You can only imagine how dirty your mattress is after you've spent an average of 8 hours per day for the last 365 days in your bed without giving it a clean. All those late night snacking crumbs, dirty socks and forgetting to take off your makeup have an affect on the state of your bed.
The condition of your mattress depends on a variety of factors; including how old your mattress may be, how many hours you spend in your bed, whether you have pets or not and how often you clean your bedding. Someone who regularly airs out their room and washes their sheets every fortnight will definitely not have the same mattress as someone who has had the same mattress for over a decade and never ventilates their room.
Our mattresses harbour dust mites, dust, dead skin cells, fungi and other debris. It is predicted that an average bed may contain anything from 100 000 to 10 million dust mites that feed off our dead skin cells. Majority of mattresses may have a bacteria called Staphylococcus. It’s seemingly a harmless bacterium, however it is relatively contagious and has been linked to skin issues such as acne or rashes. Some bacterial species may survive on your beds for 2 weeks, while others, such as the Influenza viruses can survive up to 12 weeks on our bedding’s fabric.
It's highly recommended that we give our mattresses a thorough clean at least once every 6 months. While this sounds tedious or extremely time consuming, it's remarkably beneficial for our health and increases the longevity of our mattress.
Here is how you can easily give your mattress a clean this weekend:
Step One: Your Cleaning Supplies
Make sure that you have all your cleaning supplies ready for the process. You will need the following:
A Vacuum Cleaner/Hoover + Upholstery fitting
White vinegar
Baking soda
Cold Water
Hydrogen Peroxide (Optional for Stain Removal)
Step Two: Strip The Bed
Here’s where the fun begins. You will need to strip everything off your bed, including any mattress protectors and throw them all in the washing machine. To ensure that you’re killing dust mites and bacteria, you should wash your sheets with hot water instead of cold water.
The recommended temperature is nothing less than 55 Degrees Celsius, but make sure that you read the manufacturers label on the bedding to avoid any shrinkage or damage to the fabric.
Step Three: Vacuum The Mattress
Now that you’ve got a bare mattress, use your vacuum cleaner with the upholstery attachment (If you have one) and give your mattress a thorough once over, including the sides. Don’t forget to get into the small gaps and stitching as dust mites and allergens love this area.
Step Four: Spray White Vinegar
White Vinegar is used as a fantastic antibacterial agent and therefore will help in killing any bacteria on your mattress.
You will need to mix 1 cup white vinegar with 2 cups of cold water in a clean bottle and generously spray this mixture onto your mattress to kill any dust mites and bacteria on the surface. You’ll need to leave this for a while until its properly dried out. Open your windows to allow fresh air into the room.
Step Five: Stain Removal (Optional Step)
If you have visible stains on your mattress that you want to get rid of, you can use an any enzyme cleaner, such as Hydrogen Peroxide or you can mix vinegar with baking soda to make a paste. Whether you’re using the hydrogen peroxide or baking soda paste, use a white cloth and dab a small amount onto the stain and gently scrub the affected area. Repeat as necessary until you’re satisfied
Step Six: Baking Soda
Whether or not you followed Step Five, you’ll need to make sure that the vinegar or any other substances that you used on the mattress are completely dry. Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda all over the mattress. Baking soda aids in absorbing any moisture and removing odours. Leave for an hour or longer – as you desire.
Step Seven: Vacuum 2.0
We’re almost there! Lastly, you’ve got to vacuum up the mattress one last time to remove any baking soda and anything that could have been initially missed. If you have a material bedframe – don’t forget to give this a quick vacuum as well to remove any dust and dirt.
Now that your mattress and bedding is freshly cleaned, here’s a few pointers to keep your bed as sanitary as possible:
1. Keep snacking and eating in your bed to a minimum
2. Open your windows and air out your bedroom and bedding every morning
3. Give your mattress a quick vacuum once a month to remove dust and allergens.
4. Don’t get into your bed dirty. Shower and change into clean clothes before climbing into your bed.
5. Wash your bedding at high temperatures to kill bacteria and dust mites.
1 in 6 individuals suffer with allergies. If you suffer with asthma and allergies, you might not think about all the allergens hiding in your bed, so we'd suggest trying to frequently air our your rooms and hoover your mattresses and headboards at least once a month.