When it comes to owning a pet, you can generally expect that there will come a time when you have to clean up after the pet. Just about all pets have their moments of leaving messes behind, and more often than not, these messes are not pleasant to clean up.
Naturally, different kinds of dog beds are going to require different washing methods, depending on what materials are in the beds. In this post, we are going to discuss about how to wash dog bed for various different situation.
How to Wash a Dog Bed with Urine on it?
Whether your dog is sick, elderly, young, or had an accident on its own, there may come an unfortunate time when you realize that your dog has urinated on its bed. Naturally, you are going to want to clean this up as fast as you can, but if you are not used to cleaning these kinds of messes, you may not know what you need to do to get rid of both the stain and the smell.
Getting the Bed Clean
One fact that you should keep in mind is that you should always follow the cleaning instructions for your particular dog bed first and foremost. These instructions pertain to the type of bed and bedding material that the dog bed is made from, so you won’t have to worry about those instructions messing with the quality of the dog bed. From there, you can begin to search for the best ways to wash dog bed with urine on it. To fully get rid of the smell, you are going to want to use more than just some pet-safe laundry detergent. You are also going to want to make use of a stain remover and some dish soap. Take care to ensure that both of these are pet-safe as well, as you will want to keep your dog’s favorite bed in a place where it can sleep. You will then want to remove the external cover of the bed, using the stain remover over the urine, before putting that into the washing machine. If you have a liner or a cover on the dog bed, you should wash this as well, along with some vinegar to help get rid of the smell. The mattress should be soaked and washed by hand or per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Why Is it So Important to Get Rid of the Smell?
You will notice that throughout this process, you will be taking a lot of steps to make sure that the smell of the urine is removed during the washing process. This is because, while dogs may not have as strong a tendency to urinate where they smell urine as cats do, there is a strong chance that they will be inclined to do this, and any other animals in the house will be inclined to do this as well. Getting rid of the smell helps to ensure that no animals in your house will feel tempted to “claim” territory that was previously urinated on, even if it was an accident.
How to Wash a Dog Bed Without a Removable Cover?
If you have a dog bed that doesn’t have the standard removable cover on it, and you notice that most guides on how to wash dog beds start out by mentioning that you should remove the cover, you may feel at a loss as to what you can do. Thankfully, there are still ways to wash your dog’s beloved bed, even if it doesn’t have a removable cover.
Getting the Job Done
First things first, when you are looking at how you can wash dog bed without removable cover, you will want to try and find and save the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific bed type. Doing this will help you make sure that, no matter how many years have passed since you needed to wash the bed, you will have the information you need to get the job done in the way that the manufacturer wanted. This is also important, as if your bed is made out of any particular material that needs special care, these instructions will detail it and you will know how to keep your dog’s bed in good condition.
Nonetheless, you will usually want to start out by making sure you have a vacuum cleaner, a lint roller, a stain remover, baking soda, and so on. These additional pieces will make it easier to get rid of individual stains and problematic areas of your dog’s bed. You will want to start by vacuuming the dog bed and then using a lint roller over the freshly vacuumed bed. This removes all of the debris that can be removed without the work of a washer, meaning that the washer can now get to all parts of the bed easily. You will then want to remove the stains as best as you can with a pet-free stain remover before you presoak the bed in warm water with pet-safe detergent. The bed should be in the presoak stage for no less than 15 minutes, more if your bed hasn’t been washed in a while. Next, you can wash the bed in a washing machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions and before you know it, your dog’s bed will be back to a fresh condition.
How to Wash a Dog Bed with Stuffing?
If you choose to get a dog bed that is stuffed, rather than having a mattress in it, you will need to keep in mind that the washing process is going to be a little bit different for your dog’s bed. After all, you can’t pull the stuffing out and stick it in the washing machine the same way you can with foam mattresses.
Rather than removing the innards of the bed, when you first look into the plan to wash dog bed with stuffing, you will note that the process is a lot more simplistic and can be done with minimal worries or materials. In fact, all you will need is pet-safe detergent and a container large enough to hold the whole bed. For the larger dog beds, this may become a pain, but it will be worth it in the end. Once you have your materials, you will first want to use the pet-safe detergent and deodorizer so that the dog bed can begin getting a little bit cleaner. The best deodorizers for dogs are going to be apple cider vinegar or white vinegar, as these are both stain removers and disinfectants.
After the vinegar has been applied, you can now rinse the dog bed in a container large enough to contain it. For most people with dogs in the house, the tub is going to be a suitable place to rinse and soak the dog bed. For this process, you will want to use warm water, and you will want to rinse and wring the bed as much as you can until there are no more soap bubbles after this process. If the manufacturer’s instructions allow this, you can also use a washing machine, set to a warm rinse cycle before a fast spin. Finally, you can let it dry out in a place where it will get a fair amount of sun and airflow, and this should take between one and two days to finish. Before you know it, you will have the perfect dog bed in your home.
How to Wash a Dog Bed with Poop on it?
On the chance that you wake up to poop on your dog’s bed, the first thing you are going to want to do is to get rid of the poop. From here, you are likely going to want to know how to wash dog bed with poop on it so that there are no residual stains or smells of poop coming from your dog’s bed.
Removing the Presence of Poop
Once the actual clump of feces has been taken care of and you are left with a guilty dog and a dog bed that now has residual stains and smells on it, you are going to want to do what you can to try and get rid of those smells. If your dog, especially if you have multiple dogs, smells that there was once poop on its bed, even if that poop was from the dog itself, it is going to feel the need to mark its territory there again, turning it all into a perpetual cycle that nobody wants to deal with. Because of this, it becomes up to you to get rid of as much of the feces remains as there are.
As you would typically do, you would want to start by vacuuming the cover of the bed to try and get rid of everything that you can so that the soap in the washer can do its job of removing the poop. You will then want to rely on the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that you will be able to clean your dog’s bed without an issue. As long as everything works out, you will then want to use a stain remover on the cover of the bed, preferably where the inappropriate defecation was, so that you can clean it as quickly as possible. Next, you will want to clean the bed and then dry it. Once it has fully dried, you will be able to make quick use out of your pet bed again, leaving your dog with a place to sleep safely and soundly.
How Often Should You Wash Dog Bedding?
At the heart of the matter, the age-old question of how often wash dog bedding you should do depends entirely on the condition of the dog’s bed. A thoroughly used and loved dog bed is going to need to be washed more often, but it is also going to need to be washed with more care. A brand-new dog bed will not need to be washed as much. As you can probably imagine, when a dog is in its peak physical health and doesn’t have a lot of fur to shed, you can expect that these animals are going to be a lot easier to clean up after, as there won’t be nearly as much fur to deal with. Older dogs, dogs that are more prone to shedding, and beds that are placed in areas that get a lot of foot traffic are going to need to be washed more often due to all of these factors.
The Final Line
When you are cleaning up after your favorite dog, you are going to want to make sure that you keep its home and sleeping environment as clean as you can. This includes making sure that you keep its bed free and clean of all the debris, germs, and grime that has a tendency to pile up over time. You should aim to clean your dog’s bedding between every one to two weeks. Before you know it, your dog’s bed will be smelling fresh and clean, and your dog will be grateful for the comfortable and scentless bed.
