As we spend quite a long time in bed – about 1/3 of our lives in fact, as you can imagine, every now and then, it could probably do with a clean. However, while most of us are pretty good about washing our bedding, when it comes to the mattress, we often don’t think too much about it.
Trust us…we should.
You might have a perfectly trained dog or a satisfactorily aloof cat who never jump up. You might not even have a cup of tea in bed let alone breakfast, and therefore could be forgiven for thinking that your mattress just stays clean. But prepare yourself…the average mattress contains around 10 thousand dust mites (plus droppings), 450g of sloughed skin per year, and 285ml of fluid per night.
Knowing that, we think it’s worth knowing how to clean your mattress – and you need to do it every 3 to 6 months or so (probably more if it’s making you itch…).
Firstly then, remove the bedding – that includes mattress topper (every 2 months), duvet cover, sheets, pillow-cases (every 1 to 2 weeks) – and give them a hot wash in the machine.
Secondly, with a clean upholstery attachment use a vacuum cleaner on both sides of the mattress, particularly at the seams, and remember the base.
If there are any stains, don’t soak the mattress as it will probably remain damp which isn’t an ideal environment. Bite the bullet, buy the correct type of stain remover and follow the instructions for use – or use a DIY cleaner but again, don’t soak.
Next, sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on the mattress and leave it for a few hours (or as long as you can – even overnight) with the windows open to absorb any moisture and allow it to deodorise naturally.
Finally, use a vacuum cleaner to get up all the bicarbonate of soda and make your bed with beautiful, fresh, clean bedding.
The jury is out on whether to steam clean a mattress because arguably, adding more moisture could encourage unwanted visitors.
And as a general tip, it’s recommended (check the label to find out what you’ve got) that single-sided mattresses are rotated head to toe, while double-sided mattresses should be flipped and rotated, approximately every 3 months.
Sleep well.
