How to clean a mattress? Before starting this, I think first we have to know why we need to clean the mattress. Do you know how much you can sleep in your bed? No, I don't mean whether or not you sleep in company, but all those tiny creatures invisible to the human eye that can live with us for years without us noticing: fungi, bugs, mites, sweat, blood, mold, etc. There are many people who believe that by cleaning their sheets from time to time, they will be able to keep all the accumulated dirt at bay, but in reality they are mistaken: a much stricter and deeper cleaning is needed to prevent these small beings from invading our bed and making life impossible for us.

And that is precisely what we will explain to you throughout this article: the best ways to clean your mattress to prevent dirt from taking over. Did you know that people can develop certain pathologies and allergic reactions due to mites and the hidden dirt in our homes? Yes, as you can hear. And if that dirt is embedded invisibly in the bed where we spend 8 hours sleeping every day, the risk of contracting any kind of disease is doubled. This makes it really necessary to start taking certain measures urgently to avoid it.

Do you want to learn how to eliminate bad odors, the presence of bedbugs, sweat stains, mites and all kinds of creatures that are hidden in the dirt of your mattress?

Read on!

1.Steps to clean your mattress

Below, we'll give you a guide to essential instructions that will help you clean your mattress and bedding like a true professional cleaner.

Let's get started!

1.1Remove all bedding from your mattress

This step is quite evident but it is not less important to mention it, because if we do not completely remove everything that covers our mattress (as clean as it may seem) we can never get to completely remove the dirt more hidden. Therefore, remove all the sheets, protectors, comforters and blankets that you use daily on your mattress and throw them into your washing machine to give them a good dose of detergent.

However, it is important that you properly check the laundry labels on each of these items to make sure you can put them all in the same wash cycle. It is preferable that you wash everything in hot water at the maximum temperature, since this way we will make sure that any living creature that lives between your sheets ends up totally eliminated by the heat. This is the oldest and most effective method of disinfection available, so don't hesitate to use it to get your mattress cleaning off to a good start.

1.2Vacuum your mattress

What is the next step after leaving your mattress and box spring totally naked? Carry out a good suction that sucks up all the microorganisms that have been living between its nooks and crannies for months without you even noticing. Performing a good vacuum every few months is a good way to keep the bugs in our mattress at bay, so if you don't have a vacuum cleaner at home to do this, you should run out and buy one at the nearest supermarket. Your health may depend on it!

Once you have your vacuum cleaner, the first thing you'll have to do is change its head and use the special one for upholstery, since this will allow you to suck all the holes in the mattress and the springs in your bed with great precision. Once you have your head on, you can start vacuuming the entire top of your mattress, putting special emphasis on the natural seams and cracks that any mattress has, and may use a head for cracks that some vacuum cleaners have and that will help you get to suck the most difficult points of dirt.

It is very important that you do not just suck the top of your mattress, as some people have the false belief that dirt only accumulates in the areas where our body rests, but it does not. Mattress dirt can accumulate everywhere, so once you've cleaned the top, make sure you vacuum the sides, the bottom and even the springs and bed base (no matter what kind of material is used).

This way, you'll be effectively preventing your mattress from being a natural storage source for germs, allergens, bedbugs, etc. So don't forget to buy a vacuum cleaner and vacuum your mattress monthly to get it right.

1.3Deodorize your mattress

Over time, it is inevitable that our mattress will emanate bad odours, due to the accumulation of sweat, urine or blood that may have been on its surface; especially if we have small children or pets at home and they sleep with us regularly. And do you know what the best remedy is for all those odors to disappear? Spray it with a good amount of baking soda. This is one of the oldest home remedies that exist to eliminate bad odors from clothes, but because it is old it is less effective.

The first thing you will have to do is buy a baking soda jar and spray it all over your mattress. Don't be afraid to go overboard with the dose because the more you use, the more effective it is. Then, once you've sprinkled everything on top of the mattress, rub it energetically with the help of a suitable brush so that it penetrates well through all the cracks and leave it to work for several hours.

Some people say that if we do this during the day and leave the mattress close by in a place where the sun can shine directly on it for several hours, the deodorizing effect will be much stronger. However, it is not strictly necessary to do so, it is only a suggestion that you should take into account.

On the other hand, it is also important that you try to plan this third step in advance so that you know where you will be able to place the mattress and where you will be able to sleep while your mattress is drying. If you live alone and don't have any other bedrooms, you may need the help of a friend to allow you to sleep at their house that day.

2.Removing Mattress Stains

We've all had to struggle with a stain on the mattress that was reluctant to leave: dog urine, chocolate, coffee, etc. But don't despair, because we also have an infallible solution that will help you eliminate any kind of stain on your mattress without driving you crazy.

To begin with, it's very important that you avoid at all costs pouring soap or water directly onto the surface of the mattress in the hope that by wetting the stain it will eventually disappear, because it won't. On the contrary, not only will we not remove the stain, but we will be dampening the foam of our mattress too much and we will run the risk that this excess of water will end up causing fungus to appear and spoil everything. Instead, using a steam cleaner or dry-cleaning foam is a good alternative that will help us remove almost any stain quickly and safely.

The key to never making a mistake and always getting good results is to use the right product for the type of stain. For example, for body fluid and pet stains, there are several detergents made from highly effective enzymes. While for other types of dry stains we could treat them with special upholstery cleaners. There is a type of cleaner for each stain, we just have to look for it and put it into practice.

2.1Hydrogen Peroxide

Do you want a resource to remove those impossible stains from your mattress with little effort? Then you should try using hydrogen peroxide on your mattress. This compound has great whitening properties that will allow us to diffuse those dry stains that have been tormenting us for so long.

However, before applying it we must dilute it with a little water, since it is such a powerful whitening agent that we could end up ruining the mattress. Therefore, apply a small amount of the diluted compound on a piece of the mattress and wait a few minutes to see its effects; if you see that it works and that the stain is removed correctly, you can use it without fear throughout the mattress to whiten it and leave it totally stainfree.

2.2Combine baking soda with white distilled vinegar

As we have explained before, baking soda has the ability to eliminate bad odor from mattresses, but if in addition to sprinkling the mattress with sodium we add a moderate amount of white distilled vinegar, we will manage to enhance the effects of baking soda while effectively removing all stains from the surface of the mattress.

When you mix the vinegar with the baking soda don't be afraid, as they will react and generate a foam similar to that of a sponge in the oven. When this happens, you will only have to remove the excess sodium with the vacuum cleaner and let the rest of the mixture act for hours over the entire surface. In this way we will be able to neutralize the smells and whiten our mattress with all the guarantees of success.

2.3Air your mattress and turn it often

The first of the steps is something you can do both before and after carrying out any of the cleaning methods we have explained above, since by airing your mattress you will manage to eliminate excess humidity, help bad smells disappear more quickly and prevent the formation of mould in its foam.

On the other hand, the habit of turning the mattress or not will depend largely on the type of mattress we have, since there are some very modern models that will not allow us to do so and therefore, will not allow us to use this resource to clean it in a more comfortable way. In the case of having a more traditional mattress, the experts recommend turning it over at least every three months and taking advantage of each turn to air it and clean it as we have indicated.

If the above steps cannot totally clean your mattress, you should consider if the mattress is still in good condition and whether to change a mattress. Normally we say if a mattress is over 8 years it's time to replace a new mattress.

3.Protect your mattress effectively

If you want to keep your mattress durable for a long time, you should know some tips on how to protect your mattress effectively.

3.1Uses mattress cover

If you want to completely protect your mattress and prevent it from getting dirty and all sorts of bacteria and microorganisms from proliferating in it, the first thing you should do is put a good cover on it. It is impossible to effectively protect a mattress for years using a single fitted sheet, as they are too thin and would end up letting our sweat and any other substance fall on top of the mattress.

Therefore, as soon as you have installed your mattress you should buy a quality cover and complement it with a good fitted sheet. After that, you will only have to try to clean your cover monthly to avoid it from accumulating too many mites and you will get your mattress to stay clean and safe.

3.2Action: reaction

It is essential that as soon as you see that your mattress has been stained, either totally accidentally or if you realize that some very dark sweat stains have appeared, you react quickly and throw your sheets into the washing machine to avoid the evil being greater. In this way, we will be preventing the stain from drying out and being much more difficult to remove.

3.3Things to avoid

We all like to eat in bed or share our nights in the company of our pet, but let's face it, doing so will drastically increase the risk of suffering an accident that will end up seriously soiling our mattress. Therefore, try to avoid sleeping on top of the bed and prevent your pet from sleeping permanently on the mattress, as this will keep it safer and extend its durability.

In conclusion, if you want to protect your mattress and always keep it perfectly clean, you should start putting into practice the advice we've explained throughout this article. That doesn't mean you have to test them all at once, but depending on your type of mattress and your lifestyle, choose the prevention and cleaning tricks that you think will work best for you.

Vacuum, aerate, use baking soda, white vinegar, use protective covers, etc. It doesn't matter which one you choose, nor the order in which you use them, what matters is that you do it and that you take care of your health by keeping your mattress totally free of dirt.