How to Clean a Mattress after Bedwetting
Hopefully you had a mat or protective covering of some sort so the urine area is small. If you had no such protection in place and the mattress is soaked, the first thing you need to do is get it dried out. Sun is your best option but in a cold or rainy period then a hair dryer will do or prop it at a safe distance from a heater in a closed off room.
Once the mattress is dry, you need to remove staining, disinfect it and remove odor. This is how to clean a mattress after bedwetting.
You can totally remove urine stains and odors on mattresses with borax. Dampen the affected area with cold water and sprinkle borax over them. Rub the borax vigorousely over the affected areas and leave to dry then brush off any remaining powder. Air again thoroughly so that the mattress dries without risking developing mould from lingering dampness.
There are two other possibilities if borax is not available or hard to find. A mix of baking soda and either lemon juice or white vinegar (lemon smells nicer) can be applied as a paste.
Check the products in the supermarket for a soaking agent that says it uses enzymes for its action. These products work in a different way to bleach and also seem to succeed as stain removers. Be careful of mixed products, if they have bleach in them, you’ll end up with a white “stain”. For cleaning mattresses these products should be used as a paste. Dampen the stain, rub the paste on the stain and leave to dry, then brush off the dried powder.
A paste of butter and cigarette ashes does a good job of removing white water stains. Like those pale brown rings where urine has dried at the edges. Spread onto the spot and then rub repeatedly with a damp cloth.
You thought it was going to be harder than that didn’t you. It’s not so hard when you know how to clean a mattress after bedwetting, its just knowing what to use.
How Does Borax Clean?
Borax and other borates clean and bleach by converting water molecules to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Borates bond with other particles to keep the ingredients dispersed evenly in a mixture. This maximizes the surface area of active particles to enhance cleaning power and acts as a buffer, maintaining a stable pH needed to maintain cleansing chemical reactions. It increases the effectiveness of bleach and other cleaners. It has its best effect when used with hot water.
What Is Borax?
Borax is a natural mineral salt discovered over 4000 years ago and usually found deep within the ground. Although it has numerous industrial uses, in the home borax is used as a natural laundry booster, multipurpose cleaner, fungicide, preservative, insecticide, herbicide, disinfectant, dessicant, (and an ingredient in making ’slime’ !). Borax crystals are very pale grey, odorless, and alkaline. It can be mixed safely with most other cleaning agents, including chlorine bleach.
Warning - Please read this part. Is Borax Safe?
Borax is natural, but that does not make it safer for you or for your environment than. Borax can be used as an herbicide and used to kill roaches, ants, and fleas and is in fact toxic to people. 15-20 grams ingested can kill a person, 5 grams can kill a child or pet, and chronic toxic exposure can provoke red and peeling skin, seizures, and kidney failure. For this reason, borax should never be used around food. More commonly only minor reactions are reported, associated with skin, eye, or respiratory irritation in sensitive people.
None of this mean that you shouldn’t use borax for cleaning and soaking but you do need to be aware of product risks so that you can use them safely. If you do a bit of research, you will find risks associated with all cleaning products, bleach especially, whether natural or man-made. However, keep borax on a high shelf out of reach of children and pets, don’t use borax around food and make sure you rinse borax thoroughly out of clothes and off of any surfaces where food may be prepared before use.
Borax is also known as sodium borate decahydrate; sodium pyroborate; birax; sodium tetraborate decahydrate; sodium biborate.
Borax can also be used to increase the effectiveness of bleach solutions. See…