Spring cleaning and mattress care go hand in hand in my house. Spring is a great time to clean and freshen up your mattresses, so take a little time to check this chore off your list this spring. If you have never cleaned your mattress or are perplexed on how to go about giving it a good cleaning and freshening up, read on.
Mattress Care and Maintenance: Rotate your mattress every six months to keep the distribution of padding and foam consistent throughout the mattress. If you have a pillow top mattress you can only rotate your mattress 180 degrees. If you have a standard mattress, you can rotate as well as flip the mattress over.
Use a Waterproof Mattress Pad: To cut down on the potential for stains, use a waterproof mattress pad and launder it regularly with your sheets. Look for a mattress pad that is waterproof and inhibits dust and dust mites on and in your mattress. Just this little add-on to your bedding repertoire will keep your mattress cleaner longer and make it much easier to maintain.
Vacuum Your Mattress: Remove dust and dust mites from the surface of the mattress when you rotate your mattress by vacuuming the top of your mattress. Make sure that the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner is clean and slowly vacuum all of the crevices and the surface to eliminate any dust mites and dust. Sounds gross but this is a necessary step in cleaning your mattress. If you use a waterproof, sealed mattress pad this is a quick and easy step.
Freshen Your Mattress: If your mattress needs a little freshening up you can sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of baking soda that has been mixed with 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oils (lavender is a great choice) all over the surface of your mattress. Let this sit for about 30 minutes and vacuum it up with a clean hose attachment or nozzle on your vacuum cleaner.
Stain Removal: If you get a stain on your mattress you can carefully blot it up with a clean, dry towel and then use warm water and a little dish soap or laundry detergent to clean the surface stain. Be careful not to get the foam part of the mattress wet as this will not dry quickly. If your stain is large or stubborn you can use an upholstery cleaning attachment on a carpet cleaner to clean the area. Blot up any extra water with a clean towel and place a fan near the mattress to quickly dry it. If it’s convenient and the weather is nice you can also bring your mattress outside if possible to dry it as well.
Knowing how to clean your mattress and protect it with some easy maintenance is easy and you’ll sleep better too.
For more cleaning tips (I’m spring cleaning on the blog!) and free printables, come visit!
Becky
Becky (Clean Mama) writes a cleaning and organizing lifestyle blog all about simplifying everyday life and making daily cleaning tasks more fun. You'll find her with a printable checklist and a cup of coffee while running around with her three little ones. Clean Mama is also the housekeeping expert on Answers.com, and has been featured in HGTV magazine, BHG.com, Oprah.com, iVillage and has written cleaning and organizing content for companies like 3M, Peapod, and Reckitt. Look for Becky's first book to be published in the Spring of 2014! Learn more about Becky at www.cleanmama.net.
Tags: bedroom, cleaning, spring cleaning
Blog, Clean Mama, contributors, March 2014 Posted in
2 comments
2 comments on “How to Clean and Freshen a Mattress”
Thanks for these tips! I really need to freshen up the mattress in my son’s room. Can’t wait to put baking soda on it now.
Hey Becky! My son has just turned 3 and at the beginning of the year we started toilet training him. He occasionally has accidents and sometimes it goes through the protector we have on his bed and wets the mattress. I was wondering how you would go about cleaning this as some times we don’t know until he gets up in the morning. It is just coming into winter now but i am afraid that when summer hits it may bring out the smell, I have been cleaning it with disinfectant. Any other ideas? Would the baking soda and essential oils help draw out smells as well as any left over moisture?
Thanks Toni for posting this on your page too! 😀