# Bleach getting rid of urine smell **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414 "2006-12-24T04:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doberman\_Pinscher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@Doberman\_Pinscher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doberman_Pinscher)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/1 "2006-12-24T04:16:54Z")
My dog stays in the garage during the day, and sometimes takes a leak in there leaving a god awful smell. Now my washing machine is in the garage, and when I do whites I use a ton of bleach and let it soak several hours with the lid open. This totally gets rid of the urine smell and it stays away unless the dog pees again. How does this work? I know you should not mix bleach and ammonia and urine smell comes from ammonia. What kind of chemical reaction is going on here? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/2 "2006-12-24T04:53:52Z")
Hmm…I used to live with my husband and three sons, none of whom had very good aim. So every couple of weeks I would swish down the bathroom with bleach, with the same result you have–smell gone, at least for awhile. My theory was that the bleach temporarily disabled nasal smell receptors. That was probably the wrong conclusion. Still, it worked, so I didn’t question it. (Note: two of the sons have since grown up and left home, so I don’t have to do this nearly as often.) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/3 "2006-12-24T06:36:59Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] How does this work? I know you should not mix bleach and ammonia and urine smell comes from ammonia. What kind of chemical reaction is going on here? [/QUOTE] The bleach breaks down ammonia and other noxious stuff in urine. The catch is that it generates other noxious fumes in the process, so you need good ventilation to dissipate them. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/4 "2006-12-24T09:26:35Z")
Products like [Urine-off](http://www.urineoff.co.uk/urineoff.html) claim to do the same job, and they have all sorts of nifty explanations on the site about what urinesmell really is and how they get rid of it. But I can’t say I really believe those explanations. I used the product and I am somewhat unimpressed by it. I’ll try bleach next time. ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/5 "2006-12-24T10:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Products like [Urine-off](http://www.urineoff.co.uk/urineoff.html) claim to do the same job, and they have all sorts of nifty explanations on the site about what urinesmell really is and how they get rid of it. But I can’t say I really believe those explanations. I used the product and I am somewhat unimpressed by it. I’ll try bleach next time. [/QUOTE] How could they have passed up “Piss-off” when naming their product? ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/6 "2006-12-24T14:35:43Z")
[QUOTE=buns3000] How could they have passed up “Piss-off” when naming their product? [/QUOTE] **Buns** , that was brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/7 "2006-12-24T17:19:05Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] My dog stays in the garage during the day, and sometimes takes a leak in there leaving a god awful smell. Now my washing machine is in the garage, and when I do whites I use a ton of bleach and let it soak several hours with the lid open. This totally gets rid of the urine smell and it stays away unless the dog pees again. How does this work? I know you should not mix bleach and ammonia and urine smell comes from ammonia. What kind of chemical reaction is going on here? [/QUOTE] **Train him/her to use a litter box!** ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/8 "2006-12-25T03:28:42Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] I’ll try bleach next time. [/QUOTE] Who’s mis-pissing in your new house? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/9 "2006-12-25T20:08:03Z")
Here’s something that worked in the factory, where there were sometimes urine smells that would cause your head to jerk back. We’d apply straight floor stripper, and mop it off after some dwell time. It worked because the stripper was the most alkaline thing we were allowed to use, and it would soak into the grout to neutralize the acid urine. In the home, you aren’t under OSHA, so you can use more intense alkalines, even lye. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/10 "2006-12-25T21:32:09Z")
[QUOTE=Doberman Pinscher] I use a ton of bleach and let it soak several hours with the lid open. [/QUOTE] I hope you’re not doing this when the dog’s in the garage, especially without ventilation. It can be very irritating. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/11 "2006-12-25T21:55:02Z")
My family always used vinegar to scrub a stain and counter the odor, not bleach. It seemed to work. But the best solution I’ve found is to get rid of the pets. Now I have a lot of vinegar and no use for it except in salads. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleach-getting-rid-of-urine-smell/385414/12 "2006-12-26T03:54:52Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] Now I have a lot of vinegar and no use for it except in salads. [/QUOTE] So you’ll never really know whether someone’s been peeing in your salad.