Learning how to clean a mattress (like learning how to wash pillows) is one of those household tasks that isn’t always top of mind. If you think about it, you spend about ⅓ of your life laying on your mattress so making sure you take good care of it is important. Luckily, mattress cleaning and maintenance isn’t very difficult – all you need is baking soda, a vacuum, and hydrogen peroxide to clean, deodorize, and treat stains!
HOW TO CLEAN A MATTRESS
- Remove all pillows, sheets, mattress protector, etc. and sprinkle the surface of your mattress with baking soda
- Leave baking soda on the surface of your mattress for 12-24 hours (the longer the better!) to absorb any odors or moisture
- Vacuum baking soda plus any lingering dust, dirt, and dead skin that inevitably seeps between the fibers of your sheets away before re-making the bed!
HOW TO REMOVE STAINS FROM A MATTRESS
If your mattress has a tough stain to remove, follow these steps:
- Attach a spray nozzle to a bottle of hydrogen peroxide
- Spray the mattress stain lightly with the hydrogen peroxide then leave it alone to dry completely
- You will be amazed by how effective this is! If after drying, you notice the stain isn’t fully gone just repeat the process
- Never spray so much that you soak the mattress and always make sure it is FULLY dry before covering up with sheets
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF A MATTRESS
- Rotate your mattress every 3 months (TIP: set up a recurring calendar reminder to let you know when it’s time to rotate again)
- If you use a box spring, rotate the box spring every 6 months (but never flip!) to keep it from wearing too quickly in one area
- Protect your mattress from future stains with a quality mattress protector – consider a waterproof mattress protector if you have young children who are more prone to getting sick/having accidents
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR PILLOWS
Pillows require regular cleaning as well! Check out how to wash your pillows.
Like what you see?
Subscribe and receive a PDF copy of my daily cleaning checklist + weekly tips on how to live a cleaner life!