How to Clean Your Mattress Like An Expert? (Step By Step Guide)

Do you know we spend 1/3rd of our lives sleeping on a mattress! Surprising, isn’t it?

Your mattress is that one essential item of your household that should be taken full care of. Every night, your mattress gets exposed to many things such as – sweat, dust, dirt, allergic particles, dead skin, skin oil, hair dirt, indoor pollution, etc. This calls out to the need to clean your mattress regularly.

Not just the mattress is an expensive one-time investment; it is that necessity that maintains our health. Thus, regular cleaning and maintenance of your mattress is a must.

Regular cleaning of the mattress increases the freshness and reliability of the mattress and helps minimize the impact of impurities on its quality. Also, the regular cleaning of the mattress can help fade the stains, which reduces your mattress’s beauty.

So, what all is needed to keep the mattress thoroughly cleaned? Fortunately, not much.

Cleaning your mattress is no rocket science but just a few simple steps. You just need to have the right knowledge of mattress care, some cleaning ingredients, and carefully chosen tools to ensure that your mattress is in its best form.

 

Cleaning your mattress:

When we are talking about cleaning and maintaining a mattress, we specifically not pointing towards the use of strong and harmful chemicals. What we are pointing towards is using the right tools and ingredients.

Yes, you can ditch the irritation of strong harmful chemicals and smell while relying on simple natural ways to remove the mattress’s stains to keep it clean.

So, are you ready to explore some of the simplest ways of keeping your mattress clean, fresh, and stain-free? Let us start, then.

 

Steps to Clean the Mattress:

No matter which type or which size of mattress you are using, when it comes to its cleaning, you can rely on all these mentioned steps; which are:

Collect all the essentials:

Cleaning the mattress thoroughly is not a one-step process. Rather, you should be particular to cover every possible need to clean your mattress. Thus, for this, you should be equipped with all the essentials required.

Here is the list of the items that are a must to make your mattress just as a new one.

The required tools:

• A vacuum cleaner
• A Strainer
• A bowl
• Clean clothes
• Spray bottles

The required materials:

• Lavender essential oil
• Salt
• Baking soda
• 3% hydrogen peroxide
• White vinegar
• Water
• Liquid dish soap

These different tools and materials will target your mattress’s different problems, providing you a fresh, clean, and stain-free mattress.

 

Strip your bed:

Before jumping straight on cleaning your mattress, make sure to first strip your bed. Remove everything from your mattress, including the bedsheet, mattress protector covers, pillow covers, blankets, etc.

Put them all in the washing machine for their thorough cleaning. You can use hot water in the machine to easily remove even the toughest stains from the beddings.

Make sure to only put the machine-washable items in the washing machine. For the ones not suitable for machine washing, you can always handwash them.

 

Vacuum your mattress:

Once you have removed everything from your mattress, the next thing that comes is vacuuming your mattress. Using a vacuum on your mattress is one of the simplest ways to eliminate all the hidden dust particles.

Do make sure to cover the entire mattress without leaving any area. You should especially cover the mattress’s sides to make your mattress completely clean.

 

Remove the stains:

Treating the mattress stains should be your prime concern when working on your mattress cleaning. Your mattress is always at a risk of many stains, which can degrade its quality, lifespan, and efficiency.

Moreover, the longer you keep the stain, the more damage it does to the mattress. Therefore, you should be quick to treat all the possible stains on your mattress to minimize their damages.

Spot clean all the stains. For getting the best results, you can mix baking soda, water, and salt to form a paste. Now, apply this paste to all the stains and leave it on the stains for 30-minutes.

Use a damp cloth to remove the paste and clean the mattress a bit. You can use this paste on almost all the visible spots on your mattress. However, if you have some other difficult stains to handle, don’t worry; we have got you covered for them as well.

Treating the urine and sweat stains –

Sweat stains are quite common, especially in hot areas. Also, the urine stain is an everyday thing with houses with kids. The stains because of sweat and urination result in discolouration in the mattress and a bothering bad smell.

If this is something that is bothering you, then you can try the following steps:

• Make a cleaning solution paste by mixing 3% hydrogen peroxide, liquid dish soap, and baking soda. Mix these ingredients thoroughly until all the baking soda has dissolved.
• Put the cleaning mixture in the spray bottle and then apply it to the stains. Leave the solution on the stains allowing it to get absorbed by the mattress’s stain.
• Allow the mixture to air dry for getting the best results

 

Treating the bloodstains –

If your mattress is blood-stained, then you should treat them quickly using these simple steps:

• Take some 3% hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle.
• Now, spray the solution on the stained part and blot the same with a clean damp cloth. Keep spraying and blotting the stained mattress part until the stain is removed.
• After that, allow your mattress to get naturally air-dried

 

Treating the vomit stains –

Vomit stains on a mattress are not a new thing. Be it an adult or a kid, most of us have witnessed this problem. Treating such stains immediately is highly recommended using these effective steps:

• Take equal proportions of water and white vinegar in a spray bottle
• Spray the prepared mixture on the stained area, followed by blotting using a clean cloth. Keep repeating the process until the stain is completely gone.

 

Treat the bad odor of the mattress:

Once you have taken care of all the mattress’s stains, it is time to deal with the mattress’s bad odor.

There can be a possibility that your mattress has a bad odor because of all your body sweat. If so, it should be the first few things that you should take care of. We have the easiest way to get rid of the bad odor from your mattress.

Take 1-cup of baking soda in a bowl and mix some drops of lavender essential oil in it. Now, shake this mixture of baking soda and essential oil on your mattress using a strainer. Leave the mixture on the mattress for a while.

You can again use a vacuum cleaner on your mattress to remove all the applied mixture. This will not only remove the bad odor but will also make your mattress smell good and fresh. Make sure to follow this step, especially after removing the vomit stains, to eliminate the unwanted smell.

 

Flip your mattress:

After you have finished cleaning one side of your mattress, do repeat the above steps on the other side of the mattress as well. Flip your mattress and then simply repeat the steps as and where needed.

Most people generally avoid following this step. However, this step is equally important for thoroughly cleaning and caring for the mattress. You can call your mattress well-maintained and thoroughly cleaned only when you have cared for both of its sides.

 

Mattress protection:

Just cleaning and removing the mattress stains is not enough. You need to protect your mattress to ensure its full maintenance.

After your mattress is completely dry, make use of a mattress protector to cover it. This will prevent causing any further damage to the mattress from dust, dirt, allergies, spills, etc. Also, the use of a mattress protector makes mattress cleaning quite convenient in the future.

 

Remake your bed:

The last and final step in cleaning the mattress is remaking your bed. Use a clean bedsheet, pillow covers, blankets, etc., to rearrange your bed. You should use fitted bedsheets to avoid damaging dust and possible harmful allergic particles or chemicals.

 

Some useful tips for ensuring cleanliness in your mattress for maximum time:

Besides the thorough cleaning of the mattress, you should also focus on regular maintenance tips to ensure your mattress’s lasting cleanliness. Have a look at some simple and effective tips that you can follow daily.

1. You should clean your mattress every 3-months to ensure its lasting use and durability. If not possible, you should at least plan cleaning and maintaining your mattress after 6-months for sure.

If your mattress is stained, you should take immediate actions and steps for that, as any delay can ruin the mattress’s quality.

2. You should surely change the bedsheets, pillow covers, blankets, and other essential bedding items once a week. This helps in getting rid of the accumulated dead skin, dust, etc.

Also, sleeping on clean bedding will not only benefit your health, but it will also make you feel refreshed and energetic.

3. Use a mattress cover. Most people don’t invest in a mattress cover, and this is where they miss out on taking care of the mattress.

Having a suitable and high-quality mattress cover will efficiently protect your mattress against moisture or wetness. This further prevents the growth of harmful chemicals and allergic elements on the mattress.

4. Clean your mattress using a vacuum. Surely you do use a vacuum cleaner to thoroughly clean your mattress, but you should also use the essential tools for your monthly mattress cleaning. Vacuum your mattress to remove all the built-up dirt and dust.

To take care of the bad odor, you can sprinkle baking soda on your mattress for about 10-minutes. After that, you can vacuum clean your mattress for a refreshing result.

5. Along with taking full care and maintenance of your mattress, you should be particular to flip your mattress after every 2-3 months of use. However, while doing this, you should make sure to remove stains, if any, from the used side of the mattress.

Flipping a dirty mattress with stains will only ruin its quality and lifespan, along with causing health problems.

 

Some commonly asked questions about mattress cleaning and maintenance:

Can a steam cleaner be used for cleaning the mattress?

No, it is not suggested to use a steam cleaner to clean your mattress. A steam cleaner can push the water deep inside your mattress, even to the areas where light and air cannot reach.

This will make it difficult to dry the mattress completely. Thus, the moisture inside your mattress will slowly ruin its inner strength and quality. In the end, you might end up with the need to buy a new mattress.

Therefore, it is suggested not to use any such thing for cleaning your mattress. You can always use the other cleaning mixtures and solutions which we have mentioned.

 

How often should a mattress be cleaned?

There is no specific and particular time for cleaning your mattress. It all depends on the use of the mattress.

If you are using all the necessary protection for your mattress, like mattress covers, top layer protectors, etc., there isn’t any regular need to deep clean your mattress.

However, if you are missing your mattress’s essentialities, you should vacuum your mattress every month to remove all the dust and dirt. You can use the natural ways for cleaning the mattress every 3-months followed by a thorough cleaning after about 2-years of use.

The only thing you should be careful about is treating and handling the mattress stains as quickly as possible. You should take all the precautionary measures to remove the stains from your mattress to protect its quality, reliability, and lifespan.

 

Can essential oils directly be used on a mattress?

Using essential oils on the mattress is an effective way to add pleasing fragrance. However, the use of essential oils directly on the mattress is not advisable.

Surely, the essential oils are effective, but they are still oils. Directly applying oil to your mattress can make it allergic, along with attracting harmful chemicals, dust, dirt, and other damaging particles. It can also leave a stain on your mattress, which will be time-consuming to clean afterward.

Thus, it is not recommended to use essential oils directly on the mattress. But you can mix the required essential oil with your cleaning solutions like water or baking soda and then apply it to your mattress. This will give you the desired fragrance without ruining the quality of the mattress.

 

When should you flip your mattress?

Most people are often confused about when they should flip their mattresses. The flipping of the mattress should be planned according to the condition and use of the mattress.

If you are using the mattress too much, you should be very active and frequent to flip it. Also, if your mattress’s condition is at risk, regular flipping can keep it going without causing any inconvenience.

Other than that, with general use and stable mattress condition, a mattress can be flipped after every 3-months. Doing this will also protect your mattress from sagging and other related damages.

 

Is it safe to use disinfectant on the mattress?

Yes, you can use a disinfectant on your mattress. While selecting the disinfectant, just make sure to pick the suitable and safe one for the mattress.

You can either buy the disinfectant from the market or can make one at your home. Simply mix baking soda, water, and liquid dish soap to prepare your home disinfectant without hassles.

Besides the quality of the disinfectant, you should be sure of the proper way of using it. Don’t just directly pour the disinfectant on the mattress, but rather use a spray bottle to use the disinfectant on the mattress.

 

Should you deep clean your mattress even after regular cleaning?

Regularly cleaning the mattress is a good habit as it can keep your mattress well-protected against the daily accumulation of harmful elements and particles. But you cannot skip deep cleaning of your mattress even if with its regular cleaning.

Regular cleaning of the mattress removes the dust, allergic elements, and other damaging particles from the top layer. On the other hand, deep cleaning the mattress ensures to remove all the impurities and elements from the deep-down layers of the mattress.

It is only after a deep cleaning that you can be sure of enhancing the reliability, performance, and quality of your mattress for the long run.

 

Concluding Words:

Your mattress can be a home for many unwanted elements, even when they cannot be seen from the naked eyes. Thus, it becomes really important to clean and maintain your mattress using the right tools, materials and following accurate steps.

Fortunately for us, mattress cleaning is no hassle. We can use all the available resources and techniques to thoroughly clean the mattress.

This is all about how you can clean and maintain your mattress without any complications or hassles. There can still be many related doubts. If yes, share them with us in our comment section to get its positive response from our side.