At 03:00am on Sunday night, I was soaking in the tub, getting ready for bed, when I suddenly heard Tim yelling in a panic from our bedroom. He had gone to bed hours before me, so it was all a bit of a shock. It turns out that in his sleep he had rolled over and woken up when his foot had touched something wet in the bed. One of our dogs had been sick all over the foot of the bed, and it had soaked right through the duvet, sheets and into the mattress…
Chances are, if you are reading this, you are in the midst of dealing with this very issue, so let’s dive right into what to do to thoroughly clean a mattress that has been saturated with vomit.
Step 1
Use paper towels to remove as much vomit as you possibly can.
Step 2 (For animal vomit)
If you are dealing with cat or dog vomit, after Step 1, use a specialist product if you have one, such as Simple Solution for pet accidents, to treat the affected area. This usually involves soaking the area with the solution and allowing it to sit for at least 10 minutes. Remove as much moisture as possible using old towels or rags. Follow the rest of the instructions as for human vomit.
Step 3
For human vomit, skip Step 2, and dilute some biological washing powder in warm water and pour over the affected area. If you do not have any biological washing powder, try diluting a powerful soap such as Castile soap, or even dish soap. Leave for at least 10 minutes. Next, grab a basin of warm water and soak old towels or rags, then wring them out as much as possible. Press the damp towel onto the affected area as hard as you can to soak up the liquid in the mattress, and rinse in clean warm water. Repeat as needed until no soapiness remains.
Step 4
Fill a basin of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part cold water. White vinegar is a mild disinfectant and also an excellent deoderizer. The smell of the vinegar will dissipate, don’t worry!
Soak old towels or rags in the basin, then wring out as much as possible. Press the towels into the affected area as hard as you can. Rinse in basin. Repeat as necessary.
Step 5
Liberally sprinkle baking soda over the affected area and leave overnight. Baking soda is a powerful deodorizer and will remove unpleasant odours.
Step 6
Vacuum up the baking soda and grab a handful of old towels. Place the dry towels over the affected area and press as hard as you can/stand on them, to try and soak up as much moisture as possible from deep inside the mattress.
Step 7
Place a dehumidifer close to the mattress and turn it on to remove any remaining dampness. You can also use a hair dryer or a powerful dog blaster to dry the mattress more quickly. Do not replace any bedding until you are certain the mattress is fully dry.
These are the steps I followed to clean up our mattress, and it took hours but it worked! The mattress smells 100% clean and there is no stain at all – which was a big relief because our mattress is only a few months old!
In between all these steps, the bedding was loaded into the washing machine, and I cleaned the goose down duvet following the same steps as for the mattress, except that I did it all in the bath tub, which made it easier to wash and rinse. (Being a Super King size, it would not fit in our washing machine).
I moved our Dry Soon heated clothes rail into our bedroom to hang up the duvet, so it would be near the dehumidifer. To further speed up the drying process, I used the dog blaster on Hot to help dry both the mattress and the duvet.
So, if you suddenly find yourself having to deal with a situation like this, just follow the steps above as calmly and thoroughly as possible, and all will be well.
And Lila? She was fine. Once she had a little something to eat and drink to settle her stomach, she went back to sleep, and awoke in the morning, all bright and breezy, with a big grin all over her cheeky face 🙂
