When was the last time you decided to clean your mattress? I’m eager to bet that it was not any time recent and won’t be anytime soon, but did you know the average person perspires 1.5 liters per hour! That’s just gross! but the fact that we spend most of our time in bed, we should be making it a pleasant and hygienic place to be.
This comprehensive care guide covers everything you need regarding how to deep clean a mattress, including steps one must take to remove various kinds of stains and odors from your mattress. However, first it is important that you fully understand the need of doing it.
Significance Of A Clean Mattress
The WHO estimates that approximately 235 million people suffer from asthma and various sorts of allergies across the globe. Who would have thought that a Dust mite, one of the major reasons of causing cough and itchiness in asthma, lives in the favorable environment of the old mattress? Old mattresses are unclean and is a possible source of humidity which is a breeding ground for these mites. Urine, blood and several other sources is the possible reason for this humidity.
Allergies along with runny nose, watery eyes and sinus pressure can wholly contribute to the total discomfort of a person. In future, if ignored, these conditions can be a threat to our healthy living. Even though industries have introduced a special mattress for such allergic people but its pricy feature limits its availability to the people who can’t afford to have them. So why not just learn a way to clean your mattress and attain a healthy lifestyle?
Pre Cleaning Steps:
- Stripping the mattress: this is mandatory as you cannot clean the mattress unless you remove everything covering it. Dust, allergens and event dust mites can gather onto the linens and can cause future harm.
- Fold it up: now you fold up the coverings and linens you have removed to ensure that they remain dust free, it is better to put them aside in another room while you carry on with the cleaning process
- Tight sheets: mattresses are usually covered by tight fitting sheets and protectors so remove them as well.
- Extras: take off any further covering from pillows or the mattress that can be separated.
- Washing: finally use an antibacterial detergent to wash them, or put in a laundry basket for later washing.
Once you are done pre-cleaning, you start off with the deep cleaning process.
How To Deep Clean A Mattress
The foremost step in cleaning your mattress is vacuuming. Vacuum cleaning will guarantee the removal of dust mites and other debris. The fact that you spend most of your time on bed, your hair and dead skin can also accumulate over time which you can be easily taken off by vacuum cleaning. Furthermore, it ensures the removal of those cracker crumbs you enjoyably had from the late night munching.
Vacuum cleaner comes with various tools that are used on different surfaces. The wide brush attachment is suitable for cleaning the upper flat surface of the mattress. The long upholstery nozzle is designed especially for the cracks, sides and corners of the mattress.
The key is to address the fresh spills first as they might dry over time and take more time for removal afterwards. Be a little gentle while removing the fresh spills as they can get further into the mattress. Carefully blot it until you have absorbed the spill completely.
Mattress Stains
Bodily liquids can easily stain your mattresses. From blood to sweat and vomit to urine, not to mention other stuff, these stains must be removed as soon as possible because after they set, removal gets hard. Below we talk about the most commonly occurring stains on our mattresses and how to easily get rid of them.
How To Remove Blood Stains From Mattress?
Often it is an issue taking out the blood stain. Reason being obvious, the delay to its removal. Blood stains once set in, are very tough to remove. So the first thing to keep in mind is to remove it as soon as it gets there. Still, if you leave it for a longer time and it dries out, No worries we got your back. Here are few methods mention that will help you out.
1. Cold Water
It is proved that cold water but not hot water helps to remove the stain faster. Hot water just promotes its setting so avoid using it. Instead take a clean cloth and soak it in cold water. Keep dabbing the stain with cold water soaked cloth until it is removed completely. This might be a little time taking but it ensure proper cleaning and causes no harm to the mattress which might occur from other chemicals.
2. Baking Soda
Next in the line is using the famous ingredient baking soda. Baking soda is known to remove tough stains that won’t easily come out. Simply grab the baking soda from your cabinet, mix it with cold water, keeping in mind that blood dissolves more efficiently in cold water. Proportioning is very important as baking soda can damage your mattress.
Using a clean cloth, apply the mixture you have made onto the stained surface. Gently rub it and let it sit for approximately 30 minutes, no longer than that. Rinse it with cold water. Do not use the water too much as it will take time to dry. Finally, a regular using towel will help you dry the wet surface. You can also use a fan for this purpose.
3. Meat Tenderizer
Your blood actually contains proteins which are the main cause of staining. Something which breaks up these proteins will help remove the stain. Meat tenderizer, a famous ingredient which we add to our tasty steaks is well known for this purpose. This wonderful tool is mixed in same proportions as baking soda with cold water. It is applied onto the stain and left for an hour and rinsed with cold water. A dry towel is used to dry the surface and the moisture.
4. Hydrogen Peroxide, Salt And Corn Starch
Most of the times the blood stain is so stubborn that normal household ingredients fail to remove them. For such stains, you might need something extra. Hydrogen peroxide commonly found in first aid boxes is used in such cases. It is mixed with salt to create magical mixture which helps remove the stubborn stain. We can also make a paste with corn starch and apply it on to the stained surface to get the desired results. Later it is scrapped off and vacuum cleaned.
When using these cleaning methods make sure you completely remove all the mixtures. Hydrogen peroxide can seriously damage your mattress if left behind. You can also use soap with cold water to remove the remnants of the mixtures you have used and air dry it.
How To Remove Sweat Stains From Mattress?
Mattresses are bound to get sweat stains. Here we have come up with the easiest hack to get rid of such stains efficiently. As mentioned before, if the stain is fresh, remove it as soon as possible otherwise it will get deeper into the mattress and you may find it hard removing it.
Grab a clean paper towel and dab it, instead of rubbing, to avoid further absorbing into the mattress. Mix together hydrogen peroxide, liquid dish soap and water in the spray bottle and spray the mixture onto the stain. Let it soak till almost 20 minute after which blot it out using a paper towel.
Furthermore, to remove the extra moisture, baking soda is spread onto the stained area and left for 15 minutes which is later vacuum cleaned. These easy steps will help you remove sweat stains from your mattress completely.
How To Remove Urine Odors From Mattress?
Bedwetting is a very common problem which most of the parents face with their children. Apart from staining the mattress, wetting from urine leaves a question of smell which is worst. As mentioned above, baking soda is a natural neutralizer of various odors, but before using that you need to spray the affected area with white vinegar.
It is recommended to use pure vinegar as it tackles the bad smell very well. After spraying the surface, let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not over saturate it with the vinegar as it can damage your mattress. Soak the excess with clean dry towel and sprinkle it with baking soda which will help you remove vinegar smell as well as urine odor. Let it sit for 20 minutes and remove it using a dry paper towel, or a vacuum cleaner to assure quality cleaning.
Future Prevention
As seen cleaning the mattress takes time, doing it again is a pain in the neck. So for future prevention, these are the steps you can follow. Purchase a protective covering, as it will help keep your mattress new and clean. Moreover sealing it with such a covering will avoid various allergens and dust mites that are harmful.
Nothing seems better than slipping into a tidy bed with clean sheets and a neat mattress. So if you want to take that feeling to the next level, just follow the above mentioned steps and you will get there. These basic cleaning tools and ingredients will aid you in proper cleaning and will guarantee you a healthy living.
