How to Remove Pet Odors From Laundry: A Complete Guide

Pet odors leave washable laundry through a repeatable routine: vet the care label, strip loose hair, pretreat the soiled spot, wash at the hottest safe temperature with an odor-focused detergent, add an extra rinse, and dry the item completely.

A urine-soaked blanket can smell fresh on the surface and still stink up the whole room two days later. That happens because the odor source sits deeper than a normal wash reaches — usually in residue the detergent never fully lifted, or in fabric that went back on the shelf slightly damp. The sequence below fixes that, and it works on dog beds, blankets, towels, and everyday clothing alike.

One rule outranks every other step here: skip fabric softener and dryer sheets on anything a pet touches. Odor control and pet safety pull in the same direction on this one.

What Order Do the Wash Steps Go In?

The order matters more than any single product: hair out first, pretreatment second, wash third, rinses and drying last. Skip the hair removal and you will pull a wet mat of fur into the drain.

Work through it like this:

1. Read the care label. Confirm the item is machine-washable and note its maximum temperature. Memory foam, waterproof coatings, wool, and delicate synthetics need different handling than cotton covers.
2. Strip the hair. Shake the item outdoors, or run it through a dryer’s air-only cycle with no heat. Clean the lint trap right after — that step is easy to forget and it matters.
3. Pretreat the spot. Lift any solid residue, then work liquid detergent directly into the soiled area. ARM & HAMMER’s guidance for its Plus OxiClean Odor Blasters Fresh Burst liquid is to let it sit 5–10 minutes before washing, and to spot-test an inside seam first so you don’t risk a color change.
4. Presoak if urine is the source. Cover the stain with 1 cup baking soda, or soak the item 15 minutes in warm water with 2 tablespoons baking soda, then wash normally. An enzymatic detergent is the manufacturer’s suggested alternative for breaking down tougher stain molecules.
5. Wash hot enough to matter. The label always wins over the thermometer.
6. Rinse one extra time. Leftover detergent attracts fresh soil and can irritate skin, so the extra rinse is part of the job on pet bedding, not an optional flourish.
7. Dry it all the way. Low heat or a sunny clothesline works; damp fabric lets odor bloom again, so nothing goes back in the closet until it is bone dry.

Once the item is clean, the detergent you keep on the shelf determines how well the next load performs — this roundup of detergents tested for pet odors compares the formulas that actually break down urine and musk instead of masking them.

How Much Detergent Does a Smelly Pet Load Need?

Heavily soiled or very smelly bedding needs a full cap of liquid detergent; routine maintenance loads need far less. More detergent is not automatically better — undissolved excess just lingers in the fabric.

ARM & HAMMER’s pet-bedding instructions specify a full cap of Plus OxiClean Odor Blasters liquid for the worst loads and cap level 2 for upkeep. If you use the 5-in-1 Power Paks instead, one pak covers a regular or lightly soiled load and two cover a large or heavily soiled one — and the pak goes into the bottom of the drum before the fabric so it dissolves fully.

For pet beds with removable covers, separate the cover from the padding before washing, and favor a washer without a center agitator if you have the choice. Padding that cannot go in the machine usually needs hand washing or a professional clean rather than a gamble.

When a load was especially foul, run an empty hot cycle afterward with 1 cup white vinegar — in the drum of a top-loader or the detergent dispenser of a front-loader. Your appliance manual takes precedence if it advises otherwise, and never mix vinegar with bleach, ammonia, or another cleaner.

When the Smell Survives the Wash

Odor that returns after a complete wash usually traces back to a source the laundry cycle never touched — the washer itself, the foam padding, or a spot on the floor or crate.

Check the machine first: a front-loader with a dirty gasket or a detergent drawer caked in old product can re-scent every load that passes through it. Clean those parts and run the empty vinegar cycle described above. If the removable fabric comes out clean and the room still smells, the padding or an untreated surface is the culprit, and a bulky one-piece bed may need hand washing or professional cleaning rather than another spin cycle.

Store every liquid detergent and pod in a closed cabinet well out of reach, too. Pods and liquid detergent can irritate a pet’s mouth and throat and cause serious symptoms if chewed, and no amount of stain removal is worth that risk.