Did your little one pee on your leather couch? While leather resists moisture better than fabric, it still absorbs fluids and its odors. This is why it can be challenging to clean, much so if the urine has been left sitting on the material for hours or days. To help you, I discussed here a short guide on how to clean human urine from leather couch. The methods include common household items that you can find in your kitchen.
Read on and see which solutions work for your leather couch best:
How to clean human urine from leather couch
I think almost all parents, guardians, and babysitters have been there. Kids peeing everywhere, including on the couch. As someone who has watched over a bunch of crazy kids (aka my nephews and nieces), I know for a fact that they pee on the most inappropriate areas both by accident and on purpose.
I can’t count the times I had to deep-clean my couch to get rid of nasty toddler urine up to the point I decided to switch to a leather type. Overall, it made cleaning urine a total breeze, but only if you get on it fast.
Urine is a stinky problem and it will be a bigger dilemma if left on leather for long periods. It can leave permanent stains, not to mention that the smell can linger on the couch material for weeks, if not months.
Below, I discussed six options you can consider if you need to clean human urine off your couch.
Method 1: Baking soda
A common solution used in cleaning up urine marks and stains on couches is baking soda. This kitchen item has powerful cleaning abilities while remaining safe for the people around. It’s also effective for both new and old human urine that got soaked on your couch.
Aside from cleaning, baking soda is a natural deodorizer. It can help remove the stinky pee smell without the need for harsh detergents or cleaning products.
Overall, this is an effective method, but it requires a lot of time. But if you’re patient, you’ll get excellent results from this method.
Important note: Baking soda can be too harsh for delicate leather materials. If your couch is made of lambskin leather, you shouldn’t use this method. Baking soda is best used in cleaning durable leather and faux leather types. To be safe, you should do a patch test first on a hidden portion of your leather couch.
Here’s how to utilize baking soda to get rid of urine from your couch:
- Remove all the cushions and covers of your leather couch.
- Using paper towels, dab as much urine as possible off the couch.
- Next, put a substantial amount of baking soda on the affected spot of your couch. Don’t hesitate to use a lot of baking soda, especially if there’s so much urine-soaked on the material.
- Press the baking soda into the couch, so it gets deeper into the soaked area.
- Leave the baking soda on the couch for a few hours, so it will absorb leftover urine and neutralize smells.
- After that, get your vacuum cleaner and remove all the baking soda. You can also use a wet washcloth afterward.
- You can repeat this process if there are still urine stains or smells lingering on your couch.
Method 2: Dishwashing liquid
If the urine is just a small amount, you can use dishwashing liquid instead. This is gentler than baking soda and potentially safe for delicate leathers, depending on the actual formulation.
Overall, this is perfect for human urine that got into faux suede or faux leather couches. Also, it’s very convenient since every household has dishwashing liquid or soap in their kitchens.
To prevent damage on your leather couch, opt for gentle dishwashing soap. You can also dilute the soap in water to tone down its cleaning power.
Here’s how to use this method:
- Dilute the dish soap using lukewarm water inside a bowl or small basin. You can use 4 to 5 drops of dish soap for just the right cleaning power.
- Lather up the mixture to ensure that the soap mixes with water properly.
- Using a sponge, dab the solution into the area of your leather couch where the urine has soaked.
- Once the areas are soaked in the dish soap, you should wring the sponge and scrub the spot gently. Do so in a circular motion and avoid scrubbing too much because it may damage the leather material.
- Next, utilize a moist towel to wipe the dish soap from your couch. Wash the towel, wring it, and wipe again. Do this repeatedly until no suds are left.
- Lastly, use a clean dry cloth to give your leather couch one last wipe.
Method 3: Vinegar
Vinegar is both a powerful and safe cleaning agent. Since it’s food-grade, vinegar is safe to use near kids and animals.
However, I only recommend this if your couch is made of faux leather. If it’s made of real leather, I suggest you test it first on a hidden portion to see if there will be discoloration or any adverse reactions to the material.
But as a urine cleaner, vinegar does well in neutralizing pee smell. It also kills bacteria, thanks to its very acidic nature.
However, the vinegar solution may not help well for stains or discolorations due to human urine. Still, it will kill pathogens and eradicate the nasty odor.
To use vinegar in cleaning urine on leather couches, here’s what you need to do. Again, always proceed with caution:
- Mix one cup of vinegar with equal parts of water as well as 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda.
- Stir the solution well then transfer it to a spray bottle.
- Shake the bottle then spray the solution into the areas of your couch that got soaked in urine.
- Let this dry, so the mixture will seep through the couch material.
- After that, use a cloth to remove the traces of baking soda. You can utilize a vacuum cleaner here.
- You can repeat this process if you still smell the urine.
Method 4: Leather cleaner
If you’re looking for a failsafe human urine cleaner for your leather couch, I highly recommend that you purchase a dedicated leather cleaner. This is guaranteed safe and won’t damage your couch.
You can also pick a cleaner made for the specific leather type your couch is made of. These can be bought from supply stores or even the manufacturer of your couch.
Despite that, it’s still best to test the leather cleaner on a hidden portion of your couch. After all, these products aren’t made equal.
To use a leather cleaner to remove human urine on your couch, here are the steps you need to take:
- First, dab the soaked area of your couch using a dry cloth. Get as much urine out as possible.
- Use the leather cleaner by putting it on a dry cloth and rubbing it on the urine stain.
- You don’t have to scrub intensely, just wipe the cleaner into the material and let it soak for a few minutes.
- After that, wipe the cleaner off the couch. You can do the cleaning process again until you have eradicated all the stains and odors.
- If odors still persist, you can use the vinegar solution after the leather cleaner. Again, proceed with caution since vinegar is acidic and may react negatively to the cleaner you initially used.
Method 5: Enzymatic cleaner
Another method I swear by is using an enzymatic cleaner to eliminate the human urine odor and stains. Basically, this cleaner has live enzymes that will digest all the proteins left behind by the urine. This will effectively neutralize the uric acid in the urine.
However, make sure that the enzymatic cleaner is safe to use on leather. Otherwise, the enzymes may also consume the top layer of the leather material, leaving ugly marks. The best thing to do here is to spot test in a hidden portion of the couch.
Once you have a suitable enzymatic cleaner, here’s what you need to do:
- Use absorbent towels to dab as much urine out of the material as possible.
- Next, apply the enzymatic cleaner directly into the soaked area.
- Make sure that the lights are off and that you apply the cleaner at night because the enzymes are sensitive to light and heat.
- Once the enzymatic cleaner is applied to the leather couch, leave it overnight.
- There’s no need to rinse since the enzymes will disintegrate on their own.
- Feel free to re-apply more enzymatic cleaner to remove urine traces.
Method 6: Professional cleaning service
If all else fails, the best solution is to call a professional couch cleaner to deal with the human urine mess. Professionals have the right tools, cleaning agents, and techniques to get rid of the urine without damaging your couch.
I specifically recommend this if you own an expensive couch. In this case, doing DIY methods may cost you more compared to hiring a pro to do it for you.
It’s possible that the manufacturer of the couch offers cleaning services. You should consider this if you can’t find any couch cleaner you can trust.
Final words
Knowing how to clean human urine from leather couch will save your precious furniture from serious damage. Just make sure that you test each method above on a hidden part of your couch to avoid ruining the material.
Remember that the methods above may or may not apply depending on what leather type your couch has. Always proceed at your own risk if you’re planning to use any of these solutions.