People spend up to half their lives in bed, awake or asleep. However, most people don’t know they’re sharing the bed with dust mites, mold, pollen, and even insects such as fleas and bed bugs. Spiders likely live nearby. Whatever clings to humans and animals — sweat, hair, dandruff, dead skin, mucus, oils, food, plant matter, dirt, and poop — will end up ground into the bedding.
You NEED to know the best way to clean a mattress. Check out these tips from the experts.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning Your Mattress
To breathe and sleep better, here’s how to clean a mattress, reduce allergies, and prolong your life:
1. Gather Your Cleaning Supplies
- Open the windows to exchange stale air for fresh air.
- Keeping plenty of gloves handy will make most cleaning jobs go faster.
- Protective eyewear and a face mask or respirator reduce your exposure to dust that carries mites, spores, pollen, and other nasty bits.
- DIY (do-it-yourself) eco-friendly cleaning products include baking soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, mild dish soap, and a mild laundry detergent without dye or other additives.
- An additional option is a carpet and upholstery spray cleaner with enzymes.
- You’ll need a bucket and lots of microfiber cloths.
- A vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter and an upholstery attachment is ideal, and so is a small steam cleaner.
2. Remove and Wash Bedding
Strip the sheets, pillowcases, pads, mattress protectors, blankets, and bedspread. Many hotels don’t launder bed coverings such as quilts and duvet covers between guests, but your entire bed will be cleaner when everything on top is fresh. Check the fabric labels, then wash and rinse the bedding using the hottest water possible to kill bacteria and mold spores.
Pillows should be washed every one to six months. Did you know that pillows get heavier over time due to absorbing oils, dust mites, and dead skin cells?
3. Vacuum the Mattress
Using a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter will capture most of the tiniest particles that will otherwise end up in your lungs and bedding. Wipe down the upholstery attachment of your vacuum and run it over every part of your mattress including crevices and seams where dirt, crumbs, and insect parts settle.
If you have a garment steamer, use the penetrating steam to kill dust mites, but don’t let it drip. You can substitute a steam iron instead. Let the steamed areas fully dry to prevent mold. Repeat the process on the other side for a thorough mattress cleaning.
4. Spot-Clean Stains
Stains on fabric are most easily removed when they’re fresh. Here are suggestions on how to get them out of the mattress, but first identify what types of stains you have.
- The basic technique: Apply the cleaning solution by spraying or dabbing from the outside edge of the area and working inward to prevent the stain from spreading. Use a clean, wet-but-not-dripping microfiber cloth to remove the cleaner, and then blot thoroughly with towels and dry microfiber cloths. Allow to air-dry completely, even using a hair dryer on low setting if needed.
- Sweat and skin oils: These are the most common mattress stains and become yellow over time. Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and warm water, adding several drops of a mild dishwashing liquid if desired, and let set for half an hour.
- Blood: Apply cold water as soon as possible, then rub in mild bar soap. Use hydrogen peroxide if you’re not worried about the mattress fabric being colorfast. An enzyme laundry detergent may help. Don’t use heat, whether in the form of hot water or hot air blowing from a hair dryer, because it will cook the blood into the fabric as a permanent brown stain.
- Urine: Blot up the liquid as soon as possible to prevent it from sinking into the mattress. Then use the vinegar and baking soda method.
- Food: Combine hydrogen peroxide and/or vinegar with water and laundry detergent, then allow to set. Anyway, you shouldn’t eat in bed because it will attract critters of all sizes.
- Vomit: Remove as much fresh vomit as possible as quickly as possible. Then apply an enzyme cleaner formulated for pet stains according to directions, and cover with a damp cloth for several hours to let the enzymes work. Repeat if odors linger.
- Poop: Mix half a tablespoon dishwashing liquid, half a tablespoon of white vinegar, and two cups of warm water. Gently rub with microfiber cloths in a circular motion. You can follow with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide or an enzyme-containing pet stain remover.
5. Deodorize with Baking Soda
Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda over the entire mattress, lightly brush it in with a soft-bristle brush, and let it set for 30 minutes or longer. Then vacuum.
6. Air Out the Mattress
The UV (ultraviolet) rays in sunlight break down the outer cell membranes of bacteria. Imagine it as fatal bacterial sunburn! Put your mattress outside in direct sun for four hours if possible. If you can’t, indoor exposure through an open window or even glass will help. It’ll also help neutralize odors. Sunlight is good medicine in so many ways.
7. Flip and Rotate the Mattress
To prevent sagging, rotate the mattress twice yearly by moving the head to the foot. This ensures an even distribution of your weight on the filler material and the mattress support system. Another trick to reduce wear and tear is turning the mattress over every three to six months. Be sure the mattress label says “reversible” or “dual-sided.” Part of mattress cleaning involves caring for its insides as well as its outside.
Regular Maintenance Tips
Here’s an overview of the best way to clean a mattress:
- Whether about how to clean a mattress or anything else, it’s always okay to ask for help!
- Get a waterproof, washable protector for the mattress and box spring when they’re new to guard against infestation from mites, bedbugs, and other pests.
- Test different cleaning methods on small areas of the mattress in advance so you see how the fabric reacts. Then keep a “mattress first aid kit” handy.
- How to get stains out of the mattress: Clean spills IMMEDIATELY.
- Wash all bedding weekly.
- Vacuum the mattress and box spring monthly.
- Flip dual-sided mattresses over every 3-6 months.
- Rotate the mattress head to foot every 6 months.
- Air out the mattress seasonally.
- Avoid eating in bed.
- Think where your pets’ paws have been, so don’t let them burrow into your clean sheets.
- Likewise, if you walk barefoot, wash your feet before getting into bed.
- Regular cleaning will extend the life of your mattress.
- Whether about how to clean a mattress or anything else, it’s always okay to ask for help!
Help Is Available
MaidThis is a professional home and vacation rental cleaning service. Need to know the best way to clean a mattress? Got questions about any kind of house cleaning tasks? We offer one-time visits, deep cleaning, regularly scheduled visits, move-in/move-out jobs, or custom work. Our goal is to save you time and money so you can get your life back. Check out our website!
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