Did you know that you need to clean your mattress?
Surely you didn’t think it was going to clean itself! If you wash your sheets once a week, why aren’t you cleaning what they go on top of?
Typically, you should wash your sheets every 10 to 14 days. You do not need to clean your mattress nearly as often.
In fact, you don’t need to clean it once a month or every other month. The perfect number of times to clean a mattress is twice a year or every 6 months.
As you might know, not every mattress can be flipped twice a year, as many recent mattresses have been designed to have a top and a bottom to avoid flipping.
Consumer Reports has created the perfect guide on how to clean your mattress and it is so easy, virtually annoy can do it!
Step 1: Clean your sheets
Yup, the first step is one you’re already doing!
If you’re going to clean your mattress, then you need to have clean sheets as well, from the fitted sheet to the top sheet. Throw in any bed skirts while you’re at it!
And do not forget to wash your blankets and duvet covers!
A pro tip here is to use your washing machines hottest water setting and the highest heat setting on your dryer to zap any germs.
Step 2: Vacuum the mattress
Once the bed is stripped, you can vacuum the entire thing using your upholstery attachment. Do not forget to get into the crevices!
Consumer Reports suggests using a Dyson for this:
“Our tests have found that a normal vacuum cleaner provides capable cleaning, but if you’re fastidious, consider investing in the Dyson V6 Mattress Handheld Vacuum, a $250 device designed specifically for the job. In a Consumer Reports at-home mattress test, we cleaned half of a foam Tempur-Pedic mattress with a top-rated canister vacuum and half with the Dyson handheld. The Dyson sucked up 3 grams of material, including dead skin cells that dust mites like to nosh on, compared with the 1 gram that our regular vacuum removed.”
Step 3: Check for stains
After you’ve vacuumed, the next step is to spot treat any stains that might be on the mattress.
For this, you can use either use an upholstery cleaner or enzyme-based pet-odor remover to clean any bodily fluids.
If you’re interested in a DIY cleaner for this, you can mix 1 teaspoon mild dish detergent and 1 cup of warm water.
Step 4: Deodorize the mattress
It is time for some baking soda!
You will sprinkle baking soda over the entire mattress. Do not be afraid to sprinkle an entire 1-pound box on the bed if this is the first mattress cleaning.
Afterward, leave the baking soda on the mattress for 24 hours. Be careful to keep your pets away from it during that time!
Sunlight can add to the sanitizing power, so if you can position the mattress near a window, that is helpful.
Step 5: Vacuum again
After the baking soda has done its work, you will vacuum up the remaining baking soda!
Make sure you’re using your vacuum upholstery attachment when doing this.
A suggestion from Consumer Reports is to get a mattress cover as well as a mattress pad to catch any moisture to avoid it hitting your actual mattress.
This is so easy, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it on my own!
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