“I am not sure”, “Never”, and “A few years ago” are the answers most people are likely to give when asked the last time they cleaned their mattress.
Remember how it feels when you sleep between clean sheets?
Now, imagine how good it would feel in clean sheets on a clean mattress.
Maybe you already appreciate the advantages of a clean mattress.
But do you know the process?
Read on to find out how to clean a mattress.
Contents
How To Clean A Mattress
Of course, you will strip the bedding before beginning washing the mattress.
Consider tossing the bedding in the washing machine as you work on the mattress. It makes little sense to cover a clean mattress with dirty bedsheets.
Follow the following steps to give your mattress a good clean.
Step 1: Vacuum The Mattress
Pass your vacuum cleaner over the top, bottom, and sides of your mattress. A vacuum will suck up debris, dust, and dirt accumulated over time.
Step 2: Treat Stains
After removing dirt, it is time to deal with stains. Blood, urine, vomit, and sweat stains are common on mattresses. How you clean a stain is dependent on the type of stain.
That said, we can generalise mattress stains into fresh and dry. When cleaning a mattress after a long time, you will mostly encounter dry stains.
A home-made solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is enough to remove dry stains on your mattress. Mix baking soda and salt with water to make a thick paste.
Rub the baking soda paste over the stain and let it sit there for about half an hour. Brush off the paste and remove the residue with a wet cloth. Leave the cleaned area exposed until it dries.
If the baking soda solution does not work, upgrade to hydrogen peroxide.
Mix two parts of hydrogen peroxide and one part of dish soap. Apply this solution on the stained area by brushing it with a clean toothbrush.
Leave your stain remover on the stain for about five minutes. Wipe the area with a wet cloth and allow enough time to dry.
Step 3: Deodorize Your Mattress
Odour is the next thing you need to address when cleaning your mattress. Here, chemical deodorizers are not the solution.
These products only mask the odours with a much stronger chemical smell. Baking soda is a readily available natural deodorizer that will do the trick just fine.
Baking soda will neutralize the bad smells and even absorb the excess liquid left by the stain removal process.
Sprinkle baking soda on all sides of your mattress. You want the baking soda to reach the depth of the fabric where the foul-smelling bacteria live. So, use a scrub brush to rub it deeper.
Since baking soda does not destroy the fabric, use as much as needed. Let the baking soda sit for about 2 hours (or more if possible), before vacuuming off the mattress.
To please your sense of smell, consider scenting the baking soda. You can mix it with your favourite essential oil such as lavender.
Step 4: Air your Mattress
Air your mattress outside, in the sun. You want to speed up the drying process to avoid the growth of bacteria and fungi. Airing the mattress also removes odours.
Air drying outside is not always an option. It might be winter, or you live in an apartment setting, where there are no backyards.
You can air-dry your mattress using a fan or blow dry (change to cool setting).
Step 5: Spread Your Bed Using Clean Bedsheets
Make sure the mattress is completely dry before remaking your bed. As mentioned earlier, a clean mattress deserves clean bedding.
It Might Be Too Late For Your Mattress
When it comes to mattress cleaning, there is something like mission impossible.
For instance, it is quite difficult to remove old urine stains, chlorine bleach stains, and benzoyl peroxide (a compound found in beauty products) stains.
Furthermore, years of bed wetting will leave a mattress too smelly to deodorize.
The point is, if cleaning does not help, focus on a more achievable task: choosing a new mattress. Durability and comfort should be your top priorities when choosing a new mattress.
So, consider options such as waterbed and memory foam. In fact, why not check out these exceptional benefits of a waterbed.
How To Keep Your Mattress Clean
The dirtier a mattress is, the harder it is to clean.
For that reason, experts recommend cleaning your mattress every six months. Between the bi-annual thorough cleans, keep your mattress fresh by:
- Changing sheets at least every week
- Investing in a mattress cover
- Flipping the mattress every three months
- Cleaning stains as soon as possible.
- Air it whenever possible
- Avoid making your bed as soon as you wake up to allow moisture and odours to escape
