Am I in the wrong?

[Mama95]

Hi all I’m stuck in abit of a predicament...

I went away last week for a week stayed in a hired holiday cottage, it was me and my 2 year old, this place was labelled as family and baby friendly.. arriving there it wasn’t it was open plan and my son could get into everything I didn’t complain because it didn’t bother me that much I just moved everything out of the way.
My son spilt his black currant juice in the White bedding around 3 nights before we were leaving and it got everywhere all through the mattress protector and straight to the mattress... I took it all off and searched around the town for cleaning supplies as she didn’t have any (bear in mind I texted the landlord of the place kept her in the loop and said if it doesn’t come off then I will pay cleaning charges to get them done she replied will do...) found some white vinegar and prayed it would come off got it off every bit of the bedding but the mattress I scrubbed and scrubbed but it got faint pink... I left it, out all the bedding on then the night before we left it happened again by accident so there was me at 5am scrubbing it off and trying my hardest to get it off the mattress, come 6am I left the cottage as was a couple hours distance from mine and was going to text woman around 9/10 as she said on the day that she doesn’t wake up until 12pm so thought I could wait until home and settled, was going to explain that she could charge me for the cleaning fee, I washed all bedding fresh ready for the next people and tried getting it off but alas it wouldn’t.
I’m being truthful I would have done that.
Until I got a text at 9 off her saying -
“Hi thank you for the clean bedding that’s brilliant saved me a job for the next people who are coming tonight, however the mattress is stained in multiple places on the bed so it will need replacing can you contact me for payment”
I was shocked I mean I would have understood that the mattress needed a clean a carpet cleaner would’ve got it off that’s only £30 to hire or even professionals were cheaper she was wanting £250 for a new mattress, there was nothing wrong with the mattress other than needing a clean.
Here’s the kicker there were other stains on it, sweat stains and other spills and other bits that I don’t have a clue what they were, all of them were covered up by the mattress protector...
I ended up arguing saying that the mattress was already stained showing her a photo that I actually had of the mattress because I wanted to show her it was still on there later on, which showed old stains so even had a picture of the other side which had stains on too...
She said she is going to call the police because I refuse to pay her.
Which I didn’t in a way I said I would pay for cleaning but not a new mattress because I know for sure nothing was wrong with the mattress!!

So tell me am I in the wrong?

And don't offer to pay in instalments! That's suggests you think you should pay!

Thank you @Wonderland18, I had missed the update.

I agree, send her a payment for the cost of cleaning. Don't engage with her again and let her sue you. She won't win.

Speak to the agency you booked through and ONLY through the agency. The police won’t be interested so don’t worry about that. The agency should be made aware of the threats though.

I still think you were bonkers to give your son Ribena - even if diabetic . Just a recipe for disaster. I would not give my 4 year old red coloured drinks- what a mess! However she is also being unreasonable. Just pay for a mattress clean

Apologies for the judgement on the purple drink op. Btw I'm not judging you giving them, my kids always have fruit shoots etc. Anyway I think given the medical reason, you have even more grounds to tell her to sod off.

Time to disengage with her.

I have a holiday let. A customer spilled a whole bottle of red wine on a bed. I rolled my eyes and thought what a twat I was not to have expected something like that and went and bought waterproof mattress protectors for all beds. (We put nice cotton ones over the top). Oh and never once bothered to speak with the customer.

IME family friendly means children allowed. Not that it comes with full child-proof safety features.

YABU for allowing this to happen twice. I certainly wouldn’t be keen on keeping a mattress that has been pissed on.

To get it cleaned will mean taking the mattress off, hiring people or a machine to deep clean in, allowing it to dry etc. This means no one can use it in the meantime thus losing her custom.

The cost of a new mattress may be cheaper than paying for cleaning and loss of guests for a night or two.

It would be worth you looking at your booking for the holiday cottage; if you paid a damage deposit you should be in the clear.

I had a rental house in Florida
All beds were covered with waterproof mattresses.
We had a new managing company take over as the previous one sold out to them.
We had guests in , then we went in
When we arrived first thing we did was check the beds . On One of them the mattress protector was ripped.
That was uncomfortable for the guests and not acceptable in my book.
Next thing the new management company put up their charges right across the board.
The next thing I did was sack them.
No way was I having unprotected mattresses. That is just horrible.
All bits of body fluids going through the sheets to the Mattresses
Ugh!
She should have had waterproofs on the bed . Cotton protectors aren’t good enough and you shouldn’t have allowed drinks in the bedroom.
I always like to treat rental properties better than my own
Hope you can come to an amicable agreement
Id expect £50 to pay for a professional steam clean.

Look at all the perfect parents on here! OP has explained why her little boy had the juice in bed and anyway, accidents happen, they were on holiday give the woman a break.

OP she's not going to take you to court and she's not going to get anywhere with the police. You've been reasonable and offered to pay for cleaning. She's trying to intimidate and bully you. Ignore her and don't waste another second worrying about it.