The fabric is the easy part; if the liquid has reached the upholstery foam, the smell may stay or come back even after cleaning. We clean at your home in Riga and the Riga region, a sofa from €35, smell treatment from €15 extra. Send a photo, write how long ago it happened, and a specialist will tell you what to expect.
What to do in the first hour
- Blot Gently dab with a clean, absorbent cloth or paper, without rubbing. Change the cloth until it no longer gets wet.
- Cool water, not hot If needed, lightly dampen the cloth in cool or lukewarm water and keep blotting. Hot water can set the stain.
- Do not soak A large amount of water carries the liquid deeper into the upholstery.
- Avoid ammonia To a cat it smells of urine.
- Do not heat Do not dry with a hairdryer or put it on a radiator.
More on the first steps: what to do about urine on a sofa or bed.
Fresh, old or repeated: the difference in the result
| Situation | What you can usually expect |
|---|---|
| Fresh, small, blotted at once | the stain usually comes out, the smell often lessens |
| Dried, but a single incident | what you can see usually lessens, the smell depends on the depth |
| A large amount, gone through the fabric | the smell may stay, because it comes from the foam |
| Repeated, old, in one place | cleaning has a limit: the upholstery or the sofa may have to be replaced |
This is not a promise but a guide. International Cat Care writes that heavily soaked fabric should be thrown away if possible, because it stays attractive to the cat even after cleaning. No source gives a numerical limit for foam, so we do not name one either.
Material from a feline veterinary association says the smell area can be up to three times larger than the visible stain. That applies to cat urine, but it explains well why cleaning only the visible spot may not be enough. Checked 07.11.2026.
Why the smell may stay
Foam holds liquid and is hard to dry. Mattress manufacturers warn that moisture can stay in the core, and sofa upholstery often contains similar foam. So there may be a smell under the fabric even when the surface looks clean. Check by bending down to smell the spot once it has dried.
The smell may also come back, so we say that before the work. More about the smell: urine smell in a sofa.
What usually comes out and what may stay
Usually comes out
- the visible stain on the fabric, especially a fresh one;
- smell from the top layer;
- a yellowish edge, if it is not old.
May stay
- smell from the foam, if the urine has gone through;
- an old yellow stain on light fabric;
- a smell that returns after a while;
- a ring around the spot, if it was soaked earlier.
How much cleaning urine from a sofa costs
A sofa is priced by size: a two-seater from €35, a three-seater from €45, a corner sofa from €50. Smell treatment costs extra, from €15. The minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45. Travel is included in Riga and up to about 15 km outside Riga; further out it is from €10. The price depends on size, fabric, how dirty it is, smell and distance, and we agree it before the work. A specialist will tell you before the work what to expect from smell treatment. All prices.
Sources
- Fresh liquid: blot with a cloth in cool water, not hot, do not soak checked 7 November 2026
- Blot, do not rub checked 7 November 2026
- Smell area up to three times larger; do not use ammonia checked 7 November 2026
- Heavily soaked fabric stays attractive even after cleaning checked 7 November 2026
- Foam can hold moisture in the core checked 7 November 2026
- Cat urine marks contain extra substances checked 7 November 2026