How to Keep Your Mattress Clean

If you have not ever cleaned your mattress or are perplexed on how to start giving it a perfect cleaning and freshen it up, here's what you need to know. Your mattress is an ideal breeding ground for allergens and bacteria that can affect your health and prevent you from getting good quality sleep. Your sleep is instrumental in keeping you healthy, happy and productive. Mildew, mold and dust mites can trigger asthma and allergy symptoms. This growth will be just the beginning of the types of things that can grow and collect inside your mattress and linens.

Routine Mattress Cleaning

For many of us, mattress cleaning is time-consuming and ought to be done at a minimum once a year. One could say, spring cleaning and mattress cleaning go hand in hand. There are many household chores to do around the house, but do not neglect cleaning your mattress because it's just as important as your other household chores if not more. After all, a third of your life is spent in bed. The ideal way to keep your mattress clean and healthy is by way of regularly cleaning your mattress. Regular cleaning can help prevent infestation of bed bugs, which can cost you money and a night of peaceful sleep. A mattress is one of your big investments, and it lasts about seven to ten years. However, you can take steps to extend that life to make the most of your investment.

How to clean and sanitize your mattress?

Before you clean your mattress, you should wash your linens. Linens should be washed or change regularly; to some, that means at least once a week. Clean sheets smell better, are more comfortable, and they will keep dead skin from settling in your mattress. Dead skin is a feast for dust mites. A reduction in dust mites is a vital health matter because some people have asthma, and some people are allergic to dust mites. The water temperature of your wash should be 130 degrees to kill bed bugs and dust mites.

Your mattress should be kept dry at all times to prevent the growth of mildew and mold and to prolong the life of your mattress. Mattress toppers and mattress pads are known to protect mattresses from moisture and stains. The mattress pads and toppers should be washed every few weeks.

If your mattress is wet, it is recommended by professionals to place it near an AC unit or use a fan to dry it. Sleeping on a damp mattress is also not recommended.

Mattress: Stubborn Stains

There are three types of mattress stains: urine, blood, and other body fluids. Some stains are somewhat more stubborn than others. Much like spills, mattress urine stains can occur. Kids and pets usually leave mattresses messy. Urine stains are tough stains, but they are not impossible to clean once they're dry. Dried stains can be cleaned with enzyme-based cleaners. There are, however, easier ways to sanitize urine stains and smells, without harsh cleaners.

How to clean urine from a mattress? The most popular way is to:

1. Mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda in 8 oz. of hydrogen peroxide.
2. Add two drops of liquid soap.
3. Apply the solution without saturating the mattress.
4. Let the paste dry for 30 minutes.
5. Scrape the paste off the mattress then vacuum.

To clean blood stains, you can follow the below steps.

1. Mix 1 tbsp of liquid soap and 1 tbsp of table salt in ¼ cup of hydrogen peroxide.
2. Apply the solution without saturating the mattress.
3. Let the paste dry for 30 minutes.
4. Scrape the paste and then vacuum.

To clean other bodily fluids stains, you should follow the below steps.

1. Make sure the room is well ventilated.
2. Wipe the stain with a rag that has been dipped in unscented ammonia.
3. Do not saturate the mattress.
4. Clean area with a damp cloth.
5. Sprinkle baking soda.
6. Let dry and then vacuum.

A clean mattress will make a huge difference to the quality of your sleep and, hence, the quality of your life! Be sure to wash your mattress regularly and then you may rest easy (literally)!