Ways to Remove Urine Smells From Blankets

1. Enzyme Cleaners

Enzymatic cleaners are available at most stores and pet shops and are specifically designed to destroy urine smells. If you do go this route, make sure to follow all instructions on the packaging. It also helps to test a small, inconspicuous spot on the fabric first to ensure that you don’t damage the blanket permanently.

Our Favorite Cleaner

Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray is our favorite all-purpose cleaner for pet messes. It permanently lifts the very worst stains and odors, making clean-up and accident prevention a breeze. Hepper offers a 100% guarantee, which is a great bonus! Learn more about it here.

At Dogster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years, and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding products of this cool pet company!

• Related Read: Best Enzyme Cleaners for Dog Urine – Vet-Reviewed & Top Picks

2. Washing With Baking Soda

Baking soda is another powerful cleaning agent known for its odor-absorbing properties. After you remove as much of the urine from the blanket as possible, put it in your washing machine with two cups of baking soda before starting the washing cycle. The baking soda works the same way as the vinegar to help neutralize the odors. You may have to repeat this process more than once for older or stronger odors.

3. The Power of the Sun

If you went ahead and put your blanket in the washing machine right away, don’t throw it into the dryer. Instead, take your freshly washed blanket outside and allow it to dry in the sun. UV light can destroy bacteria that are contributing to the bad smell. Make sure the blanket gets completely dry before bringing it back inside for best results.

4. Soaking the Blanket

Vinegar is one of the most underrated cleaning solutions out there. The high acidity is responsible for breaking down even the toughest elements with ease. One of the best ways to remove the urine smell from your blankets is to soak them overnight in a bucket of diluted white vinegar.

Find a clean bucket or container and mix two cups of white vinegar into one gallon of water. Completely immerse the fabric and let it sit overnight while the vinegar breaks down the urine enzymes and proteins. Remove the blanket from the solution the next day, and then wash it in your washing machine. For older stains, try mixing about a cup of vinegar into the load, too.

5. Call the Dry Cleaner

Even though this is usually a last resort, there are times when taking urine-soaked fabrics to the dry cleaner pays off. These are professional cleaners with stronger cleaning products at their disposal. Before giving up and throwing the blanket away, consider that a dry cleaner may be able to work some magic and restore the blanket to its original glory.

What Makes Dog Urine Smell?

Getting the dog urine smell out of blankets and other soft fabrics is not always easy. Mammal urine may be primarily made from water, but there are also other bacteria and pheromones in it that make it harder to remove. Washing the blankets doesn’t always do the trick. You need to take time and break down the components that are causing the smell. This can’t always be done with soap and water.

If accidents are frequent and you're unsure of what's causing them or how to prevent them, a consult with your vet could help!

Final Thoughts

The last thing anyone wants is to wrap a blanket around them and get a big whiff of pee. Dogs are messy animals between all the drool and hair, and while accidents can happen, it isn’t anything to stress about. There are plenty of effective options and ours is a pet-friendly enzyme cleaner, that kills the urine odor and makes your blankets smell fresh once more!

See also:

• Why Does My Dog Pee on His Blanket?

• How to Get Rid of Dog Urine Smell Outside?

Featured Image Credit: Amy Humphries, Unsplash