How To Clean A Dog Bed That Can't Be Washed

What y'all need

Paper towels: Employ these to clean up hairballs and other pet messes.
Pet stain remover: Zip beats the cleaning and odor-elimination power of the Nature's Miracle lineup of products for dog and cat messes.
An old toothbrush and hydrogen peroxide or hand lather: Use these to remove dried-on or tough stains.
Laundry detergent: Pets are sensitive to smells, so opt for Tide Ultra Stain Release Free, which is fragrance-free without compromising on cleaning power.
A vacuum cleaner: To remove pet hair and dirt, it's best to use an upright with a hose attachment, like the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352, or a handheld vac that'south excellent at sucking up whatsoever matted mess.

Optional (merely recommended)

A pet-hair remover: When information technology comes to cleaning a pet's bedding, the ChomChom Pet Pilus Remover is portable, reusable, and easier to maneuver than a vacuum cleaner.
Washing machine: If the bedding volition fit in the wash, save yourself the headache of cleaning information technology by mitt, and toss information technology into the machine instead.

How long will this take to clean?

Small beds for cats and some dogs can be cleaned in a couple of hours. Only prepare to invest some time in treating stubborn stains and truly scouring large dog beds. These big beds oft take longer to clean.

Remove the pet fur

A person holding a handheld vacuum over a fabric covered in pet hair. — Photo: Kaitlyn Wells

Before you launder your pet's bed, remove any fur buildup, dirt, and other debris. Catch a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment, such equally the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352, or a handheld model with enough of suction power, like the Black+Decker 20V Max Lithium Pivot BDH2000PL. In a compression, y'all tin can also use a reusable lint roller to pull up pet hair and debris. I'm a big fan of the ChomChom Pet Hair Remover betwixt deep cleans. It never fails to wrangle the seemingly innumerable strands left behind by my domestic longhair true cat, Tanzie.

Pretreat any stains

For pet beds with removable shells, unzip the shell from the stuffing. This volition allow you lot to run into how deep the stain penetrates, so you can pretreat it without leaving any mess behind. It's best to wipe upwards whatever fresh messes with a paper towel prior to removing fur buildup. Just for caked-on stains, you may find it easier to vacuum upwardly the fur before treating the surface area. Pet stains should be thoroughly soaked in the cleaning solution for 20 minutes and blotted up with a paper towel.

I recommend pretreating pet urine, feces, blood, vomit, and other messes with Nature'due south Miracle Advanced Stain and Scent Eliminator lineup for dog messes and cat messes. These are designed to penetrate stains and remove all traces of smell, including the marking pheromones pets release while relieving themselves. Saturate stubborn stains in Nature'due south Miracle for a few minutes, scrub them away with a toothbrush, and let them dry overnight. If I'g actually worried about the stain, I'll again saturate the blotch with stain remover before leaving it to dry. The bacterial enzymatic solution volition break downwardly and remove the smear and offending odor equally it sits.

Wash and dry

A washing machine with a bottle of detergent on top of it and a basket full of clothes ready to be washed. — Photo: Michael Murtaugh

Follow the manufacturer's instructions when it comes to washing the bed. If none are provided, you tin probably safely toss the bedding shell on a larger bed (or an entire bed for small dogs and cats) in the washing automobile on a cold bicycle, or on the warmest wheel the textile and stain tin can handle. (Always care for blood stains with cold h2o, and make sure the stains are removed before putting the fabric in the dryer. Estrus will prepare them.) Opt for a dye- and aroma-free detergent, like the Tide Ultra Stain Release Complimentary, since pets are highly sensitive to smells. Run it on the spin cycle 1 more than time to remove whatsoever moisture the bed's batting may have trapped.

Finally, tumble dry the bed on low estrus to limit textile shrinkage or batting bunching, and don't use whatever dryer sheets. Similarly, wash a big bed in the bathtub past soaking it in a warm bathroom with some laundry detergent for thirty minutes. Then thoroughly rinse and wring out whatsoever h2o and soap residue earlier allowing information technology to dry out in the sun.