Removing Cat Urine Odor from Fabric

When a cat pees on the towels on the floor in the laundry room, you may be tempted just to throw them out. After all, the smell is horrendous, and nothing will ever get it out, right? WRONG! Turns out, removing that awful odor is simple and cheap. The secret is plain old white vinegar. Put your yucky items in the washing machine, add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar, depending on the size of the load, and set the time for Extra Wash or your machine's equivalent. Allow the machine to fill with water. Stay by it or it will go into the next part of the cycle and you don't want that yet. As soon as the machine is full of water, stop it and allow the items to soak for a while--at least 3 hours. If the odor is really bad I sometimes do this right before bed and leave them overnight. When the soaking is done, add your detergent and start the machine again. Usually your smell problem will be completely gone after this, but if it's not, BEFORE you put anything in the dryer, repeat the vinegar soak and washing process. If you dry the clothes while they smell of cat urine, that odor is going to be kind of baked in and I can't guarantee that it will be removable!
Now you've cleaned your clothes and they smell nice and fresh, and you haven't spent a fortune, which is good, because you may need to spend one on a cat psychologist to find out why the cat is peeing on your towels! Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for the cute picture.