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It is recommended that everyone should have enough sleep daily to maintain excellent physical health and improve concentration and productivity. To have a good sleep, you will need to have a good mattress. In fact, you spend about a third of your life on your mattress. However, it should be kept clean, but many people forget to clean it regularly. The seldom-used living room sofa perhaps is cleaned more times compared to your mattress, which should not be the case. You might not know how to clean a mattress, but this article has got you covered. It highlights the various tools and steps on how to clean a mattress.
What Is A Mattress?
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Everyone sleeps on a mattress which is a large, rectangular pad that is used to support your reclining body as you sleep. Mattresses are designed to be used as a bed or on a bed frame, typically as part of a bed. A mattress comprises a quilted case made of heavy cloth and contains straw cotton, straw, hair, foam rubber, or even a framework of metal springs.
They can also be filled with water or air, and you can select one based on affordability and preference. In most instances, mattresses are placed on top of a bed base, which is solid, for example, when a platform bed is used, or elastic, such as when an upholstered wood and wire box spring are used.
Why Clean Mattresses?
A clean mattress promotes a pleasant and productive night sleep. Besides that, your mattress will last longer and doing so may prevent nasty, and typically costly, pest infestations. In the past, mattresses could be flipped over and the conventional wisdom was to do it twice a year, at which point one would take that opportunity to clean the mattress. Today, most mattresses, including the pillow-top variety, cannot be turned as they are designed to have a proper top and bottom.
However, cleaning your mattress remains a good rule of the thumb. You should check the mattress label instructions and guidelines since the manufacturer might have recommended rotating the mattress head to foot to ensure that the wear is even.
Cleaning your mattress is vital if you live in a humid environment since yours has a higher likelihood of retaining sweat and moisture even after you get out of the bed. Besides, if you have pets or small children, your mattress could contain stains you do not even know are there.
Do You Know What Is in Your Mattress?
Humans shed about 1.5 grams of skin daily. That amount is enough to feed a million dust mites. The mites can cause allergy issues, which is why it is important to clean your mattress. In fact, your mattress alone could be home to 10 million dust mites, according to the American Council of Science and Health.
Mildew, mold, sweat, blood, urine, and other bodily fluids are commonly found in and on mattresses. Unless you always have a shower before retiring to bed at night, your mattress might contain oils, dirt, and trace chemicals from various toiletries and even pollen. Once these substances accumulate, they can cause a variety of diseases such as colds.
Before chucking your mattress out the door in disgust, it may be a good idea to give it a good, deep clean. It is impossible to stick your mattress in the washing machine, but you can clean it without too much effort. The next section explains how to clean a mattress.
How To Clean A Mattress
Before you clean your mattress, you need to first strip the bed and launder your linens. You should also wash and dry your mattress pad first, then the bed sheets, and finally your duvet, comforter, or bedspread. Ensure that you check the manufacturer’s labels first. Use hot water and a dryer heat setting that is allowed and recommended since heat will kill dust mites in your bedding. While the dryer and washer take care of the bed sheets and duvet, now turn your attention to your mattress. We recommend you take the following measures.
Vacuum The Mattress
This is the first step on how to clean a mattress. The vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment is the best tool for cleaning the mattress. For effective vacuuming, start at the top of the mattress and work your way down in overlapping but narrow paths. Then you should vacuum the sides of the mattress in the same way. You should not worry about the other side of the mattress since we will get into that.
Deodorize The Mattress
This is the second step on how to clean a mattress. Here you will deodorize the mattress with baking soda. Even though we rarely notice our personal bodily smells, over time our sweat can build up and contribute to an unmistakable odor. To rid your mattress of rankness, you need to sprinkle it well with baking soda and then gently rub it in with a scrub brush. This allows the baking soda to get into the mattress fabric where the stink “lives.” You should let the baking soda sit for about ten minutes before you proceed to the next step
Repeat Vacuuming
This is the third step on how to clean a mattress. By scrubbing the baking soda into the mattress, you have helped it bond with body oils and moisture in the top layer of the mattress’s material. Therefore, vacuum it a second time, which should pull the moisture out, along with the causes of the odors.
Treat Stains
Mattresses usually contain three types of stains, including urine and blood. Even though it is best you treat the stain immediately, sometimes sleep may be more immediate and you can do it later. This is why you need to schedule your time to clean the mattress. Below you will find instructions on cleaning the stains.
For dried blood stains, you need a paste of 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide (3%) mixed with 1 tablespoon of table salt and liquid dish soap each. You should then lightly spread this mixture onto the dried blood stain and allow it to sit until dry before scrapping the residue off. You should then dab the remaining stain with a white rag that has been dipped in hydrogen peroxide. Make sure you rotate the cloth as the stain lifts off. We recommend using a white rag as it prevents dye transfer from the fabric to the mattress.
For urine stains, which are tougher but not impossible to remove, you can use the following steps:
- 1Dissolve 3 tablespoons of baking soda in 8 oz. of hydrogen peroxide and then add two drops of liquid dish soap.
- 2Dab the solution onto the spot, but make sure you do not drench your mattress.
- 3If you note that the stain persists, wait until it dries, then whisk together 3 tablespoons of dry laundry detergent powder and 1 tablespoon of water to make a dry foam. Ensure that the detergent does not contain oxygenated bleach.
- 4Lightly spread this on the stain and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- 5Scrape the dried paste away with a spoon.
- 6Use a white cloth that has been dipped in hydrogen peroxide to remove the paste.
- 7Vacuum the area.
For other bodily fluids, including vomit, open the windows and then use a white rag to blot the stain with undiluted and unscented household ammonia. Make sure not to drench your mattress. You should then wipe the area with a clean and damp cloth. Sprinkle the spot with baking soda to neutralize the ammonia odor and remove any moisture left. Let it dry and then vacuum.
Flip The Mattress And Repeat The Above Four Steps
This the fifth step on how to clean a mattress. Coil or innerspring mattresses should be flipped from side-to-side and top-to-bottom after every week in the first three months following purchase, then quarterly after that. If your mattress is a pillow-top mattress that cannot be flipped, you can rotate top-to-bottom seasonally. However, repeat the cleaning process on the other side of the mattress.
Protect The Mattress
This is the final step on how to clean a mattress. Since it is difficult cleaning a mattress, it is recommended that you protect your mattress using a mattress cover. There are mattresses that are made from waterproof layers that prevent liquids and dead skin from touching your mattress. These are highly recommended. If you have a spill, you can clean it separately.
Conclusion
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Humans shed skin daily. Mildew, mold, sweat, blood, urine, and other bodily fluids will also make your mattress dirty. If your mattress is dirty, you can no longer enjoy a comfortable sleep. A million dust mites could feed on your dry skin and can cause allergy issues, which is why it is important to clean your mattress. A clean mattress promotes a pleasant and productive night’s sleep. Besides that, cleaning your mattress will help it last longer and may prevent illness.
To clean your mattress. You need a combination of cleaning processes, including vacuuming and deodorizing the mattress. You should also treat the stains and occasionally flip the mattress. Importantly, protect your mattress by using a waterproof mattress cover. Since you can clean it separately, you do not have to clean your mattress as often. We hope that this article has adequately addressed how to clean a mattress for a productive sleep.