While you might use a mattress protector, stains, sweat and dead skin cells still manage to pass the divide. This only fuels creeping dust mite populations and other bacteria lurking in and around your mattress, causing unwanted odours, damage to your mattress, and allergies.
To avoid this and make your nighttime routine that much more hygienic, we’ve created a mattress cleaning guide specifically tackling how to get rid of mattress stains.
How to get rid of stains on your mattress
Who can help the morning coffee spills or the early morning accidents from your kids (or, for me, my dog)? While that’s what your mattress protector and linen should be helping with, they don’t always perform perfectly.
What you’ll need:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Gentle or mild liquid dish soap
- White vinegar
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Clean cloth
- Clean sponge
- Container filled with some cold water
- Dry microfibre cloth
For mild or surface stains
Mild or surface stains can include anything from drool, minor tea or coffee spills, and other minimal spills you managed to blot before they had the chance to soak further into the mattress.
- Remove all the bedding, including the mattress protector. Be sure to pop these into the wash while you’re at it. Air out or wash the pillows and duvet, laying them in direct sunlight to kill off any germs and remove odours.
- Sprinkle some bicarb directly onto the mattress. Let this sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Vacuum the mattress, removing the bicarb and any other debris like crumbs and pet dander.
- Now, add a couple of drops of dish soap to the container. Disperse the soap in the water. Using a clean cloth, dampen it in the soapy water.
- Use this cloth to spot clean stains. Ensure you’re blotting the areas and not rubbing them.
- Repeat a couple more times until the stain lightens, rinsing the cloth regularly to get rid of the dirt.
- To finish, use a dry microfibre cloth to blot the cleaned areas as dry as you can manage.
- Leave the mattress to air dry for a few hours. If you’re in a hurry, you can use a hair dryer to dry the surface.
For intense or deep stains
Intense or deep stains can include blood, urine, mud, vomit, and other major spills that were left to soak into the mattress.
- Follow steps 1 to 3 as discussed above.
- In a bowl, mix 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide with 1 tablespoon dish soap. Mix well.
- Use a clean sponge to apply this solution directly to mattress stains.
- Let the solution sit for 5 to 10 minutes before blotting the stains with a clean, damp cloth.
- If this is working, you can repeat as many times as it takes (three or four times might be the charm).
- However, if this hasn’t really made much of a difference, or the stain is that deep, spray some white vinegar onto the area. Sprinkle a generous amount of bicarb on top and place a towel over the area. Leave this for one or two hours.
- Then, remove the towel and vacuum up the bicarb. If the area is still a little stained, use a damp cloth to blot away any excess.
- Then finish off by blotting the area with a dry microfibre cloth and leaving to air dry for a few hours.
Tips for preventing stains
While there really isn’t a tip for preventing stains, like preventing your dog from having an accident or you from spilling your morning coffee, here are a few that may help prevent any substances sinking into the mattress too deeply:
- Use a mattress protector!
- Blot away excess stains as soon as they occur
- Regularly clean your bedding, pillows, duvet and other accessories
- Air out your mattress every time you make the bed to avoid trapped moisture
- Invest in natural fibres (like cotton and bamboo) for your bedding and your linen to keep everything less sweaty and moist
Also See: How often should you wash your bedding? The complete cleaning guide
How often should you wash your bedding? The complete cleaning guide
