I researched the fuck out of it before buying but I never thought of this

[cimorene]

Anubis peed on my laptop bag Kånken backpack that I take to work during the summer break, but after spraying it with water and enzyme cleaner from every angle, I thought, multiple times, we thought it had passed the sniff test and it hung up empty where he couldn't reach.

But today and yesterday I definitely confirmed it still smells faintly of pee.

You can't wash a Kånken in the washing machine or use hot water or strong soap on it. I have to keep reminding myself that the reason I didn't get a pure cotton laptop bag is that they're not water resistant, but as I'm reading all these tutorials about lukewarm water and a soft brush I'm more and more like, "YOU CAN'T CLEAN CAT PEE OUT OF WOVEN PLASTIC FIBERS WITH A SOFT BRUSH AND LUKEWARM WATER!"

Apparently it destroys the treatment that makes the fabric stiffer as well as water resistant. But we might not have a choice. It's not able to be used while it smells like pee.

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

Well crap!

[cimorene]

Fortunately I won't need to tote the laptop for a month! It has a big padded shoulder bag of its own as well, I just prefer having it in my backpack when I need to take it on a long bus ride and a hike at the other end.

But I still have to go on a journey of bag cleaning and that's not fun.

[twistedchick]

If you haven't tried hydrogen peroxide, you might give it a try. It may help.

[yvannairie]

I've never had to retreat a Kånken, but textile spray that works on natural fibers should work on them just fine, right? Wash cold and retreat as needed.

[cimorene]

The internet is divided on this point. Presumably due to how it might interact with whatever is left of the original chemicals after washing? I would have to use something like that if I have to machine wash, though.

[yvannairie]

That's a fair point, some fabric sprays even recommend double- or triplewashing before treatment. I don't know if the proprietary chemicals can be that different, though, it's basically the same antistatic stuff either way.

[cimorene]

Maybe it's possible to find out more if I keep digging.

And also I guess I lose nothing by experimentation, since it's unusable as long as it still has the smell...

[yvannairie]

I hope you post about it here. I brought a recycled fabric coat which needs treatment but I've only ever had to treat softshell/technical fabric so idk if I can use the same stuff or if I need to spring for a new expensive bottle of something else >_>)

[viggorlijah]

Do you have the enzyme based pee cleaner? I have a giant bottle of it concentrated from the pet store and I’ll pre soak things before washing them so the pee scent is gone. The pet store sells several brands and I use the green one.

[cimorene]

Yeah, we're going through that at an alarming rate.