How do you get urine out of a mattress?

Take everything off the bed and use vinegar to scrub out any urine or urine stains. Then, put towels on the area and step on the mattress to suck up as much of the liquid as possible. Let it dry with no sheets or blankets on it. To speed up the drying you can also use a hair dryer. If you still smell anything, repeat this process as needed until the mattress is back in tiptop shape.

Ms. Dulude has it right. The vinegar scrub is really your only solid option. But one thing I’d recommend after that is to deodorize the entire mattress. Sprinkle baking soda over the whole thing—taking special care to really coat the area where your child had the accident. Leave that for 12 hours or so and then vacuum it up. It’ll really help minimize any remaining odors.

If your child’s urine is really pungent and white vinegar isn’t quite getting the job done, buy an enzyme cleaner designed specifically for urine. The enzymes in the commercial products will bind with the urine to completely neutralize any lingering pee aromas.

agreed on the vinegar. i have a memory foam mattress and when my kid used to peed the bed i mixed 2 parts water, 1 part vinegar, and a couple tablespoons laundry soap in a spray bottle and sprayed the urine stain until it smelled all better. really SOAK it if you have to, to get the smell out.

Just for the future, I’d highly recommend getting a waterproof mattress protector. Kids who wet the bed tend to do it relatively often when they’re young, and cleaning your mattress every time your child has an accident is going to get old really quick. The protector will help prevent the urine from penetrating into the actual mattress, which will make cleanup a breeze.