So here’s my take—everyone’s on a cleaning rampage when it comes to their bedding, right? You wash your sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers, …crazy I know, but some people in fact do it every single week. Impressed? So am I. I try to keep up with my sheets when I can! It’s one of those things you do because you’re supposed to, like, floss or drink water.
Anyway – no one talks about cleaning the mattress. Like, ever. You’re seriously lying on this big, porous sponge for what— a third of your life? More if you’re a napper! And unless there is a catastrophe, like a spilled drink or some creature-bodily-fluid, you don’t ever give it a second thought. And even if you have a mattress protector, and you ensure that it fits properly, all the gaps— deep down you think that it’s okay and that you have this invisible force field preventing sweat, dust mites, other creature fluids, or who knows what else, from getting to your mattress. That’s actually a bit silly.
Anyway, if you are kinda disturbed right about now — welcome. The bright side is that you can clean it up and freshen it without dragging it into the sun — or whatever you were picturing. It’s a simple little recipe that works much better than you think, and you can definitely find the ingredients somewhere in your house.
Here’s what you’ll need:
3 tablespoons of baking soda
8 ounces of hydrogen peroxide
1 drop (literally just one) of liquid dish soap
A regular size spray bottle—preferably clean, not one that has permament herbicide in it or something.
Alright, step one is to vacuum the mattress. If you have a small handheld attachment, use it. Get the seams and edges; there is likely more dust and crumbs and hair than you want to admit. Don’t skip this part. You aren’t doing it just for fun, and removing the loose debris will make the cleaning solution work better later.
Next, mix your ingredients. The baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and final (and yes weird) one drop of dish soap. That last one sounds really weird–but soap helps break down oils and, blah, blah, science stuff. Just don’t add more soap assuming it is better–because it only makes a bubbly mess. Just dump the mixture into your spray bottle and shake gently. Nothing too violent–you don’t want foam.
Then lightly spray the whole mattress surface. Don’t drench it–it’s not a sponge bath. Just mildly mist it evenly across the top. And then you wait. Let it dry completely. You might need to wait a few hours, depending on the room temperature and air flow. If you are impatient–and most of us are–crack a window or aim a fan at it.
Once completely dry, vacuum it again. That’s to pick up whatever bacteria and/or baking soda residue is left and to fluffed the overall surface back up a little. You are probably not going to have an “ah ha” before & after moment–but, it will feel cleaner, smell a lot better (more like neutral, less like a combination of hot human and regret.
Posted by Lika Tegerashvili on Wednesday, January 30, 2019
That’s about it. No crazy tools or industrial cleaners needed. It’s cheap, fairly easy, and does take some work in case you are already doing laundry or cleaning anyway.
Now, let’s be honest–this has limits. If your mattress is lumpy or sagging or somehow smells like sadness you will only prolong the inevitable. They say you should replace your mattress every 8 to 10 years. That feels a little excessive, until you remember how much rancidness is likely baked into your old mattress. At some point, all the baking soda in the world isn’t going to save your mattress.
But until then? This should do the trick.
