How to get urine out of a sofa

What to check before you start

• The fabric or material, if you know it. This guide covers fabric sofas and upholstery; for leather or any other material, follow its maker's care guidance instead
• Your sofa's care label and the manufacturer's instructions. Some care labels use letter cleaning codes; if yours does, follow the instructions attached to that code
• Whether the urine is still wet or has dried, and roughly how large the area is
• Whether it's fixed upholstery or a removable cushion, and whether the cover is removable or fixed
• Whether the liquid seems to have reached beneath the surface, into the cushion or filling
• Removable isn't the same as washable. A cover, a cushion and its filling may each have their own care instructions, and this guide doesn't cover washing any of them
• Whether anything has already been used on the mark, and what
• Any colour transfer or visible change to the fabric, such as a ring, a patch that feels different, or flattened pile

Sofa care guidance varies with the fabric and the construction. We read UK guidance published by DFS, Sofology, sofa.com, Loaf, Furniture Village, Next, M&S and HG on 20 September 2026, and the common starting point is your own sofa's care instructions. Most of these are retailers that sell sofas, and HG sells its own cleaning products, so treat their pages as maker-side guidance rather than independent testing. We haven't tested any of it ourselves. Guidance can change, so check the current instructions for your sofa.

If the urine is still wet

1. Check what was affectedLift off loose cushions or removable covers where you can, so you can see how far the urine has gone. Don't assume it stopped at the surface.
2. Absorb what you canPress clean, dry cloths or towels onto the area, using a dry part each time, until little more comes up.
3. Blot, don't rubPressing or dabbing lifts liquid out. Rubbing can push it further in and can damage or alter some fabrics, particularly pile fabrics such as velvet.
4. Pause before adding liquidMore liquid can leave the fabric and cushion wetter without shifting what's left. Add only what a product's instructions and your sofa's care guidance allow.
5. Check the care guidance before using a cleanerRead the care label and the maker's instructions first. If you can't find any, or you don't know the material, take extra care rather than assuming a product is fine.
6. If a compatible product is suitable, use it sparinglyPatch-test it on a hidden area where appropriate, follow its label, and apply a small amount with a cloth rather than pouring cleaner over the sofa. Don't scrub or soak.
7. Let the treated area dry before reassessingGive it airflow, and judge the mark and any smell only once it has dried. The drying section below explains why.

If the urine has already dried

Dried urine isn't a fresh spill. Start by looking at what remains: a visible mark, a smell or both, and how far across the fabric it reaches.

Then check your care label and the maker's instructions before choosing anything. The working order is: look at what remains, check the care guidance, choose only an option that's compatible, use only as much moisture as it actually needs, let it dry, then reassess.

Don't automatically wet the area again. Some product labels do tell you to dampen the area, but that doesn't override your sofa's own care instructions, and a product has to be compatible with your sofa before its label is worth following.

Liquid may have travelled beneath the visible fabric, so a mark or smell at the surface may not be the whole picture. Complete removal can't be guaranteed. If a careful attempt hasn't improved things, reassess before repeating it, because each further attempt adds moisture.

If it may have reached the cushion or filling

A removable cover isn't automatically a washable one, and a cushion or its filling can have different care requirements again. Check each part's own label and the maker's instructions before treating anything.

If urine has passed through the fabric, cleaning the surface may not address everything underneath it. That's our own cautious reading rather than something we can measure, and we can't tell how far the liquid has gone. If the cushion feels damp beneath the surface, treat that as a reason for more care, not more liquid.

We don't give a method for washing foam or other filling; that belongs to the maker's instructions. If a lot of the filling seems to be affected, or the guidance isn't clear, reassess before adding any more liquid.

Human, dog or cat urine: does it change anything?

Whether it's human urine, from a child's or an adult's accident, dog urine or cat urine, the guidance that matters most is your sofa's. Care instructions are written around the material and the construction, and the same cautious approach applies to all three. Products marketed for pet urine exist, but whether one suits your sofa still depends on the maker's guidance and the product's label. This guide covers cleaning only, not health advice.

If urine has also reached a mattress or a carpet, those are covered separately: see how to get urine out of a mattress, and, for a pet accident on carpet, how to remove dog or cat urine smell from carpet.

What about urine removers, enzymes, bicarbonate or vinegar?

Urine and odour removers. Some are enzyme-based and some are oxygen-based. Neither kind is automatically suitable for every sofa, so both the product's label and your sofa's care guidance matter. No product can be promised to remove urine completely.

Enzyme cleaners. Whether one suits your sofa depends on its fabric and the maker's guidance. We can't say an enzyme cleaner is needed, or that it will remove the urine completely. If you use one, follow its label and patch-test first where appropriate.

Bicarbonate of soda. Some sources describe it as a dry treatment for smells. We treat it as secondary, not part of the core method. If your sofa's guidance allows dry use, we can't give a dwell time that suits every fabric, and vacuuming isn't suitable for every fabric either, so check how yours says to remove it.

White vinegar. It's widely suggested online, but the guidance conflicts, and what suits one fabric can affect another. That's why we don't give a mixture. Your care label and the maker's instructions come before any household recipe.

Bleach, and mixing products. We don't recommend bleach on upholstery, and you shouldn't mix cleaning products.

Do you need a spot cleaner or upholstery machine?

Not automatically. Some machines are marketed for upholstery, but that doesn't mean every sofa fabric suits one, and an extraction machine adds liquid as well as removing it.

Your sofa's care guidance comes first, and the machine's own instructions matter too. Whatever you use, avoid over-wetting: the more liquid goes in, the more there is to dry, and a cushion or its filling may hold on to it.

Steam depends on the material and the maker as well. We don't say steam sanitises or removes urine, and we don't recommend a particular machine for this.

Let it dry before you judge the result

Give the treated area plenty of airflow, in a well-ventilated room.

There's no drying time we can responsibly give: it depends on how much liquid there was, what the fabric and filling are made from and the room. Time passing doesn't prove the cushion or filling is dry, and we haven't found a reliable household way to check inside one. So don't keep adding moisture just because the surface looks dry, and when in doubt, allow more time rather than less.

Judge the mark and any smell only once the treated area has fully dried.

If the smell comes back once the sofa has dried, liquid may have reached deeper into the cushion or filling. That's a reasonable inference, not something we can confirm. If the problem is now a smell that persists after cleaning and drying, our guide on why a sofa can smell after cleaning covers that separately.

When to stop, and when to consider a professional

The aim is not to create a larger upholstery problem while trying to remove the urine. Stop, or at least pause and reassess, if:

• The fabric is getting progressively wetter rather than drier.
• Colour is transferring onto your cloth.
• The pile or texture starts to change.
• Watermarks or rings appear.
• The care instructions rule the method out, or you don't know what the material is.
• Liquid may have reached a substantial part of the cushion filling, in which case adding more may make things worse.
• Repeated careful attempts don't seem to be improving the result.
• The smell returns after the sofa has dried, which may mean the liquid went deeper.

Judge the result once the area is completely dry. Complete removal isn't guaranteed, and a second attempt isn't automatically the next step.

A professional upholstery cleaner may be worth considering if the material is unknown, your care guidance is restrictive, fixed upholstery is heavily affected, the area is extensive, deeper filling may be affected, or repeated safe attempts haven't worked. We can't say a professional will get a better result, or that it's always the safer choice. Check your sofa's care instructions and any warranty or protection terms first, particularly before using liquids, chemicals or machines.

Related guides

If you're not sure the mark is urine, or it's a different kind of stain, our guide on how to get stains out of a fabric sofa is the better starting point. If the sofa smells after cleaning rather than showing a mark, our guide on why sofas can smell after cleaning covers that. If you're wondering whether a carpet or spot cleaner suits the sofa itself, our guide on whether you can use a carpet cleaner on a sofa covers that.