How to Clean a Mattress and Why
Mattress Cleaning in Union City — When was the last time you gave it a good clean? The seldom-used living room couch likely feels that the bristle of a vacuum brush more often than your mattress. It’s time. Besides promoting a night’s sleep, a clean, cared-for mattress can last more –and it may even help stop horrible, not to mention costly, pest infestations. Back when mattresses could be reversed, the conventional wisdom was that you should turn it and take that opportunity to clean it. Nowadays, a lot of mattresses, including the pillow-top selection, can’t be flipped since they have a top and bottom. But cleaning your mattress two times every year remains a solid rule of thumb.
Step 1
Start the cleaning process by stripping the mattress of sheets and bedding and tossing the items in the wash. To remove stains use the hottest water setting on your machine; dry on high heat along with a Consumer Reports top-rated laundry detergent. If your mattress includes a new stain, tackle it immediately after removing your bedding. Grab the stain remover, a couple of fabrics that are sterile, and treat the stain as if you treated a carpet — blot, do not rub the stain in.
Measure 2
Next, vacuum the mattress surface with all the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Look closely at seams and crevices, where dirt, dust, dead skin, and other icky stuff accumulate; switching into a vacuum’s crevice attachment can help get in deep. In case you have a pillowtop mattress, the exact same advice applies: Use the crevice tool to get into the folds of the pillowtop and get around the seams as much as you can. Our evaluations have found that a vacuum cleaner provides competent cleaning, but if you are fastidious, consider investing in the Dyson V6 Mattress Handheld Vacuum, a $250 device designed specifically for the job. In a Consumer Reports on site mattress test, we cleaned half a foam Tempur-Pedic mattress with a canister vacuum and half using the Dyson handheld. The Dyson sucked up 3 grams of material, such as skin cells which dust mites like to nosh on, compared with the 1 gram our routine vacuum removed.
Step 3
As soon as you’re finished vacuuming, check out stains and place treat them with an proper cleaner. An upholstery cleaner or enzyme-based pet-odor remover may do the job on many bodily fluids or liquids that are natural, like wine. For other spots, such as grass or dirt, try one cup of water and a simple solution of 1 tsp dish detergent.
Step 4
Deodorize the mattress by sprinkling baking soda over the surface. Particularly if this is the initial cleaning, don’t be afraid to empty an entire box on the mattress. For best results, leave the baking soda there for 24 hours. This means plan the job — or that you may want to sleep elsewhere on your home. If you can place the mattress close to a window, the sun will add its power.
Step 5
Following the baking soda has a chance to tackle scents, return over the mattress with your vacuum’s upholstery attachment. If you do not already own a mattress cover, we recommend buying one. And including a mattress pad between the bottom and cover sheet can absorb moisture. Together with the heavy cleaning described here, these layers of security will help prevent mites, fleas, and other insects from sharing your bed. That should help you sleep.
