TL;DR
A fabric pet playpen mildews if it is folded away damp, so drying it open matters more than how hard you scrub. Vacuum the mesh and the floor panel first, spot clean with unscented soap and as little water as you can, rinse thoroughly, then stand the pen open until every seam is dry.
Two very different products share one name
Check which kind of pen you own, because the methods barely overlap.
Fabric playpens. A soft-sided octagon or square with mesh windows, a sewn-in floor, and a zip door, held up by a frame of poles or wire. These absorb everything and need washing.
Metal wire panel pens. Interlocking wire panels with no floor. These only need wiping and rinsing, and they dry in minutes.
Plastic panel pens. Solid interlocking plastic panels. Wipe or hose, rinse, dry.
The fabric type is the one that causes problems, so most of this covers that. Wire and plastic pens are covered near the end.
What builds up in a fabric pen
The floor panel takes the worst of it, since that is where a puppy eats, sleeps, chews and occasionally has an accident.
The mesh traps hair and dust in the weave. The bottom few inches of the side panels collect splashed water and food. Zips collect hair and stop running. And the seams collect everything, which is where the smell concentrates.
Fabric pens are also used most heavily during house training, which means urine is a routine part of the job rather than an occasional accident.
How do you clean a fabric pet playpen?
Vacuum the mesh, the floor, and the seams with a crevice tool, then spot clean marks with a cloth and warm water with unscented soap, wrung out hard. Treat urine with an enzyme-based pet cleaner, rinse each cleaned area with a damp cloth, and dry the pen standing open.
The step-by-step routine
1. Empty it and take it outside. Beds, pads, bowls and toys come out and get washed separately.
2. Shake it out and vacuum. A crevice tool along every seam, over the mesh from both sides, and across the floor panel. Dry hair removal first saves a lot of scrubbing.
3. Dry brush the fabric. A rubber brush lifts embedded hair that a vacuum leaves behind.
4. Spot clean with unscented soap. A cloth or a soft brush and warm soapy water, wrung out hard. Work the marks rather than soaking the whole panel, since less water means a faster dry.
5. Treat urine with an enzyme cleaner. Blot first, apply the product, let it stay wet for the time on the label, then blot with clean water. Enzymes break down the compounds causing the smell rather than covering them.
6. Clean the mesh gently. A soft brush and soapy water, supported from behind with your hand so you do not push the mesh out of shape. Mesh tears easily and a hole in a puppy pen is an escape route.
7. Rinse by wiping. A cloth rinsed in clean water, passed over every area you soaped. Residue stiffens fabric and can irritate skin.
8. Do the zips. Brush hair out of the teeth, rinse, dry, and work the zip a few times.
9. Dry it standing open. Fully assembled, somewhere with moving air, for a day. Do not fold it until every seam is dry.
Can you machine wash a fabric playpen?
Usually not. The frame poles and wire supports damage a drum and get bent themselves, and the sewn-in floor makes the whole thing too bulky for most machines.
Check the label. If the manufacturer says the cover is removable and washable, follow their instructions and use a cool cycle with unscented detergent, no fabric softener, and air drying.
Otherwise it is a hand job. A bathtub works for a heavily soiled pen: fill it with warm soapy water, work the fabric through it, drain, rinse with clean water several times, press the water out, and then dry it standing open for a day or two.
Never machine dry a fabric pen. Heat shrinks the fabric around a frame that does not shrink, which puckers the panels permanently.
What not to use
Chlorine bleach. It weakens fabric and fades color, and it must never be combined with ammonia, which is present in urine, or with vinegar or any other acid. Those combinations release chloramine and chlorine gas, and a puppy pen has ammonia in it by definition.
Fabric softener. Leaves a coating and a lingering scent on something an animal sleeps in and chews.
Scented sprays and essential oils. Many essential oils are toxic to cats, and birds are extremely sensitive to fumes. Nothing scented belongs in an enclosure an animal cannot leave.
Heavy soaking. Slow drying is the whole problem with fabric pens.
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center guidance on household hazards for pets
Wire and plastic panel pens
These are simple. Wipe every bar and joint with warm soapy water, paying attention to the horizontal bars where debris sits and the hinge pins where grime binds up.
Rinse with plain water, either with a cloth or a hose outdoors, and dry with a towel so metal does not rust. Coated wire chips over time, and exposed metal rusts, so touch up or retire panels that are chipping.
Check the latches and the hinge pins on every panel, since a pen that comes apart is a containment failure. The same latch-and-hinge check applies to household barriers, described in how to clean a pet gate.
How often should you clean it?
Vacuum and spot clean weekly, do a full clean monthly, and treat any accident immediately rather than letting it dry in. During house training, expect to clean far more often.
Always clean and fully dry a pen before storing it, since a folded damp pen develops mildew smell within days and that smell is very hard to remove afterward.
Wash the bedding and the floor pad on their own schedule, and wash bowls daily. If a crate tray sits inside the pen, it has its own routine in how to clean kennel floor pans and trays.
Check the mesh for holes and the frame for bent poles at the same time, and retire a pen an animal has learned to open or push over. For the rest of the kit, our guide to cleaning pet bowls, bedding, toys and gear keeps the same rules in one place.
FAQ
Can you put a fabric pet playpen in the washing machine?
Usually not, since the frame poles and wire supports damage a drum and the sewn-in floor makes it too bulky. Check the label first. If the cover is removable, wash it cool with unscented detergent and no softener. Otherwise hand wash it in a bathtub.
How do you get urine smell out of a pet playpen?
Blot the area, then apply an enzyme-based pet cleaner and let it stay wet for the time the label specifies before blotting with clean water. Enzymes break down the compounds causing the odor rather than masking them. Dry the pen fully standing open afterward.
How do you clean the mesh on a pet pen?
Vacuum both sides with a crevice tool while it is dry, then wipe gently with a soft brush and warm soapy water, supporting the mesh from behind with your hand. Rinse by wiping with a damp cloth. Avoid pressure, since torn mesh becomes an escape route.
Can you use bleach on a puppy playpen?
No. Bleach weakens fabric and fades it, and it must never be mixed with ammonia, which urine contains, since that releases chloramine gas. A puppy pen contains ammonia by definition. Use soap and water plus an enzyme-based pet cleaner instead.
How long does a fabric playpen take to dry?
About a day if you spot clean, and up to two days after a full bathtub wash. Dry it fully assembled and standing open with air moving through it, and check the seams before folding. A pen stored damp develops mildew smell within days.
How often should you clean a pet playpen?
Vacuum and spot clean weekly, do a full clean monthly, and treat accidents immediately rather than letting them dry in. House training means far more frequent cleaning. Always clean and dry a pen completely before folding it away for storage.
Pens and crates are a small part of a much larger job. Every home is different, so the real number depends on size, condition, and what you want covered. Get a quote or read more about house cleaning services.