You spend at least one-third of your life laying down on your bed. It’s no wonder that it’s the dirtiest thing in your bedroom between all the dead skin, facial cosmetics, 26 gallons of sweat you produce in your sleep each year, dust mites and their excretions. Sorry if you find yourself suddenly shifting in bed while reading this.
You might be thinking that you haven’t had any problems with your mattress so far anyways but sleeping on a dirty mattress may have long term effects on your health. Thanks to gravity, even airborne dust particles and debris end up settling on your bed and combined with the heat and moisture produced by your sweaty sleeping body, this makes your bed the perfect breeding grounds for fungi and other allergens.
So, what should you do to remedy this? Clean your mattress!
Strip it
Remove everything on top of your bed, and make sure to strip off and wash your bed sheet and pillow covers. Vacuum over your mattress and sprinkle it with baking soda to remove any odors it might have.
Spot clean
It’s important to remember never to soak your entire mattress in water or cleaning fluids as this might moisten the inside of your mattress and make it even more of a cesspool for bacteria and fungi.
Different types of spots and stains require their own special types of treatments. There are many DIY and natural remedies out there. One of the simpler ones would be to create your own enzyme based cleaner by mixing dish soap with water or mixing equal parts of cold water and hydrogen peroxide.
Spray your concoction of choice on a cloth and lightly dab at the stained area. Dip a separate cloth in cold water and continue to blot the stain until it lightens. Keep in mind to wet your mattress as little as possible to prevent creating too much moisture.
One more dusting for good measure
Sprinkle your mattress with baking soda one last time and leave it to soak for as long as possible, from several hours to overnight. The baking soda absorbs any remaining moisture from your mattress, breaks down any acids, and dispels odors at the same time.
If you can’t keep your mattress outdoors, then crack open a window to let in some fresh air goodness. After letting your mattress soak, vacuum up any remaining particles of dust and baking soda.
Et voilà, you’re good to go (for now). While you don’t need to clean your mattress as often as your bed sheets you should still be giving this a thorough cleaning every 3-6 months. You might also want to consider investing in some high quality (and good fitting) mattress covers to further protect your mattress from dirt and moisture.
Rest easy knowing that you’re sleeping on a clean and sanitary cloud 9. Happy sleeping and don’t let the bedbugs bite!