MATTRESS 101: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CLEANING YOUR MATTRESS

Cleaning your mattress is one of the most important jobs around the home that can impact the quality of your air in the house, that often gets overlooked or forgotten. There’s much more to cleaning a mattress than just wiping it or running your vacuum over the surface. Follow our simple steps to rid your mattress of any unwanted stains, allergens, mould, mildew or critters.

For those of you who live in a particularly hot and humid environment, this task should not put on the back burner, because mattresses are notorious for retaining your body heat (and sweat) after you leave the bed. Every night our bodies sweat roughly half a litre of fluid and shed about one gram of skin. So you’ll definitely want to make sure your mattress is regularly cleaned to get rid of all those unwanted and even unknown stains.

How to Clean a Mattress

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Vacuum your mattress.

The best way to vacuum your mattress is by using the upholstery attachment. After removing all sheets and mattress covers, throw them in the washing machine and get to work. Using the vacuum work your way down the mattress after starting from the top. This will get rid of any pet hair or dust that has built up.

Deodorize using baking soda

Sprinkle your mattress with baking soda to get rid of any lingering odours caused by body sweat or oils. Gently scrub the baking soda into the mattress surface with a scrubbing brush. Let it sit for about a couple of hours.

Repeat Vacuuming

The baking soda and moisture and oils in the mattress have now had a chance to bond after the scrubbing. And now its time to vacuum it a second time to draw out all the moisture and fluids in the top layers of the mattress. Ensure you vacuum all crevices.

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Treat Stains

Treat any stains on the surface of the mattress with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, dishwashing liquid, and baking soda. Combine them and fill into a spray bottle and spray on any stained areas. Blot or rub with a clean towel. *Using a white rag prevents dye transfer from the cloth to the mattress.

Flip the mattress and repeat steps 1-4

Mattresses that have a coil spring or innerspring should be flipped side to side as well as top to bottom every three months. However this cannot be done if it is a pillow top mattress, but a pillow top mattress should still be rotated. Repeat the cleaning process once you’ve rotated/flipped the mattress to get a more thorough clean.

Protect it

Invest in a mattress protector. They help in keeping any mattress clean, they’re waterproof and protect the mattress from sweat, body oils, blood, urine and any other bodily fluids. As well as this, mattress protectors also help keep any dead skin we shed off the mattress, which will keep dust mites off the mattress, because dust mites eat our dead skin cells. It will also keep the mattress feeling newer for a longer period of time, as fluids such as sweat and blood can break down and weaken the foams in the mattress, and as a result can shorten the comfort life of the mattress. And to top it all off, they can be thrown in the washing machine too.

Follow these simple steps to achieve a mattress as clean as the day you bought it and sleep easy knowing your mattress is protected against unwanted stains and critters.