No matter how thoroughly I clean or with what, it’s ALWAYS there. There surely must be something I can do. He wears an external catheter and pull on absorbent underwear.
I've heard every method and never found one to work. My step fathers bed reeked, tossed it out the window from the 2nd floor right into a dumpster...that worked.
Odoban is a commercial cleaner that removes all kinds of odors. I use it for cleaning surfaces and also pour a cup into the laundry. Febreze and other air fresheners really do nothing to eliminate odors, it just perfumes the air for a short time…A good scented candle helps a bit more, but must be monitored. Buy a good ‘black light” flashlight to help you determine where the smells are coming from. (Both help with pet odors also) Although this can be difficult, daily bathing and clean clothing is crucial. Even more difficult is getting hair/head thoroughly washed, but whew, a lot of lingering stink comes from there! Best of luck.
I bought a Homedics air cleaner that I keep near my husband's hospital bed. I have asked members of my family to let me know if they get even a whiff of the urine smell that usually accompanies incontinence. To this date, after more than a year of home care, no one has reported it.
In addition to cwillie's reply, here is an article relating to "old person smell". It permeated my parents house and there was no urine in carpet or the furniture. The fact that my elderly parents did not bathe or shower daily was the cause. Plus they never really opened the windows for fresh air unless it was SUPER hot outside, which wasn't often.
My in-laws were the same ages as my parents and their house did not have this smell. I truly believe it was because they showered daily. Plus they regularly opened the windows in the Spring, Summer and Fall to let fresh air into the house. It was like night and day. Both my Mom and MIL did have some urinary incontinence but managed it with Depends pads. Wet pads were discarded immediately in plastic grocery bags and thrown outside in the trash. Neither house smelled of urine. Just the nonenal smell (in my parents house) was the issue. I always supplied them with Glade linen spray and I used it all the time when I went over there, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stay long.
Here's an article on it: "Old People Smell"... What is It? https://www.franklinpark.org/blog/old-people-smell/#:~:text=As%20our%20skin%20matures%2C%20its,of%20us%20are%20familiar%20with.
If urine gets deep into upholstery or carpet under pads - and sometimes even into the wooden sub floor - it's very difficult to remove completely. Enzyme cleaners like nature's miracle can help, they have a low-foaming formula that is designed to be used with any water-based carpet cleaning machine or steam cleaner.
Bed pads (you can get them from Amazon) and I use them on chairs too.
To get the urine smell out I add baking soda and detergent to the “sanitize” cycle of the washing machine.
Sometimes I also add “Rockin Green Active Wear” which has “filth fighter enzymes” and that combo gets it smelling clean followed by Lysol spray in the room. I also have a waterproof bed cover on the bed.
I agree with others if urine has gotten into the bed or furniture there’s nothing to be done but throw it out.
In my experiences with this situation--besides making mother shower more frequently and taking the time to really wash the 'undercarriage'--we tried and tried to clean the carpet and the 'soft' furnishings--the couch, mom's recliner.
I could not believe the dirt that came out of those items! Sadly, her antique bedroom set had gotten permeated with the scent of urine and although I actually inherited this set--my super-nose could still smell the urine. I knew could not have it in my home.
If urine has soaked through the pads and into the wood subfloor you are never going to get the smell out unless you pull up the carpet and pad and paint the affected floors with KILZ. I did 5(!) coats of KILZ in my daughter's condo before the urine spots from an incontinent dog no longer leached through the floors.
Best to have a non-slippery hardwood, or better yet, linoleum down as flooring. Mom did not live long enough for us to do this.
I always felt so bad that mom's place smelled so awful. She would not open windows for ANYTHING, so it just got so stuffy--and layer upon layer of smells were what we were smelling.
And once the apt was emptied ( all her clothes were pretty pungent) and the carpets pulled up--and windows left open for a week--there is now no smell.
Weirdly, I found the smells to be the hardest to deal with. I have a really great sense of smell and what I could smell and what YB could smell were vastly different.
Good morning! Carbon based products work best to remove smells like that. Look into a product called Diaper Dust for your trash can and the soiled pads/depends to start. It's sold on Amazon but you can get it cheaper on the website. I know a lot of people that have had good success with it.
Febreze and other air fresheners really do nothing to eliminate odors, it just perfumes the air for a short time…A good scented candle helps a bit more, but must be monitored.
Buy a good ‘black light” flashlight to help you determine where the smells are coming from.
(Both help with pet odors also)
Although this can be difficult, daily bathing and clean clothing is crucial. Even more difficult is getting hair/head thoroughly washed, but whew, a lot of lingering stink comes from there!
Best of luck.
My in-laws were the same ages as my parents and their house did not have this smell. I truly believe it was because they showered daily. Plus they regularly opened the windows in the Spring, Summer and Fall to let fresh air into the house. It was like night and day. Both my Mom and MIL did have some urinary incontinence but managed it with Depends pads. Wet pads were discarded immediately in plastic grocery bags and thrown outside in the trash. Neither house smelled of urine. Just the nonenal smell (in my parents house) was the issue. I always supplied them with Glade linen spray and I used it all the time when I went over there, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stay long.
Here's an article on it:
"Old People Smell"... What is It?
https://www.franklinpark.org/blog/old-people-smell/#:~:text=As%20our%20skin%20matures%2C%20its,of%20us%20are%20familiar%20with.
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/old-person-smell-174839.htm
To get the urine smell out I add baking soda and detergent to the “sanitize” cycle of the washing machine.
Sometimes I also add “Rockin Green Active Wear” which has “filth fighter enzymes” and that combo gets it smelling clean followed by Lysol spray in the room. I also have a waterproof bed cover on the bed.
I agree with others if urine has gotten into the bed or furniture there’s nothing to be done but throw it out.
I could not believe the dirt that came out of those items! Sadly, her antique bedroom set had gotten permeated with the scent of urine and although I actually inherited this set--my super-nose could still smell the urine. I knew could not have it in my home.
If urine has soaked through the pads and into the wood subfloor you are never going to get the smell out unless you pull up the carpet and pad and paint the affected floors with KILZ. I did 5(!) coats of KILZ in my daughter's condo before the urine spots from an incontinent dog no longer leached through the floors.
Best to have a non-slippery hardwood, or better yet, linoleum down as flooring. Mom did not live long enough for us to do this.
I always felt so bad that mom's place smelled so awful. She would not open windows for ANYTHING, so it just got so stuffy--and layer upon layer of smells were what we were smelling.
And once the apt was emptied ( all her clothes were pretty pungent) and the carpets pulled up--and windows left open for a week--there is now no smell.
Weirdly, I found the smells to be the hardest to deal with. I have a really great sense of smell and what I could smell and what YB could smell were vastly different.
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