How to Spring-Clean Your Mattress
With summer around the corner, we thought we would share some Spring-Cleaning tips for your mattress in addition to tips you can use throughout the year. We clean our sheets to keep our mattress feeling fresh but sometimes we overlook cleaning the actual mattress. Cleaning your mattress is extremely important in the care of your mattress as well as keeping the life of the mattress. The most vital step in keeping your mattress clean is purchasing a mattress protectant for your new mattress. If you don’t already have a good quality mattress protector visit your closest retailer or check out Amazon to purchase one. It is important to remember with all this that heavy stains and water damage voids the mattress warranty. So please be careful cleaning your mattress and do not soak your mattress.
To start off, let’s hear from the home guru, Martha Stewart, for some yearly tips on caring for your mattress.
Turn your mattress over four times a year, top to toe and side to side, to distribute the wear evenly. Keep track by attaching two tags to the mattress with safety pins. Mark "January" (right side up) and "April" (upside down) on one end, and "October" (right side up) and "July" (upside down) on the other. When the appropriate month rolls around, turn and flip the mattress so that the appropriate month's name is right side up at the foot of the bed. Turning a big bed top to toe can seem like a daunting task, but try this method: Working with one person on each long side of the bed, grab onto the handles and turn the mattress perpendicular to the box spring. Then slide the mattress partially off one side, bringing the end that was at the foot of the bed up, and let the other end fall to the floor so the mattress is standing on one end. Then simply let it fall back onto the bed and turn it back into place, with the end that was the foot now at the head.
Vacuum mattresses and box springs every three months (when you flip your mattress) using the upholstery attachment and, if possible, haul both outside for a day of fresh air.
Strip your bed whenever you go on vacation to air it out. 1
Now that we have some general tips to use throughout the year, lets get down and dirty on stains. There are a couple different cleaning solutions when it comes to stains on your mattress. First, let’s tackle urine stains and for that we will turn to the Inspired Housewife
Getting Started: You need a measuring cup, tablespoon, funnel, and spray bottle. 8 ounces/237 ml hydrogen peroxide 3% (this can be found in a brown bottle in the first aid aisle of most pharmacies or stores) 3 tablespoons/14.29 grams of baking soda 1 drop of liquid hand dish washing soap Mix all ingredients into the spray bottle and use within 20 minutes. Do not attempt to store the leftover solution. because it will leak out of the bottle. The mixture only works if you use it immediately, because the cleaning byproducts are active for only a short time period. You should see the stain lift and disappear within 5-10 minutes. Once the mattress dries, if a baking soda film remains, then simply wipe or vacuum it off. Reports I read also indicate this method works well for pet urine stains, but I have not tested it yet in this capacity. 2
Click Here for some more tips from DIY Life to clean other stains on your mattress.
Again, please remember with these stain fighting tips – never soak your mattress and always allow your mattress to completely dry. Putting your sheets on while its wet could invite our dear friends mold and mildew. And we don’t want that.
Once your mattress is stain free and thoroughly dry we have one last final step to making sure your mattress looks and smells good as new. For this last tip we go to Real Simple for their Spring Cleaning Shortcut.
Refresh a mattress with baking soda while its cover gets a thorough washing, followed by a tennis-ball tumble or a dose of fresh air. Tools OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover ($11 for 24 ounces, amazon.com) White vinegar Baking soda Sieve 2 new tennis balls Dryer sheets with essential oils, like Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day in geranium ($8,mrsmeyers.com) Steps 1. Toss the mattress cover in the wash. If it’s stained, first soak in cold water with OxiClean. Then wash with detergent on the hottest setting recommended on the care label, adding 1 cup of white vinegar to deodorize. 2. Working directly over the mattress, pour baking soda into a sieve. Dust the mattress evenly with the soda, which will gradually draw dirt and moisture out of the mattress and eliminate odors. (You’ll leave this light dusting on the mattress when you remake the bed.) 3. When the wash cycle is complete, put the mattress cover in the dryer with a couple of clean tennis balls to fluff it back to form. You could also hang the cover outside on a line to dry. 4. Remake the bed. (Vacuum up the baking soda the next time you change the sheets.) Tuck a few dryer sheets (try ones with essential oils) under the mattress cover to deliver a fresh scent while you sleep. Time investment: A morning to take care of three or four mattresses 3
Now get to work and enjoy your newly clean mattress.