Lately I've been seeing articles about things that should NOT be cleaned with vinegar. Washers, dishwashers, & dryers have been listed because it can destroy the rubber gaskets. Just realized how many times it's being recommended here & the potential to damage appliances.
I have been using vinegar in all these appliances for decades, except the dryer and I have never had any problems. That they listed a dryer throws up red flags.
If the industry is now saying it is a problem it is because it is getting in their wallets. Why pay 15 bucks or more for chemicals proven to wreak havoc on our respiratory system, increase allergies and wreck our waste water systems when you can spend 2 bucks on vinegar that has been proven to reduce static, ensure clothes are thoroughly rinsed and sanitized, because the companies loosing money say so? Lost revenue is why it is not in their best interest for us to use healthier products.
If you are worried about your gaskets, put some gasket oil on them. You can buy it at any pool store.
Vinegar is one of the safest products that you can use. I guarantee that bleach will ruin more gaskets than any other product used in a washer. They aren't warning against that, why? Because they own the bleach company.
In previous discussions about getting urine odors out, I've noted mentions of bleach and of vinegar. I added warnings then, and will add it again here:
If you use bleach, do NOT use vinegar. If you use vinegar, do NOT use bleach.
The mixture of these two commonly used items will produce chlorine gas. One or the other is fine, just not together!!
I was wondering if anyone would mention that. My dad, a chemist, loves to tell the story of the green cloud mom created when she mixed bleach and ammonia. Then he gives you a lesson on why bleach can't ever be mixed with ammonia or vinegar or alcohol, complete with all the chemical names and abbreviations. And my eyes glaze over . . .
I find if pads are air dried it has a musty smell and takes a few days to dry, works very well in the dryer for me. No urine smell what so ever and dryer is clean smelling. You can also add bleach if the pads continue to smell like urine.
Try using 20 Mule Team All Natural Borax Detergent Booster along with your Tide. On your last rinse pour in 1/2 - 1/3 cup of white vinegar. This will remove the odors but will not smell like vinegar. Laundry will come out with a fresh smell.
Another product to consider is Nok-Out. You won't find it in the stores, you need to go to their website. I use it to deal with the odor of cat spray that our little visitor leaves behind occasionally.
Try using any products for cleaning pet smells from rugs and upholstery. Most of them have ingredients for breaking down urine and nitrogenous waste products (stuff in urine). You can find it in pet stores and next to rug cleaners in the grocery stores.
Just so they know, often goes by the names of Simple Solution or Nature's Miracle. Might want to contact the companies direct for suggestions or communicate on line, also would check in with the laundry detergent companies for their ideas....
We get white vinegar in them right away so they are soaking in it until we do the load of bedding, a tub full of water and vinegar or we often just pour straight vinegar over the wet areas before removing the bedding, roll them up and let them soak. Then wash with Oxi Clean added, as long as you get the white vinegar on it right away it keeps the urine odor at bay.
I have a very sensitive nose and even the slightest whiff of urine would send me searching for what had gotten wet so I tried many, many products.
Like Burnt User, I would recommend Oxy Clean in the washer, hot water, and extra rinse. Worked on odor and stains.
Another product I used for items that couldn't be put in hot water in a washing machine - like wheelchair pads that got wet even with a waterproof covering and pad (there was nothing my mom couldn't soak through)- Zero Odor worked well. I found it on Amazon and at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
There is a product made by Clorox called Urine Remover and it works. there is also a product called OdorBan it not only removes odors but it is a sanitizer as well. I used it as an air freshener I used it in garbage cans. I did not use hot water as that can break down the backing and if the pad has a harder backing it can cause cracks so the pad will leak.
All good suggestions. I used Arm & Hammer for years but found that it did not take the urine smell out. I was soaking in Vinegar water first then washing. I switched back to Tide recently and have not had the problem since.
Do not dry in the dryer. For me it seems to bring the smell out. I have a drying rack I place on my porch to dry. The bed pads I had used plastic on the bottom so dryer use was not good for that type.
I use a combination of Gain scented Tidepods, borax and a cup of Odoban liquid. Then a gain scented dryer sheet. You can also mix vinegar and fabuloso (1:1), but find a fabuloso scent you can live with because some scents mixed with vinegar smells worse than the urine, imo. I love the Odoban. It tackles human AND pet urine smells. I have hyper olfactory sense and can't live with gross ordors; I smell things the rest of my family can't. Odoban is brand, and I've found it at Home Depo when the grocery stores stopped carrying it during Covid. Good luck!
Dyer sheets are a definite no-no with urine pads. It prohibits absorption of liquids. Not recommended for towels or anything that you want to absorb liquid.
Forget about baking soda. That's not going to do anything. Fill the washer with water and add a couple scoops of OxyClean crystals to it. Then soak whatever soiled items the person uses (bed pads, linens, clothes, etc...). When there's a full load, drain the water they've been soaking in out. Then put laundry detergent with a cup of bleach and wash everything in hot water. If the items are soiled with piss and crap cold water will not wash it out no matter what detergent you use. Put the washer on a two-rinse cycle if it has one. This will clean everything really well and none of it will smell.
The "fill the washer with water" and soak the items might work on older top loading washers, but not the newer front loading ones. A large bucket could work for some, but not likely be able to hold a "full" load. Depending on how long it might have to "soak", perhaps use a bathtub? Easier to drain that anyway...
I wasn't even thinking about the modern washers that hardly use any water, if you have one of those I imagine a pee soaked bed pad would benefit from a pre-soak in a laundry tub, the bath tub or even pail.
Didn't see this until I mentioned front loading machines can't be "filled" - oops. I also suggested a large bucket (probably not big enough for a full load of stuff) or the bathtub.
Heat can set odors. Baking soda is not good for washing, it is used in DIY fabric softeners. Use soda (sodium carbonate) wash, which is a arm and hammer product or you can go to the pool store/aisle and use the sodium carbonate from there, it is the exact same thing.
I recommend using vinegar in the rinse cycle to kill the enzymes that cause odor. I make my own and use 20% in my rinse cycle. The stuff you buy already diluted (5%) you will want to use at least a couple cups until you get the odor dissipated, then 1 cup is ample.
If your machine is able, I recommend a good soak in the wash cycle. This will allow the detergent to permeate the fabric and hopefully get to all the odor.
I've bought the A&H detergent booster you recommended. Haven't used it yet, but yesterday washed with the reg A&H baking soda and added Borax and at least a cup of vinegar into the "fabric softener" dispenser (which releases in the rinse cycle) and used cool cycle. I've also switched to a longer cycle that soaks longer (new Maytag Bravo machine) and dried on delicate cycle. That seemed to work. Anxious to see if the A&H sodium carbonate works better than bicarbonate. Thanks. Your answer seems to make the most sense. i don't have a pre-soak cycle nor a laundry tub as many suggested. I do have a cycle that is just rinse and spin. Plan to try that on a blood spotted sheet this morning after adding hydrogen peroxide to the spots and then wash them regularly afterwards.
I tossed them in with the sheets and other similar items, I can't say I noticed any lingering odour but then they were soiled daily so maybe it didn't make any noticeable difference? Just don't use bleach, it will erode the waterproof layer.
If the industry is now saying it is a problem it is because it is getting in their wallets. Why pay 15 bucks or more for chemicals proven to wreak havoc on our respiratory system, increase allergies and wreck our waste water systems when you can spend 2 bucks on vinegar that has been proven to reduce static, ensure clothes are thoroughly rinsed and sanitized, because the companies loosing money say so? Lost revenue is why it is not in their best interest for us to use healthier products.
If you are worried about your gaskets, put some gasket oil on them. You can buy it at any pool store.
Vinegar is one of the safest products that you can use. I guarantee that bleach will ruin more gaskets than any other product used in a washer. They aren't warning against that, why? Because they own the bleach company.
If you use bleach, do NOT use vinegar.
If you use vinegar, do NOT use bleach.
The mixture of these two commonly used items will produce chlorine gas. One or the other is fine, just not together!!
Like Burnt User, I would recommend Oxy Clean in the washer, hot water, and extra rinse. Worked on odor and stains.
Another product I used for items that couldn't be put in hot water in a washing machine - like wheelchair pads that got wet even with a waterproof covering and pad (there was nothing my mom couldn't soak through)- Zero Odor worked well. I found it on Amazon and at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
there is also a product called OdorBan it not only removes odors but it is a sanitizer as well. I used it as an air freshener I used it in garbage cans.
I did not use hot water as that can break down the backing and if the pad has a harder backing it can cause cracks so the pad will leak.
Do not dry in the dryer. For me it seems to bring the smell out. I have a drying rack I place on my porch to dry. The bed pads I had used plastic on the bottom so dryer use was not good for that type.
I love the Odoban. It tackles human AND pet urine smells. I have hyper olfactory sense and can't live with gross ordors; I smell things the rest of my family can't. Odoban is brand, and I've found it at Home Depo when the grocery stores stopped carrying it during Covid.
Good luck!
I recommend using vinegar in the rinse cycle to kill the enzymes that cause odor. I make my own and use 20% in my rinse cycle. The stuff you buy already diluted (5%) you will want to use at least a couple cups until you get the odor dissipated, then 1 cup is ample.
If your machine is able, I recommend a good soak in the wash cycle. This will allow the detergent to permeate the fabric and hopefully get to all the odor.
Best of luck, this is a tough situation.