Building Inspection, Diagnosis & Repair Info

Uflushed underpants clog toilet.Find & Remove Mold or Urine Odors & Smells

Urine odor removal from soft goods: this article provides suggestions for finding and removing animal odors from soft goods: cloths, bedding, towels, carpets.

This information is part of our odor removal guide for animal or human odor removal from building interiors, building exterior surfaces, from soils around buildings or from urine-odor smelly clothing, bedding, and other soft goods.

This article series focuses on removing pet or other animal odors from buildings due to pet urine, pet feces, wild animal urine, or even human urine on and around buildings or on clothing and othrer soft materials.

Page top photo - our grandson Chase P. flushed his training underpants down the toilet -

see WHAT CAN GO INTO TOILETS & DRAINS?

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

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Remove Mold or Urine Odors: Animal, Pet, or Human Urine Odors from Fabrics

Dropps Odor + Stain laundry detergent can help remove urine odor from clothing - cited & discussed at InspectApedia.comEnzymes, Detergents & Odor Removers

What can I use other than bleach to remove urine odors from clothing?

Our reader asked:

I have just bought a house with a septic system (last year) and I don;t know much about them.

We have a special needs adult who lives with us  (whom we care for), who wets himself daily.

Because I can't use bleach in the washing machine his clothes always smell like urine even after they've been washed.

Can you make any suggestions as to how I might remedy this? Is there a product I can use to cut down on the odour on his garments? -- K.M.

Answer: Septic System Maintenance & urine odor removing products

Regarding use of bleach in homes served by a private onsite septic system, using normal amounts of household bleach is not a problem.

Uric acid in urine is the main source of the "ammonia-like" odor in peed-in clothing or fabrics, and in fact it's uric acid crystals that can make urine stains difficult to remove from clothes too.

Some of the sources we reviewed (Maytag) suggested adding vinegar to the was water. But vinegar increases the acidity (lowers the pH) of the water and especially if you're washing in cold water, that may be less effective in removing the urine smell.

That's why other sources that we think know their stuff (such as Proctor & Gamble, the producer of Tide laundry detergent) say taht you should lower the pH of your wash water by adding baking soda and wash the clothes in warm or hot water for better odor removal.

And yes there are special products you can use such as certain detergent pods that are advertised as more-effective at removing urine smells in clothes. I'll cite some of these below.

Three Basic Steps to Get Urine Smells Out of Clothing by Washing

  1. Pre-soak the clothing in a baking soda solution (or alternatively in vinegar with thorough rinsing)

    Because urine is acidic, the baking soda (a base) may help neutralize the acidity and make washing easier. Pre-soak for 15 minutes, then move immediately to step 2 below. Unlike vinegar, it's safe to add baking soda directly to your washing machine along with the detergent OR to use it as a pre-soak.

    Watch out: However despite a few websites telling you to do so, do not try combining baking soda and vinegar together in teh same pre-soak unless you want to repeat that elementry school science project called "the volcano"!

    Alternatively pre-soak the clothing overnight in a vinegar and hot water solution, then rinse the clothing thoroughly and move to step 2.

    Watch out: Vinegar, which is acidic, can harm both elastics (waistbands for example) ans welll as some synethetic or delicate fabrics, and do NOT pour vinegar directly into your washing machine.
  2. Use a laundry detergent advertised as effective at removing urine smells

    An example is Tide's Ultra OXI 4in1 Laundry Detergent Pods or the company's hypoallergenic product Tide Pods Free and Gentle. Proctor & Gamble say sfor a large laundry load use 3 "pacs" of the detergent.
  3. Wash in the warmest water that the clothing or linens product label permits.

    Hotter water is better at removing urine odors.

 

Where to Buy Products to Remove Mold or Urine Smell From Clothing, Diapers, Other Things That Can Be Laundered

Deaddownwind spray odor removing enzyme cited at InspectApedia.comPeople who have not had satisfactory urine-odor removal results from simple laundering of the clothing may want to try special laundry and cleaning products that combine a (friendly) bacterial odor remover and and enzyme with special enzymes.

Enzyme-based laundry detergents - these are readily available in grocery stores, drugstores, and from online retailers. Enzymes have been used in laundry detergents to improve their performance for a long time. Some bacteria and enzymes are particularly effective at removing urine odors.

 

Other Laundry Advice & Deodorizers for Mold or Urine odors, including in infant diapers and clothing

Borax cleaner (C) Daniel Friedman

Note that this discussion is about removing urine odors. Proctor and Gamble offers this separate article on Removing Urine Stains from Clothing (Proctor & Gamble Website).

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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Having trouble getting rid of urine smell even after washing the clothes

I've been washing our clothes and I put all the whites in the washer and washed them two or three times and put fabric softener twice and when I put the clothes in the dryer and when they're dry they still smell like urine.

What should I do to get rid of the smell without having to hurt our body? (Feb 21, 2015) wina chancellor

Reply:

Sounds as if you need a different detergent. Some suggestions are in the article above.

Or you can try a special laundry additive such as Tide PODS® Ultra OXI 4in1 Laundry Detergent - specifically designed to remove urine smell from clothing.

See this article that we cited in the page above:

Proctor & Gamble Co, How to Get Urine Smell Out of Fabrics (Web Article) (Tide Website) - local backup copy saved as Remove-Urine-Smell-in-Fabrics-Tide.pdf

Hartmann Direct How to Avoid Urine Smells in Pants and Incontinence Odours (Web article) Hartmann Direct, - local backup copy saved as Urine-Smell-Control-HartmannD.pdf

This more-thoughtful article explains why urine odors associated with elderly or ill people may be particularly smelly and hard to remove.

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