How to Clean a Dog Bed (Foam, Covers and All)

What goes wrong

Quick answer: Strip and machine wash the cover in cold water on a delicate cycle, vacuum the foam core instead of soaking it, and let everything dry fully before reassembly. Foam inserts almost never go in the washer or dryer — nearly every orthopedic bed on the market says so in its own care label, including the EHEYCIGA and Patas Lague beds below. Budget a full day for drying, because a damp foam core is how beds start smelling worse after a wash than before.

Before you start: find out what you actually own

Dog beds fall into two cleaning categories, and treating one like the other is what ruins them.

Type A — removable cover over a solid foam slab. Anything described as "orthopedic," "egg crate foam," or "memory foam." The cover washes. The foam does not.

The best how to clean a dog bed for your situation depends on how you plan to use it and where.

Type B — one-piece stuffed bed. Crate pads and donut beds filled with fiber or shredded fill. These often go in the machine whole, if the size allows.

Check the zipper. If there's a zip along one or more sides, you have Type A. If there's no zipper and the whole thing squishes evenly, you likely have Type B. When in doubt, the sewn-in tag wins over anything you read online.

The step-by-step

1. Vacuum first, always. Hit the bed with an upholstery attachment before any water touches it. Hair plus water equals felted mats that never come out. Go along the seams and under the bolsters where hair packs in. Gotcha: Skipping this is the single most common mistake. Wet hair also clogs your washer's drain pump.

2. Unzip and pull the cover off. On beds with multiple zippers, like the three-side zip on the BFPETHOME Orthopedic Washable Large Dog Bed for Senior Dog Comfy Sleep, open all of them before wrestling the foam out. Forcing a partly-unzipped cover is how zipper teeth pop. Gotcha: Take a photo of how the foam sits inside before you remove it. Bolstered covers have a specific orientation and you will forget.

3. Pre-treat stains and pee spots. Use an enzyme cleaner, not a general-purpose spray. Enzymes break down the uric acid that makes urine smell come back on humid days; detergent alone just masks it. Let it dwell for 10–15 minutes. Gotcha: Don't use bleach. The EHEYCIGA care instructions specifically say do not bleach, and bleach reacting with urine ammonia makes the smell worse anyway.

4. Wash the cover cold, gentle, alone. Cold water on a delicate cycle is the instruction printed on the EHEYCIGA cover, and it's the safe default for any laminated or waterproof cover. Wash it by itself — a bed cover is bulky and needs room to move. Gotcha: No fabric softener. It coats the fibers and degrades water-repellency on covers that have a laminated waterproof layer, like the Bedsure Orthopedic Dog Beds Large Sized Dog with Removable Washable Cover.

5. Deal with the foam separately. Vacuum both faces. For spots, blot with a barely-damp cloth and a little enzyme cleaner, then blot dry with towels. Press, don't scrub — scrubbing tears the cell structure of egg crate foam. Gotcha: Do not submerge it. The EHEYCIGA instructions say do not machine wash or dry the foam core; the Patas Lague Orthopedic Large Dog Bed Pet Sofa Beds 36''X24'' Black states the egg crate foam is not washable. Waterlogged foam takes days to dry and grows mildew in the middle where you can't see it.

6. Dry low, or don't dry at all. Tumble dry low is the EHEYCIGA instruction; the Patas Lague cover is listed as machine wash and tumble dry. High heat shrinks covers just enough that they no longer fit over the foam, and it can delaminate waterproof films. Gotcha: Air-dry the foam with a fan pointed at it, on its edge so air hits both faces. Give it a full 24 hours before you call it dry.

7. Reassemble and reshape. Work the foam into the corners first, then the bolsters. The EHEYCIGA instructions call for reshaping as needed after washing.

Keeping a bed clean between washes (and your own bed too)

The searches that land here often aren't just about the dog bed — they're "how do I keep my bed clean living with dogs." Same principles:

• Put a cheap washable blanket or towel on top of the dog bed and swap it twice a week. That's a 5-minute laundry load instead of a full teardown.
• Vacuum the bed every time you vacuum the floor.
• Wipe paws at the door. Most of what ends up ground into a bed walked in.
• Wash covers monthly as a baseline, weekly if the dog has allergies, skin issues, or is incontinent.
• For your own bed: a dedicated top sheet the dog is allowed on, pulled off and washed separately, keeps the hair off your actual bedding.

Spec and care comparison

When the fix is a new one

Sometimes the bed is past saving — the foam is compressed flat, or urine reached the core and nothing pulls the smell out. Check current listings and owner reviews yourself before buying; care details and available sizes change.

EHEYCIGA Orthopedic Extra Large Dog Bed, Waterproof Washable XL Pet Bed 44" — spelled-out care instructions

KSIIA Washable Dog Bed Medium Size Dog Crate Bed Plush Pet Mat 35"x23" Gray — whole bed in the machine

BFPETHOME Orthopedic Washable Large Dog Bed for Senior Dog Comfy Sleep — zippers on three sides

Bedsure Orthopedic Dog Beds Large Sized Dog with Removable Washable Cover — laminated waterproof cover

Patas Lague Orthopedic Large Dog Bed Pet Sofa Beds 36''X24'' Black — machine wash and tumble dry cover

Bedsure Calming Dog Bed Medium Size Dog Donut Washable Pet Bed,30ins Camel — washability depends on size

FAQ

Can I ever put foam in the washing machine? Treat it as no. Both the EHEYCIGA and Patas Lague listings state the foam is not washable. Beyond the care label, agitation shreds egg crate foam and a saturated slab holds water in the middle for days. Vacuum it, spot-treat it, fan-dry it.

How do I get the smell out when washing didn't work? The smell is almost certainly in the foam, not the cover. Spot-treat the foam with an enzyme cleaner, blot dry hard with towels, then dry it with a fan for 48 hours. If it still smells, the core is done — replace the bed or the insert.

How often should I wash a dog bed? Monthly for a healthy adult dog that mostly stays clean. Weekly if there's incontinence, skin conditions, allergies in the house, or a dog that comes in muddy. A swappable blanket on top stretches the interval a lot.

Does a waterproof cover mean I can hose the bed down? No. Waterproofing on these is usually a film or laminate protecting the foam from above, and coverage is partial — the EHEYCIGA listing notes the sides aren't waterproof. Water introduced from the outside can still reach the core through seams and zippers.

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