Your bed is where you retreat to every night after a full day's work as the bed provides you a cradling comfort that minimizes your stress. However, when your mattress pad is starting to look grimey, feel lumpy, and gather dust, then it's time for a good cleaning!
But how do you wash such a large piece of furniture? For one, the mattress pad isn't going to fit in your laundry machine, nor will it be easy to wash in a basin. In this guide, we'll present how you can clean your mattress pad at home using a few household tools:
How Often to Wash Mattress Pad?
You may not sleep directly on mattress pads, but they can get dirty just as mattress protectors do. Sweat, drool, and bodily fluids can seep into the foam of the mattress, causing wet stains. Mold, mildew, and dust mites can infiltrate your mattress, and damage the furniture from within.
Bed bugs are named so for a reason: they love dirty beds! However, these pests can be more than just a home-related nuisance. They can invade your home and cause an infestation that could take months to eradicate. Plus, they bite and suck your blood too. Mattress pads present as prime real estate for these critters.
So how often should you wash your mattress pad, and should you wash your mattress protector as well? As a general rule, you should wash your fitted sheet in warm water at least once a week for a complete clean. For mattress pads, you should wash these every few months or so.
The best tell-tale sign that your mattress pad needs a good wash is to check its surface: are there visible stains or evident odors that you can sense from your mattress? If so, then you should give the mattress a good wash. If not, then schedule a wash once every 3-4 months or so just to maintain and upkeep your mattress.
How to Wash a Mattress Pad
Before you do any sort of cleaning, check for the washing instructions on your mattress. Mattress pads would often come with a care label to ensure that the product is maintained well. Different materials can react to different solutions, so it is best to find out specific cleaning directions for your mattress through the care label.
Generally, a mattress can be washed the manual way, but you may machine wash a mattress protector on a gentle cycle for convenience, or as directed by the care label. You will need to remove the bed sheets and mattress toppers from the mattress to deep clean the pad. Here is our step-by-step guide in mattress cleaning:
Washing a Mattress
Step 1: Prepare your wash area by lining the floors with some vinyl or plastic liners. This waterproof lining will protect your mattress from direct contact with the ground, where it may pick up more dirt. Prepare your wet vacuum as well.
Step 2: Prepare your cleaning solution: half a cup of dish soap in a bucket filled with cold or lukewarm water. You may also opt to use a commercial furniture shampoo, but make sure to read the label for skin-safe solutions.
Step 3: Remove the mattress protector from your mattress pad. When possible, dismantle your mattress from your bed frame and take the mattress outside to your washing area. Lay the mattress on the protective liner to prevent dirt.
Step 4: Using a scrub brush, apply the mild detergent solution directly onto your mattress. Brush away at any stain, and go over the entire surface of your mattress. Let the solution soak into the interior foam to clean out the inside.
Step 5: Allow the detergent to break down the oils, stains, and grime from your mattress. In the meantime, prepare your vacuum cleaner and set to the wet function.
Step 6: Use the wet vacuum to go over your entire mattress. You may see that the water has a gray to dark gray coloration - that is the accumulated dust and dirt that you've been sleeping on for years! Keep vacuuming up the excess until you no longer feel moisture getting sucked up.
Step 7: Rinse out your mattress by pouring water all over the mattress, and vacuuming up the excess. Repeat steps 4-7 until the water sucked up by the vacuum cleaner turns clear.
Step 8: Allow the mattress to completely air dry before using. As much as possible, do this on a hot day so the mattress will dry much faster. Place your mattress back on the bed frame and cover with a bed sheet or fitted sheets to finish the entire process.
Bonus step: A dirty mattress protector would make your bed just as filthy, even after you've washed your mattress! Wash your mattress protector in the laundry machine, and dry it before placing back on mattress pads. Have different mattress protectors so you can switch them out every now and then.
For Mites and Bugs
Mites and other pests can make a home in your mattress pad. In this care, you will need to place your mattress covers in a hot setting, on a delicate cycle and tumble dry them to get rid of the pests. For the pad itself, best to wash these with hot water when possible to kill off the pests.
Vacuum thoroughly, and use laundry detergent to clean other fixtures: your pillows, soft clothing, and other bedding where the bugs could have gone to. Avail of a pest control service to treat large infestations.
Removing Mattress Stains
Those brown and gray stains on your mattress are indicative of mildew colonies, which can stain your mattress and give it a musty odor. Mildew grows when moisture such as sweat and water lingers on the material, allowing mildew spores to grow.
You can spot-clean these using some vinegar and baking soda. Make a spray out of vinegar and baking soda, and apply directly on the stained areas. Let the spray settle to remove the stains. After 10 minutes, blot out the moisture using a clean towel. You can also use the same spray to deodorize your mattress!
Prioritize your Sleep
A restful sleep is what gets you through the day, and prioritizing your sleep means to keep your home clean and free of allergens like dust and pollen. Luce SG is the leading mattress cleaning company in Singapore that will help you achieve just that. Our expert cleaners will get the grime out of your mattress - happiness guaranteed!
