How Often Should You Clean Your Mattress?
house cleaning services dubai international city. Mattresses are one of the most commonly used pieces of furniture in your home. On average, you probably spend anywhere from six to eight (or more!) hours a night in your bed. During that time, your mattress can be exposed to everyday elements like dead skin cells, dust, or any bodily sweat and oils. Plus, anyone with pets and kids knows accidents happen.
Luckily, using bedsheets protects your mattress from external elements, but sheets are not a substitute for cleaning. Tiny particles, debris, odors, and stains can still find their way to your mattress. With your mattress being exposed to all these contaminants, how often should you clean it? To protect it and preserve its longevity, a routine cleaning every three to four months — with additional cleaning when necessary situations arise — should be sufficient for keeping it tidy.
Create a Full Bedding Laundry Schedule
While you’re cleaning your mattress, keep in mind how often your linens and bed accessories should be cleaned:
- Weekly for bed sheets
- Six months for duvets
- Three months for pillows
- Two months for mattress protectors
Cleaning your mattress will result in some time when you can’t sleep on your bed, so planning to do all these things together is a good idea. house cleaning services dubai international city
Products You Need to Clean Your Mattress at Home
The technology that goes into mattress construction has evolved over the years, and so have the necessary products needed to clean your mattress. It would certainly be more convenient to have a washing machine large enough to fit a full-size mattress, but since those don’t exist, here are some cleaning products to get you started.
Cleaning Solutions
You won’t need any wildly harsh chemicals to clean your mattress, which makes this process much easier. The first thing you will need for spot-treating stains is an enzyme cleaner or a gentle dish soap. If you don’t have those, a good substitute is a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide and cold water.
In addition to cleaning the stains, you’ll want to eliminate any odors your mattress may have built up. To do this, you’ll want baking soda. Some baking sodas have additive scents, but the original baking soda type will be more than sufficient.
Some people may recommend harsh chemical products, and while they may be effective, it is especially essential to avoid them when cleaning memory foam mattresses. For mattresses made of sensitive materials, a good alternative to chemical cleaning products is a solution of 1 part white vinegar and 1 part cold water.
Whichever route you go, ensure the water you use is cold, as warm water can cause bodily stains from blood, sweat, urine, and vomit to smell worse. For regular stains, warm water is okay to use. house cleaning services dubai international city
Extra Tools and Supplies
While cleaning your mattress may seem like a big job, it’s quite simple and requires only household tools. You’ll need a vacuum with an upholstery attachment, which can vary depending on your mattress material. Your mattress should have manufacturer instructions that will fully explain how best to vacuum it. Make sure you get all the creases and folds of your mattress, where a lot of dust and dirt can build up.
Another important thing to have handy is a sponge or microfiber rag, as they will be essential for applying the cleaning products previously outlined. Using these with your cleaning solutions will prevent you from oversaturating your mattress. Oversaturation can cause mold and mildew growth.
Removing Stains
Now that you’ve gathered all the necessary cleaning supplies, it’s time to clean your mattress. It’s helpful to know that only a few minutes of active cleaning are necessary to clean your mattress, but the full process may take longer, so plan accordingly. To prepare your mattress for cleaning, remove and wash all your linens, pillows, duvets, and more.
Remove Dust and Dirt
Once your mattress is bare, take your vacuum with its upholstery attachment and suck up all the dirt, crumbs, or dust it has collected. You’ll want to practice extra care getting into any cracks or seams your mattress surface has. This step will help you treat your stains without spreading any unwanted debris.
Spot-Treat Your Stains
Once you remove the dirt, you can begin treating the stains. Your mattress is absorbent and thus not easy to dry out, so less is more when using liquids. Identify the stains, spray the solution onto your sponge or rag, and carefully blot them. Do not spray anything directly onto the mattress. Use an enzyme cleaner or your hydrogen peroxide solution for biological stains and dish soap for regular stains. If using dish soap, add extra water afterward to ensure the soap residue is fully removed.
Eliminate Odors
The last step takes the longest, but trust us, it’s worth it. Sprinkle your baking soda over your mattress, let it sit for 2-3 hours, and then vacuum it up. You can let it sit for up to 24 hours for maximum effectiveness, but a few hours is sufficient.
The baking soda will help neutralize any lingering odors and also help remove any lingering moisture. After this step, it’s essential to allow your mattress plenty of time to fully dry out before you put the sheets back on. If you haven’t yet, now would be a good time to start washing those bed linens.
When you’re done deodorizing your mattress, flip and repeat the process for the other side. Once your mattress has been vacuumed, spot-cleaned, and deodorized, you can enjoy a nice long nap with your fresh linens. You’ve earned it!
Get Your Home Cleaning Estimate
Cleaning your home can be very rewarding for some but a chore for others. For an extra hand with cleaning your house, consider ZSBC Cleanings’ residential cleaning service. We proudly service homes, townhomes, condominiums, apartment homes, and more. Cleaning services are great for one-time or recurring jobs, and our judgment-free personal cleaning staff is here to help you keep your home feeling as fresh as the day you moved in.
If you think professional home cleaning would be right for you, contact ZSBC Cleaning for an estimate or learn more about our services and restrictions. Check out our FAQ for more general information to find out if ZSBC cleaning services are right for you.