How to Clean Your Mattress Safely & Effectively
Cleaning & taking care of your mattress is not just about regularly washing the sheets, there’s much more to it!
- June 26, 2020
You may think you’re taking great care of your mattress as long as you regularly wash your sheets, but there’s actually much more to it.
You probably spend six or seven hours on it every night. During that time, dust, dead skin cells, sweat, and oil from your body can make their way onto it.
Despite linens and mattress pads, you still need to periodically clean the thing you sleep on every night—at least once every six months if you sleep on it nightly.
Here some of the best tips for cleaning your mattress so you can rest assured that your bed is clean and you can sleep easy.
Step 1. Vacuum the Mattress
After removing your sheets and mattress cover, the first thing to do is take a quick pass with a vacuum cleaner across the top and sides of your mattress.
Use the upholstery tool on your vacuum cleaner. It’s a good idea to do this every couple of months or more often if someone in the family suffers with allergies. Go over the top and sides of the mattress and as much of the box spring as you can access. Press down firmly on the tool to draw out dust beneath the fabric’s surface. Then use the crevice tool to get into the quilting, along the edge welting, and where any pillow top is attached.
Vacuuming regularly can help keep your mattress from harboring dirt, allergens, and more.
Step 2. Spot Clean To Remove Stains
There are different stains that may get left behind on your mattress, especially If your pets sleep with you or you like to snack in bed,or the stains may be of bodily nature (sweat, urine, blood).
When you’re not able to clean them as soon as they happen, they can cause discoloration on your mattress.
To remove stains from your mattress, here are a few options:
Use a cleaner:
The type of cleaning solution to use is directly related to the type of stain you’re treating.
If your stain is biological – think blood stains or urine stains – then an enzyme cleaner like OxyClean is your best bet. An enzyme cleaner can break down proteins in biological agents.
If you prefer a more natural approach, you can also mix up a DIY cleaner by combining liquid dish soap and water or by mixing equal parts cold water and hydrogen peroxide.
Blot the stain:
To use it, lightly spray the stain — or a cloth — and dab the stain working from the outside edge towards the center to keep the stain from spreading, then let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
Then, take a separate clean cloth or a few paper towels, wet with cold water and continue to blot. Rotate your cloth to a clean area as it picks up the dissolved stain to keep from depositing it back onto the fabric.
Step 3. Use Baking Soda + Essential Oils
Baking soda is like a little miracle in a box. It gives you many of the same benefits as airing out your mattress, but it’s much simpler.
Also, essential oils would help in eliminating odors that are bound to emanate from your bed over time because of the sweat and urine that may be left behind — especially when you have kids and pets around.
Sprinkle a light layer of a mix of baking soda & essential oil (15-20 drops) over the entire surface and let it sit for a long time — at least a few hours. You can use a sieve to sprinkle the baking soda properly.
The baking soda + essential oil mixture will absorb any excess liquid from the stain removal process, and leave your mattress smelling fresh and clean. Vacuum off the baking soda, making sure to get into any crevices to remove the powder taking away dust, odors, and nastiness with it.
As for the essential oil, among those that we recommend are ylang-ylang, lavender, sandalwood, and chamomile.
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Step 4. Air Out Your Mattress
Sunshine is nature’s great disinfectant. If you can leave your mattress outside for a few hours, the UV rays will help kill any bacteria or mold present in your mattress.
Plus, it will smell amazing after being outside in the fresh air for a few hours. Some mattress sizes are easier to move than others – if you can’t get your mattress outside, try opening your windows to let some natural light into the room.
Step 5. Use A Mattress Protector
Another trick to prolonging your mattress’ life is to use a mattress protector. This will encase your mattress to not only to keep the bed bugs and dust mites from making a home out of it but also can help prevent stains. You can protect your mattress from accidental spills and dirt accumulation using a mattress protector.
Step 6. Flip the Mattress
Now that side one is spotless, flip the mattress and repeat steps 1-5 so both sides are equally fresh and clean. Flipping, of course, should be done at regular intervals, whether you’re deep cleaning the mattress or not.
The conventional wisdom has been that people should flip their mattress every three months, but that rule of thumb only applies to spring mattresses because they compress over time.
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