How to Find & Remove Urine Odors, & Smells in Clothing or Other Soft Goods

How to Remove Animal, Pet, or Human Urine Odors from Clothing or Soft Goods - Enzymes, Detergents & Odor Removers
ODOR REMOVING DETERGENTS - how to remove odors from clothing, carpets, drapes

Enzyme-based laundry detergents - these are readily available in grocery stores, drugstores, and from online retailers
Other Laundry deodorizers people use to deal with urine odors, including in infant diapers and clothing
Where to buy urine odor removing detergents, enzymes, and bacteria-enzyme deodorizers

ANIMAL ODORS IN BUILDINGS - separate article
BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS - separate article
Cleaning Suggestions for Odors / Urine - separate article
Removing Odors at Building Exteriors - separate article
Questions & Answers about how to remove urine odors & smells from clothing, carpets, furniture
References

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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?

How to Remove Animal, Pet, or Human Urine Odors from Clothing or Soft Goods - Enzymes, Detergents & Odor Removers

Question: what can I use other than bleach to remove urine odors from clothing?

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.

For people unfamiliar with septic system maintenance, see Septic Guide for Home Buyers or Owners and be sure to see SEPTIC TANK PUMPING SCHEDULE - pumping the septic tank on time is the most important step in preserving your drainfield life. Also see Don't Flush things to avoid flushing into a septic system: a list of what's ok and what's not ok to put into septic tanks and building drains. If there's another reason for avoiding conventional bleach there are other similar result but chemically different products that might work

A complete guide to tracking down and curing odors in buildings is at ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE. Readers should also see Black stains from animals for a description of the cause and cure of various types of stains caused by pets or other animals in buildings, and also see CAT DANDER in buildings for a discussion of animal allergens indoors and how they are detected and removed. Also see Car Odors - Animals.

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

People 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. 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.

Enzyme-based laundry detergents - these are readily available in grocery stores, drugstores, and from online retailers

Dead Down Wind 32 oz. e1 ScentPrevent Laundry Detergent - used by hunters to remove "all human odors from clothing" - I'd try this one first.
http://www.deaddownwind.com/ (store locator or online sales)
Ultra Plus enzyme laundry detergent - sold only at Sears Roebuck stores
dropps Laundry Detergent Scent Dye Enzyme Free, 20-load pouch 20 ea
Tide Ultra-2 -US Chemical IND/COM Enzyme Laundry Detergent Powder 50 Pound
Seventh Generation - 2x Laundry Liquid Detergent Blue Eucalyptus & Lavender - combination of plant-based surfactants and enzymes
Biokleen Premium Plus Laundry Powder. Stain-lifting Enzyme Formula. GrapefruitSeed and Orange Peel Extract Cleaning Power. 3x more concentrated. Phosphatefree. Chlorine-free bleach. Tough on Dirt, Gentle on the Earth. HighEfficiency. http://www.truefoodsmarket.com/product_info.php/products_id/3928
Petastic™ Deodorizing Pet Laundry Detergent contains a unique formula specifically designed to clean and deodorize pet bedding, toys, clothes, and towels. Works on everyday laundry as well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/

Other Laundry deodorizers people use to deal with urine odors, including in infant diapers and clothing

Vinegar (1/2 cup white vinegar per washing machine load or experiment)
Pine Sol (1/2 cup per load )
http://www.pinesol.com/
(Strong, possibly irritating if not rinsed out - be sure to test first and to use extra rinse on laundry)
Mean Green (1/2 capful per washing machine load) C.R. Brands, Inc., www.crbrandsinc.com/
CR Brands, Inc. 9100 Centre Pointe Drive, Suite 200
West Chester, OH 45069 United States Tel: 513-860-5039
Sold at: http://doitbest.com/ - under $8. per gallon.
Boraxo - 20-Mule Team Borax (laundry aisle of most grocery

To Return to Mold/IAQ Action Guide: What to do about mold, mildew, and other indoor allergens an environmental testing guidance website explaining what to do about mold, mildew, and other indoor allergens.

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Technical Reviewers & References

Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.

Thanks to reader Cathye Bunthoff for suggestions regarding tracking pet urine odors to the backing of vinyl flooring and around furniture 04/6/2009
Kansas State University, department of plant pathology, extension plant pathology web page on wheat rust fungus: see http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Leaf%20Rust.asp
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
US EPA - Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Building [ copy on file as /sickhouse/EPA_Mold_Remediation_in_Schools.pdf ] - US EPA
US EPA - Una Breva Guia a Moho - Hongo [on file as /sickhouse/EPA_Moho_Guia_sp.pdf - - en Espanol

"IgG Food Allergy Testing by ELISA/EIA, What do they really tell us?" Sheryl B. Miller, MT (ASCP), PhD, Clinical Laboratory Director, Bastyr University Natural Health Clinic - ELISA testing accuracy: Here is an example of Miller's critique of ELISA http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm - Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients
The critique included in that article raises compelling questions about IgG testing assays, which prompts our interest in actually screening for the presence of high levels of particles that could carry allergens - dog dander or cat dander in the case at hand.
http://www.tldp.com/issue/174/IgG%20Food%20Allergy.html contains similar criticism in another venue but interestingly by the same author, Sheryl Miller. Sheryl Miller, MT (ASCP), PhD, is an Immunologist and Associate Professor of Basic and Medical Sciences at Bastyr University in Bothell, Washington. She is also the Laboratory Director of the Bastyr Natural Health Clinic Laboratory.
Allergens: Testing for the level of exposure to animal allergens is discussed at http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/animalallergy/diagnosis.shtml (lab animal exposure study is interesting because it involves a higher exposure level in some cases
Allergens: WebMD discusses allergy tests for humans at webmd.com/allergies/allergy-tests

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The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.

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