Your couch is one of the most important parts of your living room. Each day, you get to spend a bit of time lounging on the couch after work.
You want to enjoy your time and relax by watching some TV or playing a game. This is why it’s terrible when something happens that causes the couch to get dirty and smell.
If you or one of your children vomited on the couch while being sick, it might have a stain on it. Worse than that, the smell of vomit might linger.
Is there a reliable way to get the vomit smell out of a couch? Keep reading to get some ideas that will help you to get your couch smelling good once again.
1 – Try Airing the Room Out
Before doing anything else, you could try airing the room out. This might seem a bit too obvious, but many don’t think to give this a shot.
After cleaning the vomit up, you can open windows in the living room. See if airing the room out is able to eliminate the strong vomit smell.
It might also be wise to open the doors up for a little while if possible. Get the air flowing into the room so that it will smell fresher.
This is always an option when you’ve spilled something stinky or you’re otherwise dealing with unpleasant odors. If this doesn’t work to eliminate the smell completely, you can move on to more complex methods of odor removal.
2 – Take Your Couch Cushions Outside
It’s likely that the couch cushions came into contact with the vomit. The cushions themselves might be what you’re smelling.
Try taking the couch cushions outside to air them out. Put them out on your deck or porch for a while so they can air out.
Exposing the cushions to sunlight will eliminate bacteria. So long as your couch has removable cushions, you should consider airing them out in the sun for six hours.
The sunlight will disinfect the cushions, and they will smell much better. Depending on how severe the smell is, this might work well enough to solve your problem.
3 – Try Using Air Fresheners
Air fresheners might be enough to get the smell out of the room. You can spray air fresheners on the couch and near the couch to try to make things smell nicer.
The only downside is that you’re only masking the smell. You aren’t truly eliminating the smell when you use air fresheners.
This means that the smell might come back when the air fresheners wear off. These sprays aren’t strong enough to get rid of vomit smells on their own.
They can still be useful, though. You might want to try using air fresheners in the room after using some of the odor-eliminating methods below.
4 – Use Baking Soda
Using baking soda is one of the most practical ways to deal with the vomit smell. Baking soda is capable of absorbing odors, and it’s going to be very useful in this situation.
This method should work whether your couch is made out of a fabric material or leather. Simply sprinkle baking soda on the area of the couch where the vomit was located.
Once the area has been covered properly, you must wait for one hour. You have to give the baking soda time to soak up the vomit smell.
Get a vacuum cleaner of some sort and remove the baking soda from the couch. After you’ve sucked the baking soda up, the couch should smell substantially better.
This is a simple and reliable method for getting rid of the vomit smell after someone has an accident. It should be possible to use baking soda to get rid of other types of odors as well.
5 – Baking Soda, Liquid Soap, and Hydrogen Peroxide
Is the smell particularly strong? If you have a couch that smells strongly of vomit, the baking soda method described above might not be quite enough to fix things.
In this instance, it’s a good idea to use baking soda in conjunction with liquid soap and hydrogen peroxide. Ideally, you should use a type of scented liquid soap.
You’ll only be able to do this if you have a fabric couch. It’s also only a good idea to do this if your couch is safe to be cleaned with a solvent, and you can check this by looking at the tag.
To get started, mix hydrogen peroxide, liquid soap, and baking soda together. Use two cups of peroxide, two drops of liquid soap, and two tablespoons of baking soda.
Put this liquid mixture in a spray bottle for the sake of convenience. Spray it on the parts of your couch that smell like vomit.
Let the couch dry and see if this spray method improved the smell. If the smell isn’t gone yet, spray it again and then let it dry once more.
This is a good method that should rid your couch of the vomit smell. It’s perfect so long as you have a fabric couch that is safe to spray.
6 – White Vinegar Can Also Be Used
White vinegar can be used instead of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish liquid. You can make a spray using white vinegar and water.
This is a good option when you have a couch that’s made out of leather. It should also help if you have a suede couch.
Simply mix one cup of white vinegar with four quarts of water. Put the liquid mixture into a spray bottle and spray the impacted area of the couch.
After the couch dries, the smell should be much better than before. It’ll freshen things up and get rid of the vomit smell nicely.
7 – Coffee Grounds Can Help
Coffee grounds can be used to get rid of smells that have seeped into your couch. If you have coffee grounds sitting around, this should seem like a convenient option.
The strong smell of the coffee grounds will help them to deodorize your couch. To do this properly, you’ll need cheesecloth as well as coffee grounds.
Put dried coffee grounds on the cheesecloth. Now put the cheesecloth with the coffee grounds in the same room as the couch.
Try to find a good spot for the coffee grounds that’s near the couch. You could try to set it close to where the vomit incident occurred.
It should freshen up the room within an hour or so. This method works well and you don’t actually have to put coffee grounds on the couch.
If you don’t have cheesecloth, you could try putting the coffee grounds on a nearby table. Another option is to use pantyhose.
Some have put coffee grounds inside of pantyhose and tied the hose off. This keeps the grounds from getting out, and you can then place the pantyhose near the couch.
8 – Buy a Commercial Odor Removal Spray
Commercial odor removal sprays exist that can get rid of vomit smells. This is an option for those who don’t want to go to the trouble of mixing up a homemade spray.
There are all sorts of odor removal sprays on the market to choose from. You want to specifically buy a spray that can remove odors and not one that will simply cover the smell up with a more powerful scent.
These odor-killing sprays will work well on fabric couches. Spray the parts of the couch that smell and everything should smell fresh again soon enough.
It’s good to have a spray like this around in a pinch. It’ll be very helpful when it comes to eliminating other common odors such as pet smells.
9 – Use Fabric Softener and Water
Is the smell still lingering a bit after you’ve cleaned things up? Another idea to try to eliminate the smell is to use a fabric softener.
This method involves putting liquid fabric softener in a bowl with some water. Mix it up a bit and let it sit in a bowl.
Place the bowl in the room with the couch and leave it alone overnight. In the morning, you might find that the smell is completely gone.
This is a good way to get rid of strong odors. It isn’t necessarily better or worse than using odor-eliminating sprays, though.
To do this properly, use one or two caps full of liquid fabric softener. It doesn’t matter what type of bowl you use, but be sure that you put enough water in the bowl.
10 – Try Using an Upholstery Steam Cleaner
If the smell is really stubborn, it might be deep in the fabric of the couch. When you had a significant vomit incident on your couch, it can be challenging to clean things up completely.
Thankfully, it’s possible to get good results by using an upholstery steam cleaner. If you have such a steam cleaner in your home, using it is going to be an easy choice to make.
Otherwise, you might wish to rent a steam cleaner from a local store that has them. Of course, you should only try to steam clean a couch that is going to survive the process.
A couch needs to be safe to use solvents on and it needs to be safe to use water on the couch. Many types of fabric couches are safe to be cleaned using upholstery steam cleaners.
If you’re not sure about the status of your couch, it’ll be best to check the tag. This will give you the information that you need.
It’s also important to note that you want to use an upholstery steam cleaner. Don’t use a normal steam cleaner on your couch because those are meant for carpets.
Use the upholstery steam cleaner as instructed. Clean the pillows and cushions first before moving on to the frame.
This should help you to get rid of the vomit smell. Your couch will smell significantly nicer once you’re done.
It’s likely wise to go ahead and steam clean the rest of your furniture as well. This is assuming that your other furniture pieces are safe to be cleaned in this fashion.
11 – Call for Professional Help
If all else fails, you can always call for professional help. Sometimes you might not wish to go to the trouble of cleaning things yourself.
When you don’t have a lot of time, it’ll be easier to call professionals to clean your house. They have the right equipment and expertise to get your couch smelling nice again.
The problem with this idea is that it might be rather costly. If you don’t want to spend much cash, it’ll be better to use the methods listed above.
When money isn’t an issue, it’ll be easy to call professional cleaners. They can do more than just clean your house as well if you happen to be interested in a full house cleaning.
Final Thoughts
You should be able to get rid of the vomit smell using the methods above. There are many different things that you can try.
Depending on the type of couch that you own, some of these ideas will be better than others. You might not be able to do certain things to your couch safely depending on what material it’s made out of.
Luckily, there are so many options that you’ll be able to figure things out. You can try simply airing the room out or airing out the couch cushions in the sun.
If that doesn’t work, it’ll be wise to attempt to remove the smell by using baking soda. Other good options include using an odor-eliminating spray as well as using white vinegar and water.
Those who have a tough time getting rid of the smell might need to use an upholstery steam cleaner. This can deeply clean the couch and get rid of stubborn smells.
If all else fails, you can call experts from a local cleaning company to take care of things. They will get your couch looking and smelling nice again.
Decide which option you like and then go for it. In the future, you’ll know what to do if someone accidentally vomits on your couch.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.