How can I assist my client who has really bad urine odor? No matter how much soap I use or try and wash him he still smells.

Is he drinking enough fluids, especially water? Diluting the urine may help with the odor problem.

Anytime I see a posting like this about laundry and smells (doesn't matter what the source is), I have to add a WARNING to all!!!

Be VERY careful when mixing ANY kind of cleaning products together, even if in separate "dispenser" parts of the washing machine.

In particular, do NOT mix vinegar and bleach!

There were a lot of suggestions about adding vinegar, which is really more of a food item, not a cleaner, but it is recommended as a safe cleaning product:

https://www.healthline.com/health/ph-of-vinegar#testing

I have used it to cut the odor of urine on items, both for a toddler and for kitties. It's also good for cleaning glass and other items, without a lot of smelly abrasive (at least to the nose!) chemicals!

But it is the pH of it (acidic), which will react with undiluted bleach (an alkaline) to form Chlorine Gas. I found out the hard way many many years ago in a different life (training pants, smelly and also grayish due to hard well water, used both to "freshen" and whiten at the same time, ooops! Lucky for us very little was used, so we were "okay")

There are MANY products, cleaning or otherwise, which should not be mixed, so please read the instructions carefully, including the warnings, or check online first before mixing anything!!

My mother passed in 2017 RIP. Her urine was horrible smelling from meds. Put Dawn dish soap will remove the smell .wash in cold water and hang dry. It really works her aides taught me this in the nursing home. Hope this helps someone !!!

Metformin, a medicine used by many diabetics, can cause a strong urine smell. I'm sure other medicines can too. If that's causing the problem, there's not much you can do about it.
You do want to check and make sure you're not smelling either the floor or the grout in the bathroom, both of which can absorb urine and retain the odor for a long time.

”Nonenal” is the term for aging body odor. I learned that a chemical in aging skin can smell like urine... that won’t go away. Persimmon extra soap is said to help this condition. I think the soap is available online. I hope this helps!

He needs to be checked for a bladder infection.
I swear by soaking clothes in white vinegar before washing. Mix half vinegar and half water.
If the clothes have been through a dryer then sometimes the urine smell is baked in.

Clorox makes a Urine Remove product that can be used on laundry and hard surfaces.
OdorBan, I get it in the gallon size at Sam's Club but I have also seen it at other stores does a great job of removing odor and it is also a sanitizer. Smells pretty good as well. I use it for washing floors even now.
Are you using a light (and I stress light) bit of barrier cream? That does help keep the urine from getting to the skin. But a heavy coating of a barrier cream can be difficult to remove. And if you put it on pat it onto the skin don't rub it into the skin.

Clean out the washing machine first then Try putting a cup of vinegar in his wash.

You might see if he has a Urinary Tract Infection.

He should drink more water to make his urine lighter.

It could just be his meds making the smell.

Synthetic fabric holds onto odors much more, so switching to natural cotton can help a lot. Air drying clothing is very helpful. I would also line their favorite chair with a washable cover as odor can transfer. A bad urine smell can mean a UTI and it may not be the typical either. I noticed a problem with that with a parent who had acquired pseudomonas while in the hospital. Your client should be checked.

Try using OdorBan. It works for us.