Cats are lovely pets to have in the house but they can quickly become the enemy when they turn your beautiful leather couch into a toilet. When a cat urinates on the couch, you are not only left with an unpleasant smell to deal with but also stains that may prove a challenge to remove. But that is not the only reason you need to be worried; the urine can also destroy the leather by removing all of its tanning oils, and in the end, you are left with a couch that has brittle leather. However, cleaning the stains and getting rid of the urine smell is not that hard if you are aware of the right procedure.
Cleaning The Leather With Water Or Club Soda
Begin by soaking up the urine using paper towels or a white towel. Next, clean the stain by starting outside the stain ring moving inside. Then rinse the area with water so that the urine can be diluted. Instead of water, you can also use club soda for rinsing.
The next step is to absorb the liquids. Place the towels on the stained areas and apply heavy pressure on top so that the towels can soak as much liquid as possible. It is important to dry the area because trapped moisture can give rise to mildew, which may in turn lead to crumbling.
Cleaning The Leather Using An Enzyme Cleaner
Water or club soda may not be enough in getting rid of urine stains. This is because the urine contains uric acid that does not dissolve easily in water. Water or baking soda will get rid of other urine components like urea and urobilin. In fact, after you have cleaned the leather with water, you may be deceived that the urine smell and stains are gone. But when the area is exposed to humidity, salts of the uric acid begin to crystallize again and you are faced with the same problem. To get rid of the uric acid, you need to include an enzyme cleaner in your cleaning process.
After cleaning the affected area with water and blotting it with towels, soak the area with your enzyme cleaner. Let the cleaner do its work for around 15 minutes. Then blot as much of the cleaner as possible and leave the area to dry. The enzymes work by breaking down the uric acid into ammonia and carbon dioxide gases. These gases evaporate easily and should not be a problem.
If the urine smell persists, sprinkle small amounts of baking soda and let it stand for two hours. Then vacuum the area.
For multiple or persistent stains, work with a furniture upholstery company to have your couch cleaned or repaired.
Share11 May 2016
While I was still married my house was a mish mash of both of our tastes in furnishing. Now that we have seperated I am finally getting a chance to decorate my house the way I wanted it. I have a couch that is truly comfortable and looks good, rather than the smelly old couch that used to live in our lounge room. It's so much more relaxing to walk into my house and enjoy looking around. I'm reading furniture catelogues like I used to read novels and researching like crazy. Join me on my redecorating adventure by reading along!