Last updated: August 15, 2026
How to wash a dog bed depends almost entirely on what is inside it: a bed with a removable, zippered cover goes straight in the washing machine on a cold or warm gentle cycle, while a one-piece bed, a stuffed pillow style, or a dense foam core each need a different approach so you do not ruin the thing you are trying to clean. Get the method wrong and you either shrink a cover, leave urine odor locked in the foam, or turn a bed into a lump of waterlogged stuffing that never dries right.
This guide walks through washing a dog bed by type: machine washing with a removable cover, what to do without one, hand washing, beds with loose stuffing, and the specific problem of getting urine smell out rather than just moving it around.
Quick Answer
How do you wash a dog bed?
- Removable cover: unzip it, shake off loose hair, and machine wash on cold or warm gentle with a mild, unscented detergent.
- No removable cover: spot clean and vacuum regularly, and hand wash the whole bed when it needs a full clean.
- Stuffed or foam-core beds: check the care label first; solid foam usually should not go in a machine at all, since water trapped inside foam is very hard to dry out fully.
- Never use bleach on a dog bed. It does not neutralize urine odor and can irritate paws and skin on contact.
Washing Method by Bed Type
Match the row to what is actually inside your dog’s bed, not just what the outside looks like. When in doubt, check the care tag before the first wash.
| Bed type | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Removable zippered cover | Machine wash cover, spot clean or vacuum the insert | Cold or warm gentle cycle, mild detergent, no fabric softener |
| One-piece bed, no cover | Hand wash or machine wash if the label allows it | Check weight and size against your machine’s capacity first |
| Stuffed or pillow style | Hand wash preferred; machine only if labeled washable | Loose fill can clump and take days to dry if soaked through |
| Solid orthopedic foam core | Wash the cover only; wipe or spot clean the foam | Saturated foam traps water and rarely dries completely at home |
| Crate pad | Machine wash, most are thin enough to dry fast | Good candidate for a more frequent wash schedule than a full bed |
Machine Washing a Dog Bed With a Removable Cover
If your dog bed unzips, this is the easy case. Remove the cover, shake it out over a trash can or outside to knock off loose hair, and check the care label for the manufacturer’s recommended setting before you improvise your own. Most covers tolerate a cold or warm wash on a gentle or delicate cycle far better than hot water, which can shrink synthetic fabric and set stains rather than lift them.
Use a mild, unscented detergent, since heavy fragrance can bother a dog’s nose more than yours, and skip fabric softener, which coats fibers and can reduce how well the fabric wicks moisture. Wash the cover on its own or with a few old towels rather than with your regular laundry, both for hygiene and because pet hair loves to migrate onto everything else in the load. A cold rinse or a second rinse cycle helps clear detergent residue that can otherwise irritate sensitive skin.
Washing a Bed Without a Removable Cover
A bed with no zipper is not automatically hand-wash-only, but it does need more caution. Check the tag first: some one-piece beds are labeled machine washable if your machine is large enough that the bed can tumble freely rather than sit balled up in a corner of the drum, which leaves parts unwashed and rinsed poorly. If the bed is oversized for your machine, or has no care label at all, hand washing is the safer default, covered in the next section.
Between full washes, spot cleaning and regular vacuuming keep a coverless bed presentable and buy time until it genuinely needs a soak. A stiff brush and a pet-safe fabric spray handle surface hair and light odor without a full wash cycle every week.
How to Wash a Dog Bed by Hand
Hand washing suits large beds, delicate fabrics, and anything your machine cannot handle without risk. Fill a bathtub or large basin with cool or lukewarm water and a small amount of mild detergent, submerge the bed, and work the water through by pressing and kneading rather than scrubbing hard at the fabric. Focus extra attention on discolored patches and any area with a lingering odor.
Drain, refill with clean water, and press the bed repeatedly until the rinse water runs clear of soap, since leftover detergent left in the fibers is a common reason a “clean” bed still smells slightly off once it dries. Press out as much water as you can before moving to drying, rather than lifting a fully saturated bed, which strains seams and stitching.
Washing a Bed With Stuffing or a Loose Pillow Insert
Beds with loose polyfill stuffing are the trickiest to wash a dog bed with stuffing well, because soaked fill clumps, migrates to one end, and can take several days to dry fully in the middle even after a spin cycle. If the label allows a machine wash, use a large-capacity machine, a gentle cycle, and add a few clean towels to help balance the load so the stuffing does not bunch to one side of the drum.
Whatever the wash method, drying is the part that decides whether the bed survives. Break up clumps by hand every hour or two while it dries, whether on a line or on a low dryer setting, and do not put a partially damp stuffed bed back into use, since fill that stays wet at its core is a fast route to a musty smell and, in humid climates, mildew.
Getting Urine Out of a Dog Bed
Washing a dog bed with pee on it needs one extra ingredient: an enzymatic cleaner, not just detergent. Ordinary laundry soap lifts visible stains and general odor well, but urine leaves behind uric acid crystals that regular detergent does not fully break down, which is why a bed can look and smell clean right out of the wash and then start smelling again once it gets slightly damp from humidity or a dog’s next nap. Pre-treat the soiled area with a pet-specific enzymatic cleaner, let it sit for the time the product label suggests, then wash as usual.
For a cover that has absorbed urine repeatedly over time, or a foam core that has been soaked through, a single wash may not fully resolve the smell. If odor persists after a proper enzymatic treatment and a full wash, the cause is usually urine that has reached the foam itself rather than just the fabric, and our guide to why a dog bed still smells bad after washing walks through what to do next. And if you are unsure how often this whole process should happen in the first place, see how often to wash and replace a dog bed.
Common Mistakes When Washing a Dog Bed
- Using bleach. It does not neutralize urine odor at the chemical level that matters and can irritate a dog’s skin and paws.
- Washing in hot water. Heat can shrink covers, set protein stains like urine and drool, and degrade foam faster than cool water.
- Skipping the rinse cycle. Leftover detergent in the fibers is a common reason a freshly washed bed still smells faintly off.
- Machine washing solid foam. A saturated foam core is extremely hard to dry out fully at home and can develop mildew inside.
- Overloading the machine. A bed balled up in one corner of the drum does not rinse evenly and can throw the machine off balance.
- Using regular detergent on urine stains. Without an enzymatic cleaner, uric acid crystals often survive the wash and resurface as odor later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What setting should I wash a dog bed on? A cold or warm gentle or delicate cycle suits most covers and machine-washable beds. Hot water risks shrinking fabric and setting stains rather than lifting them.
What temperature should I wash a dog bed at? Cool to warm water is the safe default for both fabric and foam. Save hot water for situations the care label specifically allows.
Can you wash a dog bed with bleach? No. Bleach does not break down urine odor the way an enzymatic cleaner does, and it can irritate a dog’s skin and paws through residue left in the fabric.
How do I wash a dog bed without a removable cover? Check the care label for machine wash eligibility first; if the bed is oversized for your machine or has no label, hand wash it in a tub with mild detergent and rinse thoroughly.
How do I wash a dog bed with stuffing inside? Wash on a gentle cycle in a large-capacity machine if the label allows it, then break up the stuffing by hand repeatedly while it dries so the fill does not stay clumped and damp at its core.
Why does my dog bed still smell like pee after washing? Regular detergent often does not fully break down uric acid crystals. An enzymatic cleaner applied before washing usually resolves it; if the smell persists, it may have reached the foam core.
The Bottom Line
Wash a dog bed the way its construction demands: covers in the machine on cold or warm gentle, one-piece and stuffed beds by hand or on a careful cycle if labeled washable, and foam cores wiped rather than soaked. Use an enzymatic cleaner on any urine before washing, skip the bleach, and dry stuffed beds fully before they go back into use. Get those pieces right and a dog bed can go through years of washes without the smell winning.