My son is still a bed-wetter and he and his brother sleep in bunk-beds with the "memory foam" type mattresses. About 3 times a week he wakes up in the morning to a wet bed. I've tried putting several towels under his sheets, a waterproof mattress cover, a sleeping bag, but no matter what I do, his urine soaks ALL the way through to his mattress.
Does anyone have any helpful ideas at all?
Help me please! ARRRRRGH!
josmith
I can't help with the mattress. I would suggest calling the manufacturer. However, I can suggest a bit of help for the bed-wetting. A quick trip to the doctor - there is a nose spray that helps quite a bit. I am not sure how, but it helps. (01/09/2005)
By Tanya
My son had the same problem until he hit puberty and the nasal spray mentioned is called DDAVP for short - it was awesome and began working almost immediately (we also used the pill form when he was older) - the doctor told my son that the problem was not anyone's fault and that even if he stopped drinking at noon, he could still wet the bed - it's just that his body was late to produce the hormone that the spray provides.
As for the mattress - covering the area when it's wet with borax really helps pull a lot out of the mattress. You can also try the new pet stain removers that contain enzymes which actually break down the stain but you have to really soak it and then let it stay. I've also been very happy using oxi-clean type solutions and then using my shop-vac to pull out the solution/stain.
I was very hesitant to give my son the medication, but I think the constant humiliation he experienced was doing more damage than taking the hormones - I also have a great doctor who I totally trust and that helped.
Good Luck! I know how discouraging the whole problem can be for both you and your son. My son is 16 now and hasn't wet the bed in three years. (01/09/2005)
By Keri
You can try vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Also, have him wear Nighttime pull-ups. It would be better than having the mattress wet. He can be discreet with putting them on, and no one would have to know. (01/09/2005)
By Mary
I'd try the vinegar solution with the mattress, and literally stand on it with a dry towel to absorb the wetness after it has a chance to neutralize the odor. You could also talk to your local chiropractor about your child's bed wetting. I referred my girlfriend for her son and it worked wonderfully for him. He now has a dry bed and fun overnights with friends, no more embarrassing moments for him. (01/09/2005)
By Barbie
Once you've restored the mattress, cover it with a cheap plastic shower curtain to protect it from future accidents. The cheap, stiff ones are the best (completely waterproof). (01/09/2005)
By Leann
I have found a scent remover that is the bomb! At Sam's Club they have a product that is called ODO-BAN. We have pets and it was unbearable! We thought our carpet was ruined. They were demonstrating this and we thought this was going to be our last shot! We had tried the vinegar solutions, Tide, and even the products for pet smell removal...nothing worked. Well, to make a long story short, if you wash the area first with a steam cleaner (upholstery attachment) and then use this to rinse. It worked great! It is a regular staple in my house and they guarantee it! If it does not work for you, you can take it back.
Good Luck, Michelle. (01/10/2005)
Thank you all so much for all the helpful hints! I'll be putting them to action today! I'm so glad I found this website! It's incredible! (01/10/2005)
By jo
Excessive thirst and bed-wetting also can be an early sign of diabetes. Have a urinalysis and blood sugar tested at next physical. This was the ONLY sign in our 12 year old before he was diagnosed. (07/06/2005)
By mahouston69
I wouldn't know for a fact if it will work on a mattress of that kind but "OderZyme" has a money back guarantee on pet urine and that is a lot worse than human because of the ammonia contents in animal urine. It's worth a shot to look it up on the internet and call them to ask if it would work for your problem. (09/28/2006)
By Chrissy
We have two Tempur-Pedic mattresses. One was rolled up and stored in the attic about a year ago because our geriatric cat decided to use it as a cat box. The other night, our dog urinated on the one in our master bedroom. We have been using a product called Nature's Miracle for carpet stains. We figured we had nothing to lose, so we tried it on the recently soiled mattress. I basically drenched the area with Nature's Miracle and then walked on a few dry towels over the area to sop some of the liquid up.
After a day of drying, the odor and stain were completely gone. I was so impressed that we pulled the old mattress out. It cleaned the year old stain with no remnants of odor. You can pick it up at PetsMart. It's about $30 for 1.5 gallon container, but well worth it since it saved about $4000 worth of mattresses for us. (09/17/2007)
By Chad
I don't know about memory foam, but I do know about non-washable furniture and pet urine. I have three cats (and plenty of room and litter boxes). Two of whom have temper tantrums (not medical conditions, they've been checked) and pee on my couch.
The best thing that I've found is a mixed solution of white vinegar, scented laundry detergent (I find the ones with added fabric softener work best for odor), and lukewarm water. Do not use too much vinegar as it will smell like salad dressing for a few weeks. Make sure to use enough water. I suggest a 1/2 part vinegar, 1 1/2 parts detergent, and 2 parts water. Test this on the material prior to using on entire area. Keep in mind that any "vinegar scent" will fade with time.
For washing anything in the washing machine (like sheets), throw in a good measure of white vinegar along with a bit of salt (helps prevent colors from fading) and plenty of detergent and a bit of fabric softener. I use the longest cycle possible with extra rinse/extract. Use common sense with water temperature (aka: don't wash something red in hot/cold and not expect it to bleed or fade).
I find white vinegar to be a wonderful urine neutralizer for cats. I've had NO luck with "Nature's Miracle" whatsoever. I've had NO luck with Feli-way and other pet deterrents. I'm sure the white vinegar will work on cleaning human urine as well.
I strongly recommend using shower curtains (the thick gauge plastic ones) to cover furniture/beds from pets when you're not home or being attentive. They work like a charm (unless the cats have torn holes into them with their claws). These shower curtains can be washed in the washing machine (cold water) as well.
Use common sense with mattress protectors. I'd suggest a traditional plastic cover with a newer "waterproof" cover over that to silence things a bit. Never expect any fabric that is porous (aka: not plastic or rubber, etc) to fully protect anything from liquids.
I hope these tips are helpful. (10/22/2008)
By Heather
I've used Borax to get vomit off of our memory foam topper and regular mattress. Just dampen the spot (probably not necessary with the urine) and liberally sprinkle 20 Mule Borax over the area. Let sit for at least 6 hours, if not overnight. I vacuumed the area after about 12 hours of it sitting on the topper, and it was dry, with NO odor of vomit at all. It's 4 days later, and I've been sleeping on it, and it's still fine! :) (01/18/2009)
By Danielle
I don't necessarily have an answer for the cleaning problem BUT I do have an answer for the nighttime wetting problem. Find a reputable chiropractor who adjusts children and share the problem with him/her. I took my 7 yr old who was wetting every night and wearing pull ups; being teased by his younger brothers, too. It was literally overnight improvement! I highly recommend it to everyone I see having this problem. We have put kids through so much trying to fix this problem including limiting fluids to these thirsty little people. I tell you those days can be behind you! I'd love to hear from you if you try this! (04/06/2009)
YES! It can be washed, victory! My son wet the bed and I tried the pet odor remover/towels but it was too strong (he's recovered from autism spectrum, very sensitive to any type of chemicals). This might only work with a small topper (we have a 2" twin size) unless you have access to a very large washing machine, however, it worked wonderfully.
The BIG trick is to babysit the washing machine process and skip over the parts that would do damage. I crammed the topper in with equal weight on opposite sides for the spinner to work well; I let it fill with water and soap, then turned off the wash cycle and dipped/pushed it several times by hand (which shrunk it down, easier to wash). I skipped to the drain/rinse cycle, let it fill up with clean water and did the same thing. Then I skipped to the spin cycle, which I repeated to spin out excess water.
This was only a few hours ago and after laying it over ventilated sweater racks flat on the floor, it is almost dry. All urine smell is gone. It did pick up a few pieces of lint from the washer since it is so porous and a little sticky, but nothing at all major - so try wiping out the barrel very well beforehand. Hope that helps someone to avoid all those chemicals! (04/18/2009)
By Amy
When my girls were little, I bought plastic mattress covers that covered all four sides of the mattress and had a zipper in one end to put it on and take it off. It wasn't an easy job to get it on and off, but I felt it was better than maybe having a wet mattress. (02/07/2010)
By Joan
This may sound odd but if you have an odor in your Tempurpedic mattress, if the smell is still there at all once you've done all you can, you might consider getting a memory foam mattress topper for it. I believe that would act as a (very comfortable) barrier for any lingering odor. I have a firm Tempurpedic and have slept with a 3" softer memory foam topper on it for about a year and it is super comfy. Anyone who lies on it has to comment to me about it. My kids wet my bed a few times and I feel fortunate that I just have to change out the mattress topper. It's really beyond gross at this point. But expensive as it is, it could be worse. (09/12/2010)
By killerzoey
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