Cleaning your mattress protects your health and extends the life of your bed. Read on to learn the secret to how to clean a memory foam mattress.
If you want to stay healthy, one of the best ways to do it is keep your mattress clean. You’ll be spending around a third of your life sleeping on it, so you need to do proper maintenance for it.
Keeping your room clean is important in your life. Keeping your mattress hygienic provides an added quality of life that can keep you healthier for longer. This is more true for memory foam, which gives you added health benefits.
But do you know how to clean a memory foam mattress? Is cleaning a foam mattress a chore?
In this guide, we’ll give you the top tips on how you can start cleaning a memory foam mattress and extend its life.
How do you do it? Are there any secrets to it?
Let’s find out.
- Cleaning A Memory Foam Mattress
As we said, we spend around a third of our lives sleeping on our mattresses. Bed heads like some of us will spend more because sleep is a great pastime for some. When you use it, however, you will start accumulating things on it.
Dust particles are the most common problems you’ll find on mattresses. There are also other things, like:
- Sweat
- Body odors
- Hair
- Dead skill cells
- Pet fur and dander
- Body fluids and secretions
As you can see, having these on your bed is a definite no-no. Even if there’s very little of it, this will collect over time and become a problem. Musty, dirty mattresses can make you sick.
Improper maintenance can grow mold, fungi and have a lot of dust mites. This can lead to severe allergies, infections, and even asthma. This is why you need something that can keep your bed hygienic.
Even memory foam is not safe from this. A sponge mattress will still need cleaning, even high-quality mattresses like the tuft and needle mint.
So, how can you go on cleaning a foam mattress? There are a few ways to do it.
- Vacuum Your Mattress First
The first thing you need to do to clean your mattress is to give it a good vacuuming. A strong hand vacuum is ideal for this type of maintenance work. If you don’t have a handheld unit, a floor unit will do as long as you remove any dust particles first.
If you have it, add a brush attachment to help clear out any stuck debris. Give the surface of the bed a few passes to get as much lint and dust. You would want to be thorough about this part.
A good 40% of the work will come from proper removal of dust and debris. If you do it right, that’s two-fifths of the work done.
- Using Cleaners To Remove Stains
You need to remember is that memory foam comes from a petroleum-based material. This means you need to be careful with the chemicals that you use when cleaning it. When cleaning a memory foam mattress, make sure to prevent the use of harsh cleaning solutions and chemicals.
This includes:
- Ammonia-based cleaning products
- Bleach and other similar products
- Peroxide-based cleaners
Using hard chemicals can ruin your mattress. For a proper cleaning solution, combine two parts water to one part of either fabric cleaner or white vinegar solution. You would want to give this solution a vigorous shake until it’s homogenous.
Put the solution in a spray bottle and do light sprays all over. While you’re working on your sponge mattress, don’t forget to not get it too wet. Extreme moisture can lead to mold and mildew buildup.
If there are obvious stains, get a clean, damp cloth with some soapy water. Squeeze out much of the excess liquid and give it a good wipe. If you have some steam cleaner systems, that’s usable as well.
- Deodorizing Your Sponge Mattress
So, you removed stains with your cleaning solution. What’s next? Your next goal when cleaning a foam mattress is to deodorize the entire bed.
How do you do it?
Baking soda is a great cleaning material you can use for both tough stains and extreme odors. Sprinkle it all over the mattress. Depending on the smell or the stains, you would want to have a different type of coverage altogether.
You want a thin coverage across a wide area for general deodorizing and spot stain removal. There is fresh urine, you want to pile on it as much as you can, layering on the entire surface area of the stain.
Keep this layer of baking soda for a few hours. The ideal time when waiting for this to work is around 8 – 12 hours. You would want to start in the morning and finish the entire process at night.
- Finishing and Cleaning A Foam Mattress, With More Tips
Once you’re done with the baking soda, vacuum all of it and make sure the bed is both dry and clean. Put on the beddings where possible.
A good maintenance tip is to use both sides of your bed. After cleaning one side, flip the bed when possible and clean it as well. If it is clean as is, you can use it as the surface to sleep on.
The thing about a sponge mattress is that it keeps its shape. Even then, long-term use may leave it having an uneven surface. Using either side can help keep your mattress in its best shape.
You would also want to fan dry your bed when cleaning a foam mattress. You would want to use some waterproof cover if there are kids or pets that might pee on it as well.
How To Clean A Memory Foam Mattress
If you’re learning how to clean a memory foam mattress, you want to be thorough with it. Make sure to do some good vacuuming and spot cleaning to remove any debris. Deodorize it when you can, together with removing big stains with a homemade solution.
Are you looking for more tips to help in your household? Check out our other guides and see what fits your needs.
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A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.