How to clean a mattress: Tips and tricks

Good hygiene is essential for extending the lifespan of your mattress to the maximum, as well as crucial for enjoying a good rest. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how to clean a mattress properly and what you need to do to tackle any type of stain.

Without proper maintenance and cleaning, your mattress can accumulate over a hundred million mites, bacteria, and fungi. Do you really want to be sharing your bed with them? Knowing how to clean a mattress well is even more important if you have allergies, dermatitis, or respiratory problems, and of course, it's essential to avoid unpleasant odours.

To assist you, as specialists in products for the best rest, at Vilma Sleep we have prepared a guide with everything you need to know to clean your mattress. In this article, we explain how to tackle any type of stain, advise on how often you should clean your mattress, with which products, and recommend the best products to keep your mattresses in good condition. Take note and discover how to clean a mattress like a specialist!

How to Clean the Mattress Based on the Type of Stain

The method and materials suitable for cleaning your mattress will depend on the type of stain you want to remove. A tip? Always try to do this in the morning and leave the room well-ventilated throughout the day to prevent moisture buildup and allow the odours of the products used to dissipate, which are not always pleasant for sleeping!

How to Clean Urine Stains from Mattresses

The best option to clean urine stains from a mattress is to use baking soda or water with lemon if you also need to combat bad odours.

To clean urine from a mattress with baking soda, follow these three steps:

1. Place a cup of baking soda with a little water (just enough to form a paste) on the stain.
2. Cover the mattress with plastic and let the baking soda sit for at least six hours.
3. Remove the plastic and vacuum the baking soda.

If there's still any trace of the stain and/or odour, use the following trick:

1. Boil a litre of water with the juice of one lemon.
2. Spray the stain with the mixture and let it act until it dries. 

For even more stubborn stains, prepare a mixture with two parts baking soda, two parts white vinegar, and one part detergent. Simply apply the solution to the stain and let it dry.

How to Clean Blood Stains from a Mattress

For blood stains, it's best to use hydrogen peroxide as it has the ability to break them down. 

However, be careful, hydrogen peroxide has strong bleaching power and if your mattress is coloured, it may “eat away” the colour and leave a yellowish stain. If your mattress isn't pure white, we recommend testing in a discreet area beforehand to ensure that the colour won't be damaged.

To clean a blood stain with hydrogen peroxide, simply follow three steps:

1. Soak a cotton cloth with hydrogen peroxide.
2. Rub the stain vigorously for a few minutes.
3. Let it sit until it dries.

How to Clean Sweat Stains from a Mattress

The best option for cleaning sweat stains from our mattress is to use white vinegar. You can mix it with water and lemon if you want to reduce the unpleasant odour when treating multiple stains or a very large stain.

Here's how to use white vinegar to remove a sweat stain from the mattress:

1. Apply the vinegar or the mixture of vinegar with water and lemon in a sprayer.
2. Spray the stain and let it start working for a few minutes.
3. Sprinkle baking soda on the stain and you'll see an effervescent reaction occur.
4. Wait for the effervescence to finish and the product to dry.
5. Vacuum up the residue.

How to Clean a Mattress with Damp Stains

For damp stains, the best solution to remove them from the mattress is to use baking soda for its drying, antiseptic, and antibacterial properties. Additionally, if the stains are particularly stubborn, a trick is to mix baking soda with a little hydrogen peroxide to enhance its effects.

To clean damp stains from a mattress with baking soda, simply follow these three steps:

1. Prepare a mixture with 250 grams of baking soda and five drops of tea tree oil, a powerful natural disinfectant that smells fantastic.
2. Cover the entire stain with the mixture.
3. Let it sit for an hour and vacuum up the residue using a vacuum cleaner.

How to Clean a Mattress with Vomit Stains

Once it has dried, vomit can be quite difficult to remove. To treat it, you have two options:

1. Use a mixture of white vinegar, warm water, and liquid soap in equal parts.
2. Use a mixture of water with lemon that we recommended earlier for treating urine stains. This option, as mentioned, is perfect for eliminating bad odours as well.

Usually, one of these two solutions will be sufficient, but if the stain still persists, we recommend trying an enzyme cleaner. You can find these types of products at any drugstore, and they are designed to dissolve stains, although it's always better to try natural solutions first.

How Often Should You Clean the Mattress?

To keep your mattress in perfect condition and ensure you can rest while enjoying maximum health and hygiene, it is recommended to deep clean it every month. Additionally, we also recommend some daily and weekly maintenance tasks so that you can enjoy maximum hygiene and comfort.

We propose a cleaning routine to care for your mattress—take note!

Daily:

1. Open the windows when you wake up and let the room ventilate for at least half an hour.
2. Make the bed by shaking the sheets and pillows well.

Weekly:

1. Change the sheets for clean ones.
2. Take the opportunity to check the mattress for possible stains. If you find any, treat them using the tips we shared in the previous section.

Once a month:

1. Vacuum your mattress to remove dust mites and dust residues.

What Products to Use to Clean a Mattress?

Now that you know how to clean a mattress, you're probably wondering what products to use. Although we've been recommending products to treat specific stains in each section, we'll compile everything you should have at home to keep your mattress perfect.

While you can find all sorts of cleaning products at the supermarket, we recommend prioritizing natural options. Keep in mind that you'll be spending many hours in contact with your mattress while sleeping, so it's best to avoid chemical products whenever possible.

Without further ado, here are some of the best products for cleaning a mattress:

1. Water and lemon: Inexpensive, easy to prepare, and with a fresh, refreshing scent. It's ideal for treating urine, sweat, or vomit stains and combating bad odours.
2. Baking soda: A very economical, odourless, and versatile product that you can use to eliminate moisture, treat different types of stains, and kill bacteria and dust mites.
3. White vinegar: Highly effective for cleaning all types of stains, especially urine and sweat stains. It can be combined with baking soda to enhance its effects. The only drawback is the smell, but the trick is to mix it with a little water and lemon and/or ventilate well so that it dissipates in a couple of hours.
4. Hydrogen peroxide: The secret to removing blood stains, which are some of the most difficult to tackle with any other product.
5. Detergents: The solution when you can't completely remove stains with other solutions. We recommend opting for liquid options and trying to find those that are as natural as possible. Eco-friendly detergents can be a great choice because they don't contain harsh chemicals like bleach or ammonia. Plus, they're beneficial for the environment.

How to Maintain Your Mattress in Good Condition

The best way to keep your mattress in good condition and free of stains is to protect it with a mattress cover or a waterproof mattress protector. These textile products are placed between the mattress and the fitted sheet to fulfil a simple yet important goal: preventing it from staining and/or getting damaged by any kind of spillage, splashes, sweat, etc.

Remember that mattress protectors and covers also need washing even if they are not in direct contact with the body. Address any stains you find when changing the sheets right away, and still, launder your mattress covers and protectors at least two to three times a year and whenever you find it necessary.

For under €50, you can purchase a cover or protector that will help you extend the lifespan of your mattress, preventing stains or loss of its properties. Check out the options we propose at Vilma Sleep, your specialist store for the best sleep products.