My spouse has incontinence. Both bladder and bowel. I smell pee all the time. The odor is overwhelming. I have tried over and over to show them the toilet. It just doesn’t work. I try to control the odor but it lingers. I have al the supplies for discarding the soiled diapers and do so immediately out to the garbage in the garage. Double bag it too. I Try to change them often sometimes they resist. I smell it in the bed that we share even though it’s padded on their side. The laundry is tremendous keeping up with sheets and clothes. I use disinfectant cleaners, Lysol spay super size dog pads on my bathroom floor. This all gives me the most stress. Do others have this problem and what do they do about keeping their homes from smelling like a nursing home?
I am so sorry. I wish you the best of luck. You aren't alone in this problem.
For personal use I would put some essential oils on a scarf .
Sorry you are going through this, best of luck
But if and when he got up at 3:00 a.m. to pee and he had already soaked through everything, pj's, pads, blanket and the like, I would immediately throw everything in the wash. Yes even at 3:00 a.m.
And I have to say that my house never smelled like pee or a nursing home.
Even the EMT's who had to come on a regular basis for a while to pick my husband off the floor after he'd fallen, always commented how good my house always smelled. Now I did and still do use Glade plug-ins to keep my house smelling fresh and good.
And even when my husband became bedridden the last 22 months of his life and the hospice aides were only coming twice a week to give him a bed bath, and my hired aide who came in the mornings to put him on the bedside commode to poop right there in our living room, my house never smelled. After putting about 6 inches of water in the bedside commode, I would put several squirts of Poo-Pourri in the water and never had an issue with my living room or house smelling like poop.
So long story short, you may want to try throwing your spouses pee/poop soaked clothes and bedding immediately in the wash after they soil them even if it's at 3:00 a.m.
And perhaps having a bedside commode right next to their side of the bed so they don't have to travel far, might be helpful as well.
I know that the incontinence issue can be a deal breaker for some, and it's ok if it is for you as well.
And if that is the case, you may want to start looking into the appropriate facility to place them in.
I wish you the very best as you try and get this all figured out for the both of you.
Or see if there is a janitoral supply store near you. They have everything.
and order a black light from Amazon because I suspect things are leaking out and on to the floor and possibly soaking in.
There are also enzyme type washing detergent that really eat up biological things.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Cleaning+products+for+human+urine&rh=p_72%3A2661618011&dc&crid=15YACCRG6AUW1&qid=1728933021&rnid=2661617011&sprefix=cleaning+products+for+human+urine%2Caps%2C330&ref=sr_nr_p_72_1&ds=v1%3A0OwbSFl1SKTIrJ2DFLwTlNeFOQkH3SNB6VXbQGpUBFE
Above is a link to the highest rated urine odor remover products on the market currently.
The following is a link to Medline Extrasorb chuck pads which you lay down on furniture and on your husbands bed.
https://www.amazon.com/Medline-EXTSB3036A350-Extrasorbs-Disposable-DryPads/dp/B00BL6FUX4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=50X7OMNVWEEE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WRFx4xqz8dmdISzg68HDLbuV4zLQl51LhgnEzCokvIMh3Q0_B0M8fH59nXGdh_nnPM_oNJZuaTOkUaP9hW9gjD_kZYjJ3e-nz4qSygCSRsWIaGwfj4CmoePOrlLTMrx9LKqerP_xFjnS7x-Y8t1PTfEiDtmoAughk2ZmSjsUmx5Ps-fcN73KWUWd8cnyrZHv9Q6BwzwTM7kOe29dsEDvMCgDgIhhP0__dGRLQXv4v3QBxizwIidNUvnt7qBG_XaIEcqVhV0buryG1Fe_P53pMVktuoo3-l70uk-fp3IwcAQ.quP0Y5vanGXNLSeveg8iZkQH04Repi2J4viEuXsEkuQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=medline+ultrasorbs+bed+pads&qid=1728933380&rdc=1&sprefix=Medline+%2Caps%2C250&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Also, use vinegar and Oxi Clean Odor Blasters in your laundry washes each time.
An Ionic Air Purifier is particularly good at removing odors in a room. Imo, as it EMITS a bit of an ozone odor itself, not unpleasant. Many different models are available on Amazon, of course.
I would personally move into another bedroom to sleep in peace if this were me, because I have a very strong sense of smell. Or at least sleep in a different bed in the same room so you're not directly exposed to urine or feces. Caregiving is hard enough w/o that thrown in! You need restful sleep, my friend. My DH has sleep apnea and RLS so he moved into the spare room years ago. It has nothing to do with love, but with quality sleep in older age. I'd have been fine moving to the spare bedroom myself, it's beautiful, he just chose to move himself.
If you hit this issue on ALL fronts with these suggestions, you should be rid of the odors permanently and hopefully.
Wishing you the best of luck with a difficult situation.
Change out carpeting to vinyl floors.
Keep cans of lysol everywhere.