A clean mattress is comfortable - you feel confident sleeping in it, and you don't get allergies from dirt and dust mites. But mattresses are incredibly difficult to deep clean, and we don't often wash our mattresses when we have protective covers that go on top of the mattress pad.
Despite using a mattress protector, fluids, and stains can still infiltrate your mattress pad. You would usually wash stained fabrics to clean them, but how to clean mattress stains when you can't just toss the mattress pad in the laundry machine?
In this article, we'll go through the common types of mattress stains and how to remove them. Keep these as reference, so you can be prepared to clean any nighttime accident, stained spot, and mold growth on your mattress!
What Are the Common Mattress Stains?
Urine Stains
Urine stains are most common for households with children and pets, especially children who have yet to learn to sleep through the night without bedwetting. Bedwetting is a normal occurrence in children, and parents often wash the mattress out after an accident. Urine can stain, especially when accidents happen frequently. It can also be the cause of odor, and bacterial growth.
Vomit Stains
When you're sick, you may not have the will to wait until you get to the bathroom to throw up. Plus, being sick makes it difficult for you to clean up immediately, and if you're taking care of a sick relative, your focus is on the sick person, rather than the stains on the mattress. Vomit stains are made of greasy foods, stomach acid, and liquids, which emit foul odors.
Blood Stains
Blood stains are another common type of mattress stains, particularly for women during their time of the month. Period blood can seep into the mattress, and cause staining on the surface. When not cleaned immediately, blood can be difficult to remove once dried, so getting rid of the fresh blood stain as soon as possible is important to keep your mattress clean.
Sweat Stains
Sweat stains are mostly built up of dust particles, dirt, and bacteria that thrived on sweat that seeped into the mattress. This type of mattress stain requires disinfection as well as cleaning. Sweat stains are inevitable on mattresses that are not often cleaned, or don't use a mattress protector.
Makeup and Product Stains
Your makeup and body products are actually pretty greasy. The oils are what gives these products the nourishing and moisturizing factor, but they can also cause difficult-to-remove stains on your mattress. Products with dyes, such as lipsticks and tanning lotions, may be difficult to remove once they set into the fabric of your mattress pad.
Mold Stains
Any moisture that gets into your mattress - be it sweat, urine, water, or blood, can be the start of mold growth. Mold and mildew can cause stains on mattresses, and you will need to kill off the mold colonies to prevent the stains from coming back. They also emit a musty odor, which can be unappealing to sleep on when you're trying to get a good night's rest.
Food Stains
If you have a habit of eating in bed, consider changing your habit. Food stains are greasy, oily, and can attract mold, mildew, and dust mites onto your bed. You may also have other problems, like ants, roaches, and other pests making a home in your mattress. Remove all traces of food from your mattress, and consider separating your dinner table from your bed.
How to Clean Mattress Stains
How to Remove Urine Stains
Both pet urine and human urine can be cleaned the same way. Create an odor-removing and sanitizing solution with 8 ounces of hydrogen peroxide (3% concentration), 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap. Place the solution in a spray bottle, and spray all over the mattress, even the unstained areas. Blot with a towel, and repeat until the urine stain is gone.
How to Clean Vomit Stains
If the vomit is fresh, use baking soda to absorb all the liquid. Wipe off as much of the uneaten food chunks as you can, and sprinkle baking soda all over the bedding. Let the baking soda absorb the liquid and deodorize at the same time. Use a cleaning solution mix made with 1/2 a cup of baking soda, 1 cup of vinegar, and 1 cup of water to remove the stains as well as the odor.
If the vomit has dried, wash all the bedding in the laundry machine as normal, and use the baking soda and vinegar solution to lift the stains out. wipe clean with a towel or some paper towels, and let the baking soda and vinegar solution dry to deodorize.
How to Remove Blood Stains
Hydrogen peroxide is perfect for removing blood stains. Place a few drops of hydrogen peroxide right onto the blood stain spot, and let the mixture bubble. Blot the stain out with a towel, and repeat the process until the stain is completely gone. Let the hydrogen peroxide sit to bleach out the stain, and to disinfect the area as well.
How to Remove Sweat Stains
Fill half your spray bottle with vinegar, and half with water. Spray the solution on the areas where stains are visible, and let the solution sit for around five to ten minutes. Spray another layer, and use a towel to slot out the stains. The first spritz loosens up the stain, while the second prepares it for blotting. Make sure you get deep into where sweat seeped into.
How to Remove Makeup and Product Stains
Makeup and product stains are often only on the surface level. Mix together liquid dish soap with enough baking soda to make a paste, and use this paste on the makeup stain. Let the paste dry, and scrub out with a soft brush. The liquid dish soap breaks down the oils, while the baking soda lifts the stain from your mattress!
How to Remove Mold Stains
If your mattress is white, use bleach to get rid of the mold stains, and kill the mold and mildew colonies in the process. Mix 1/2 a cup of chlorine bleach into a gallon of water, and place the solution in a spray bottle for convenient cleaning. Use the bleach solution as a stain remover directly on mold spots, and let it sit until the stain is gone.
For non-white mattresses, use a solution of white vinegar and water in a stronger, 2:1 ratio. Spray the solution all over your entire mattress, and blot out the mold spots using a paper towel. Let the spray dry completely, and repeat the process until the mold spots are gone.
How to Remove Food Stains
With food stains, your main enemy is grease. There are two ways you can remove food stains: if the stain is fresh, use cornstarch to absorb the oils from the food, and vacuum out the cornstarch after 30 minutes. Use a sponge or towel dipped in hot water to blot the stain out.
If the food stain has dried and set, apply a drop of pure, dishwashing liquid to break down the oils. Carefully spread the dishwashing liquid until it covers the entire stain. Let it sit for ten minutes, then use a sponge or towel soaked in hot water to scrub out the stain. You may need to keep a basin with you so you can squeeze out the water between intervals.
Get a Good Night's Sleep
It isn't comfortable to sleep on a stained mattress. Dust, allergens, and pests can linger in dirty mattresses so frequent cleaning is a must. Get rid of stains as soon as possible, and go for a deep clean of your mattress every few months or so to maintain your quality of sleep.
Luce SG offers mattress cleaning services for all living spaces in Singapore! Our expert cleaners will get those stains out, and give you a fully-cleaned mattress inside and out. Deep cleaning will deodorize, clean, and sanitize your mattress, so you can sleep well knowing you're lying on clean sheets.
Schedule a free consultation with us today to learn more about our services.
