White Vinegar on Fabrics

[xnovalentine]

is it safe to use white vinegar on our microfiber couch? will it damage the fabric? Lulla has clearly established it as her couch, and if i’m not in the living room she goes and pees on the couch. If i am in the living room, i no longer allow her on the couch and if i leave the room i put her litterbox right on the spot she likes to pee on to try to help with the problem, but our couch is a mess. Also, does anyone have any suggestions on any shampooers that will clean the couch? I need something relatively inexpensive but will work, and I don’t think I know anyone that has a portable shampooer.  is it possible to call a cleaning company to clean just the one couch?

[Scarlet_Rose]

You might want to check for colorfastness of the couch on an inconspicuous spot.  I am not sure if it will eat a hole or what effect it will have on the fabric (but it is acidic).  What I’ve used is a spray can upholstery cleaner called "Tuff Stuff" that I found in the car care section, that stuff gets just about everything out. You can also find some other products in the cleaning section (Woolite, Stainmaster etc.)and they work pretty good too. 

What color is your couch?  Something I also have used is Nature’s Miracle to get the pet stains and odor out. With anything, check with color fastness and bear in mind that microfiber is a synthetic fiber.  The thing with the spray can is that it can take a while to do and you scrub with a damp sponge but it beats having to rent something to clean or hiring someone to come out and clean it.  As for them coming out to just do the couch, you’ll probably have to call around to find that out and get a few quotes, my guess is that it will be expensive. After cleaning, I recommend that you might use a stain resistor product that you can also find with water resistance and treat those areas where Lulla pees. Do keep her out of the room from fumes and take cushions outside if possible to air out and also during treatment.

[xnovalentine]

hm great suggestions — it didint even occur to me to scrub the couch myself haha. we may actually have some “tuff stuff” around here, my boyfriend is a mechanic and we have tons of car cleaning products. I was using 409 carpet cleaner for the spots on the couch but i found that it leaves a stain where i tried to clean up the pee. my couch is a light tan – so everything shows up in it. thanks again for the suggestions!!!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hey no problem! Also another great cheap stain remover, hydrogen peroxide. Works wonders on fresh red wine stains and fresh blood too. Since it is light tan, Borax (found in the laundry section) is also effective in getting out stains they have a booklet online for suggestions on treatment and it’s cheap too! Hints from Heloise is a good place to check out as well for ordinary household products for use in cleaning on the thrifty as well.

[MooBunnay]

I also have a microfiber couch – and I have used vinegar on it a couple times and have not had any problems. My couch is more of a dark tan however. Is there still a pee stain after you use vinegar on it?

[xnovalentine]

i havn’t tried the vinegar, and i wanted to see if anyone else had before i did. If it works for you, I might try it to see what it does for us. We want a new couch anyway… haha!

[babybunsmum]

what’s microfiber?  i have a chenille couch that’s a medium green color & i use vinegar / water (with eucalyptis oil drops in it for smell) on it for cleaning & freshening all the time.  tho i’ve never scrubbed a stain spot, i’ve never had a prob yet and i spray it on to rub & get the hair off.  i find it works better than the vacuum.

[cerise]

White vinegar *may* bleach the fabric, so test it on the skirting or the back or somewhere that you don’t mind if it bleaches.

What I’ve done before is clean microfiber with a special microfiber cleansing solution (available in furniture cleaning sections or in furniture stores), and then to get rid of the animal pee smell, I’ve used this stuff –> http://www.zorbx.com and it removed the smell (without bleaching/staining) so that my animals weren’t lured by the pee smell.  (You may have to use several applications over the course of a week or longer, depending on how much pee is in the couch cushions.)

Have you tried ‘fencing’ the couch off by sitting the cushions ‘up’ so that it makes a barrier (when you’re not using it)?  Your bun may get mad at first, but it can keep the couch relatively pee-free.

The trick to getting an animal to stop peeing on furniture is to remove every trace of previous peeing from the furniture and that can be very, very difficult since even when we can’t smell anything — they can!  It may take months or longer of working with something like the zorbx stuff to really get rid of every trace of smell, and even one accident can mess up the process.  Honestly, I suggest blocking the couch off for a VERY long time while you work to keep it clean & get rid of the smell.

Don’t let your bunny up on the couch with you, either, because sometimes they do get nervous and will pee on you or the couch if they think they can’t jump down safely!

[MooBunnay]

ooooo hmmm – what a smart thought – I never thought that the buns might pee on couches or beds because they might be too scared to jump off, but that is an excellent point – thanks! Cerise – you seem like quite the experienced bunny owner – how long have you had your bunnies for?

[cerise]

My husband had hutch bunnies before and I had a roommate with a bunny for a long time, but Entropy (the little bunny in my avatar) is ‘our first’ bunny together — and she’s a ‘problem’ bunny, actually.

She’s exceptionally aggressive and has a temper to rival even the most obnoxious drunk.  I researched owning a house bunny for ten years before I actually purchased Entropy (sadly, a pet store bunny.)

Due to her very temperamental nature, I can probably give oodles of ideas/suggestions/advice on how to work with difficult bunny situations.  For even the happiest of bunnies, however, there are a lot of things that I know ‘won’t work’ for training and deterring them (a can or box of coins, for example, will only work for a week or so before your bun will learn to ignore the sound.)

11215543616671.jpg

[DustBunneh'sMama]

Whenever I have to get rid of pee smells, usually from my puppy, I use a solution I learned about from a website I found for getting rid of cat pee smell..First, mix vinegar and water 1/2 & 1/2, pour it on and let it sit overnight. The next day, mix up hydrogen peroxide, 2 tbsp. baking soda, and a couple drops dishwashing soap. Pour it on and let it sit for a couple hours, then dab with clean, dry towels to absorb any excess and the color of the pee. It works like a charm and totally eliminates the smell. I have gray carpet and have never had a problem with discoloring.

Another idea would be to just block the couch with xpen panels so she can’t get to it. If you put the cushions up to block it, there may be a chance she could still jump and try to get on there and then end up falling and hurting herself. Good luck! Keep us posted…

[Author]

Messages