These are very helpful suggestions! Thank you all for your comments. I did some research online and it was suggested that a vinegar solution along with some baking soda was good to clean the mattress and eliminate the odor. I have also purchased some borax to add to my detergent. Any more suggestions you can add is most appreciated!
I usually buy plastic mattress covers then put two sheets over them. This absolutely protects the mattress. Also there is a new product for kids who wet the bed. You can use adhesive to place them over the mattress then put sheets on top. If anything leaks, it is caught by the waterproof cover which is disposable. Stores also sell incontinence pads to place under sheets. I have always had home births and use a plastic mattress cover which keeps anything from hitting the mattress. I have a friend who solved both her problem with an older child who wets the bed as well as her mother by purchasing thin plastic table covers from Dollar General and the Dollar Tree for only $1 each. She puts them on the mattress and holds them in place with some tape. She then puts a fitted sheet over them and the bed is protected. They are thin and soft so it feels fine to the person sleeping on it. They are big and cover all that you need covered.
You can get mattress covers even at Walmart, since They are thin, I would use 2. You can get Heavy duty ones at a home health supplies Stores...or look on internet. In case something does happen, you can Order a product called urine begone or urineoff. it had enzymes that helps deordorize. Never Used them but some think they are good. The covers 30x36 are about $40 for 120 and Pull ups for $30 or diapers style about the same for 72 of them both at Sam's club. On the pull up INCLUDES shipping...the diapers Style or the pads are very reasonable shipping
My Mom ruined a mattress. It was beyond hope. The odor will never go away. Buy a new mattress and make it bullet-proof with every protective product you can find. Ask yourself if you would sleep in a polluted bed.
I will look and see the name of the incontinence sheets I have just purchased, and send it to you. Also, we have brought pull up nappies (like the ones toddlers wear, but for adults) and the full nappies with the sticky tabs on the side (like the ones for babies). We brought a urinal for my fil, after I found him using a) a fabric softener bottle with the smallest neck, so there was urine everywhere, and then b) my brand new measuring jug .... not an easy job this, is it?
@susan26, thank you for responding and your helpful suggestion. Where can I purchase these incontinent sheets? My mother doesn't own any pets, fortunately but I am sure she is at risk for attracting bed bugs. I have committed to cleaning her apartment at least three days per week including disinfecting her bedside area. I have even left a bedside urinal (plastic basin) to help her as she is still mobile but I guess she is too lazy to use it. She blatantly refuses to use her wheelchair and walker to assist her in her efforts to make it to the restroom.
I am doing all I can to "make her life simpler", but sometimes it's all in vain. She has so much "pride" and is somewhat selfish in this sense that I often become emotionally drained , a little impatient at times and indifferent. As her one and only child, I do as much as I can to be there for her as she raised me alone most of her life and made many sacrifices for my well being....but I am 39, mother of four with kids between the ages of 2-17 and it is a hard pill to swallow watching my mom slowly deteriorating.
I will try what you have suggested and I will keep you up to date. I hate to see $534 go down the drain. Mom's AD was triggered more after she suffered a head injury from a fall in an accident involving a truck. I will share more details in my next post.
sorry, I realise this was not clear: get a full incontinent sheet and put that on the bed. then place another half one over that, so she has double protection for her mattress. Urine goes everywhere!
get a full bed incontinent cover first off, and then double it with a half incontinent sheet from waist level to below her knees. make her wear nappies to bed, so she doesn't keep soaking the bed. I have just gone out and brought double stocks, so I have one in the cupboard while I am washing the other....
re cleaning up the smell: bicarbonate of soda is very good. first off, wash the mattress with a clinical disinfectant soap (hospital issue), to get the urine smell off the top part of the mattress, then take it out into the sun, and let it dry for a few hours in the sunlight, then sprinkle bicarb of soda on it very thickly where the smells/stains are. Leave it on for at least two hours.
If you have no sun, use an infra red lamp instead. Leave the lamp on for a good few hours, (not too close to cause a burn or anything, but close enough to bathe the mattress in the red glow) then put the bicarb of soda on for a few hours before vacuuming it off. Urine soaked mattresses attract fleas and bed bugs if you have pets, so make sure your pets have flea collars, etc. I would also sprinkle flea powder/animal disinfectant powder over the mattress mixed in with the bicarb of soda. Then make the bed and cover with the incontinent sheets and mini protective covers.
Also, make sure she cleans herself very thoroughly each morning, because nappy rash happens as well. Perhaps a morning shower, or bath as part of her routine?
I would do this at least every two weeks: if she is badly incontinent, maybe even once a week. Hope this helps. We have just started doing this process with my fil, who has become incontinent. Your mom is young for this, is this part of an illness?
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They are thin, I would use 2. You can get
Heavy duty ones at a home health supplies
Stores...or look on internet.
In case something does happen, you can
Order a product called urine begone or urineoff.
it had enzymes that helps deordorize. Never
Used them but some think they are good.
The covers 30x36 are about $40 for 120 and
Pull ups for $30 or diapers style about
the same for 72 of them both at Sam's club.
On the pull up INCLUDES shipping...the diapers
Style or the pads are very reasonable shipping
I am doing all I can to "make her life simpler", but sometimes it's all in vain. She has so much "pride" and is somewhat selfish in this sense that I often become emotionally drained , a little impatient at times and indifferent. As her one and only child, I do as much as I can to be there for her as she raised me alone most of her life and made many sacrifices for my well being....but I am 39, mother of four with kids between the ages of 2-17 and it is a hard pill to swallow watching my mom slowly deteriorating.
I will try what you have suggested and I will keep you up to date. I hate to see $534 go down the drain. Mom's AD was triggered more after she suffered a head injury from a fall in an accident involving a truck. I will share more details in my next post.
re cleaning up the smell: bicarbonate of soda is very good. first off, wash the mattress with a clinical disinfectant soap (hospital issue), to get the urine smell off the top part of the mattress, then take it out into the sun, and let it dry for a few hours in the sunlight, then sprinkle bicarb of soda on it very thickly where the smells/stains are. Leave it on for at least two hours.
If you have no sun, use an infra red lamp instead. Leave the lamp on for a good few hours, (not too close to cause a burn or anything, but close enough to bathe the mattress in the red glow) then put the bicarb of soda on for a few hours before vacuuming it off. Urine soaked mattresses attract fleas and bed bugs if you have pets, so make sure your pets have flea collars, etc. I would also sprinkle flea powder/animal disinfectant powder over the mattress mixed in with the bicarb of soda. Then make the bed and cover with the incontinent sheets and mini protective covers.
Also, make sure she cleans herself very thoroughly each morning, because nappy rash happens as well. Perhaps a morning shower, or bath as part of her routine?
I would do this at least every two weeks: if she is badly incontinent, maybe even once a week. Hope this helps. We have just started doing this process with my fil, who has become incontinent. Your mom is young for this, is this part of an illness?