Imagine sitting on the couch watching your favorite series only to remember that you still have to get the laundry. Then, when folding the laundry, you find out that clothes smelling urine before the wash are still smelling the same.
One can be confused about what to do next since you were assured that the urine smell would go away by washing the clothes in a washing machine as you followed the advice given by many experts online. Don’t worry, though; there are few proven solutions for the problem.
To get the urine smell out of clothes that have already been washed, soak the clothes in bleach, sun bleach the clothes, wash the clothes in vinegar, or wash them in an enzymatic detergent.
This article explains four different methods that you can use to get rid of urine smell on clothes that have already been washed.
1. Soak The Clothes In Chlorinated Bleach
Chlorinated bleach has chlorine dioxide. When the bleach comes into contact with water, it immediately releases a deep all-pervading vapor filling the washbasin’s interior. In the process, it destroys order molecules from the inside out.
While compared to other odor-removing chemicals, chlorine dioxide is highly successful in eliminating bad smells as it accesses even the hard-to-reach places and destroys all elements that cause order in a few hours.
Thus, by soaking the clothes that have already been washed but are still smelling like urine in chlorinated bleach, you will be able to get the urine smell out of the clothes. Here is the process that you should use:
1. Fill washbasin half full with tap water and mix with bleach
Pour water in your washbasin till it’s half full. Pour chlorinated bleach into the basin according to the mixing ratio specified by the bleach manufacturer on the bleach packaging. If your clothes are colored, ensure that you use non-chlorine bleach to protect your clothing from fading.
2. Soak the clothes smelling urine in the washbasin for at least 4 hours
Put the clothes with urine smell in the washbasin with bleach and water mixture. Ensure that the clothes are fully immersed in the mix so that the bleach will work on the clothes and remove the urine smell. Soak the clothes in the bleach for at least 4 hours.
3. Wash the clothes with detergent and bleach
Wash the clothes with detergent and bleach in a washing machine in a regular wash. Dry the clothes in the dryer, and you will find that the urine smell will now be gone for good.
2. Sun Bleach The Clothes
Sun bleaching is also known as sun fading. To sun bleach clothes, the clothes are left in the sun for a long time so that the radiation heat from the sun breaks up the chemical bond in the fabric resulting in the fabric being bleached.
Bacteria cause the urine smell in your clothes. Therefore, when you leave smelly clothes in the sun, the sunlight will remove all scents and odors from the clothes as it will kill all the bacteria causing the bad smell and ensure that the urine smell is removed.
You need to hang the clothes in direct sunlight for at least 10 hours to sun bleach clothes. To ensure that the clothes are effectively sun-bleached, make sure that you hang the clothes in a location where they are fully exposed to the sunlight.
3. Washing The Clothes In Vinegar
Vinegar is an acetic acid that neutralizes alkaline odors such as urine smell. Thus, when you wash the clothes smelling like urine with vinegar, the vinegar will absorb the urine smell. First, load the clothes into the washing machine and add vinegar to the detergent compartment. Then, wash the clothes in a normal wash cycle.
Once the cycle is completed, you can either use the dryer to dry the clothes or dry them on a clothesline. To ensure that the urine smell is removed from the clothes, it is recommended that you dry your clothes outside on a clothesline instead of using a dryer.
4. Wash The Clothes In Enzymatic Detergent
Enzymatic detergents are naturally occurring substances that create catalytic actions that break down stains and odors in clothes.
Place your clothes in the washing machine. Pour the enzymatic detergent into the detergent compartment. Wash the clothes in a normal wash cycle.
Once the wash cycle is over, air dry the clothes by hanging them on the clothesline. The fresh air outside will help ensure that your clothes have a fresh and natural smell when they dry.
Conclusions
You can get the urine smell out of clothes that have already been washed by using the four different methods discussed. The simplest method you should probably use first is to sun bleach the clothes.
All you have to do is leave the clothes outside in the sun for at least 10 hours. Even though this method might sound easy, it has already been used in the past by many people and has proven to be effective.
