• Keep your mattress clean with urine cleaning tips.wide bed image by terex from Fotolia.com
  
  Often caused by children or pets, urine stains are an embarrassing and unsightly problem, especially when left on a mattress. Over time, stagnant urine causes mold, mildew, fungus and foul odors. The absorbent materials used in mattresses can retain urine stains, making them difficult to remove. When accidents happen, treat them in a timely manner with a variety of accessible household tips and remedies.
  
  

Treatment Strategies

• If you happen to catch the stain in progress, blot the urine up immediately with a rag you no longer wish to use. Using a damp cloth, keep the stain wet, working from the outside and making your way toward the center to ensure the stain doesn't spread across the mattress. Clean and wring the cloth frequently as you tackle the stain, emptying it into a bucket or container. Dilute the stain as much as possible. Allow the mattress to dry, or blot with a dry and absorbent cloth. If the stain remains after drying, repeat the cleaning process. For those who own water-safe vacuum cleaners, use the vacuum to absorb excess liquid when treating the stain.
  
  

Household Remedies

• Mixing these remedies in a spray bottle might help the process along.macro spray image by Robert Kelly from Fotolia.com
  
  For fresh or dried urine stains on a mattress, use vinegar, ammonia or household detergent. Mix 1 tsp. of mild detergent of the nonalkaline and nonbleaching variety with 1 cup of warm water. Conversely, mix 1/3 cup of vinegar diluted with 2/3 cup of room-temperature water. Similarly, 1 tsp. of ammonia mixed with 1/2 cup of cold water does the trick. For fresh stains, use shampoo mixed with a small amount of water. When using these remedies, saturate the area of the urine stain, and blot the mattress surface dry with a clean, absorbent cloth. Avoid using hot water or steam when cleaning urine stains from a mattress as heat fixes the stain to the mattress surface.
  
  

Odor Treatment

• Baking soda---a versatile household remedy---helps remove the odors caused by a urine-stained mattress. After thoroughly removing the urine, simply cover the entire surface of the stain with baking soda, leave the powder on overnight and vacuum it off in the morning. Rubbing alcohol also fights odors by killing the bacteria that causes them. These tips won't remove the stain but will help prevent foul smells. However, vinegar does serve the dual purpose of removing the urine stain while killing odor-causing bacteria.