Knowing how to clean a mattress can help you sleep better at night. There’s more to it than running the vacuum over it now and then. Follow these steps to get rid of stains, dust mites, mold, and other allergens so you can rest easy at night.
You already know about dust mites and other critters in your mattress, but many also contain sweat, blood, urine and other bodily fluids along with mold and mildew. Unless you shower before bed every night, your mattress might also contain dirt, oils and trace chemicals from various toiletries, and even pollen.
Cleaning your mattress is a particularly important cleaning task if you live in a humid environment since yours is likely to retain sweat and moisture even after you get out of bed. Also, if you have pets or small children, chances are your mattress has some stains you don’t even know are there.
I know what you’re thinking: “Thanks, Katie, now I’ll never be able to sleep!” but you don’t have to take a siesta from your snoozing. Just follow this guide, and you’ll know how to clean a mattress, so the only thing that will keep you up at night are the forgotten to-do’s that pop into your head the instant you turn the light off. (Or is that just me?)
How to Clean a Mattress
Before you start cleaning your mattress, strip the bed and launder your linens. Wash and dry your mattress pad first, then the sheets, and finally your bedspread/comforter/duvet. Check the manufacturer’s labels first and use the hottest water and dryer heat setting allowed since heat will kill dust mites in your bedding. While the washer and dryer are doing their thing, turn your attention to the mattress.
1. Vacuum it.
Your vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment is your best tool for mattress cleaning. Start at the top of the mattress and work your way down in overlapping, narrow paths and then vacuum the sides of your mattress the same way. (Don’t worry about the other side of the mattress just yet; we’ll get there.)
2. Deodorize with baking soda.
Although we don’t usually notice our own bodily smells, over time sweat can build up and lead to an unmistakable aroma. To rid your mattress of rankness, sprinkle it well with baking soda and gently rub it in with a scrub brush, so it gets into the mattress fabric where the stink lives. Let the baking soda sit for 10 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
3. Repeat vacuuming.
By scrubbing the baking soda into your mattress, you’ve helped it bond with moisture and body oils in the top layers of material. Vacuuming it a second time pulls that moisture out, along with the cause of the odors.
4. Treat stains.
Mattresses typically acquire three types of stains: blood, urine, and what we’ll call “other bodily fluids.” While it’s best to treat stains immediately, sometimes sleep is more important. Here’s how to clean stains on your mattress after they’ve set in:
Dried blood stains can be treated by making a paste of 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide (3%) mixed with 1 tbsp. each liquid dish soap and table salt. Lightly spread this onto the stain and allow it to sit until dry before scraping the residue off. Dab at any remaining stain with a white rag* dipped into hydrogen peroxide, rotating the cloth as the stain lifts off.
*Using a white rag prevents dye transfer from the cloth to the mattress.
Urine stains are tough but not impossible to get out once they’re dry, but this two-step method helped dramatically when my kids were little.
- Dissolve 3 tbsp. baking soda in 8 oz. of hydrogen peroxide then add a drop or two of liquid dish soap. Dab this solution onto the spot. (Do NOT drench your mattress!)
- If the stain persists, wait until the area is dry then whisk together 3 tablespoons dry laundry detergent powder (NOT Oxiclean or anything containing oxygenated bleach) and 1 tablespoon water to make a dry foam. Lightly spread this on the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Scrape the dried paste away with a spoon. Use a white cloth dipped into hydrogen peroxide to remove any stubborn bits of paste.
- Vacuum the area.
Other bodily fluids (vomit, etc.): Open the windows then, using a white rag, blot the stain with undiluted, unscented household ammonia. Do NOT drench your mattress! Wipe the area with a clean, damp cloth and sprinkle the spot with baking soda to neutralize the ammonia odor and pull out any lingering moisture. Let this dry then vacuum the area thoroughly.
5. Flip it and repeat steps 1-4.
Innerspring or coil mattresses should be flipped side-to-side and top-to-bottom weekly for the first three months of ownership, then quarterly after that. If yours is a pillow-top mattress you can’t flip it over but should still rotate it top to bottom seasonally. While you’ve got the materials handy, repeat the cleaning process on the other side of your mattress.
6. Protect it.
Since cleaning a mattress is such a daunting task, I recommend using a washable mattress cover. I’m not talking about the crinkly, plastic kind you might remember from childhood. These days, mattress covers are made from fabric bonded to a waterproof layer that prevents liquids and dead skin from touching your mattress. (Here’s the one I use.)
Pop the mattress cover into the wash if you have a spill, and make laundering it part of your routine, so you’ll never have to know how to clean a mattress again.
More How-Tos:
Weekly Bedroom Cleaning Routine
How to Get Ink Stains out of Clothes
How to Clean a Keurig (even if you think it’s broken)
Pin How to Clean a Mattress
Best way for me to remember to rotate/flip the mattress is “Spin in Spring, Flip in Fall!”
That’s a great mnemonic, Shane!
I Love that!
That. Is. Awesome. Thank you for solving a lifelong struggle in one fell swoop!
Looks like you forgot an ingredient in the blood-stain removing paste. 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 1tbsp dish soap and 1tbsp salt doesn’t make a paste. other sites use 1/2c corn starch to make the paste, and I think that might be what you’re missing.
Amen LOL we got a liquid…wish I would have read your post first!
It’s bound to happen again, so bookmark me! 😉
The tip for getting urine stain out has worked a gem although I buy premixed washing detergent not powder so didnt get a foam but still smells nice
I always flip my mattress twice. It’s better. You should do the same.
I tried the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda mixture to get those awful brown stains off an expensive king mattress. Worked like magic. At first I thought it wasn’t working but when I looked a half hour or so later the stains were gone! Be patient. More is not always better in this case.
Glad to have helped, Beth!
I used the baking soda peroxide and followed with the rub, but there seems to be excess rub that is dried up but isn’t coming off. Any ideas?
That’s a first. Maybe try using a rag dipped in hydrogen peroxide to clean it up?
I have this exact same problem. The stain is completely gone, however the mattress now has a slightly crusty white film wherever the rub was. I really wish I had skipped that second step and only used the peroxide/baking soda/dish soap which seemed to take the stain out anyways. I first tried getting rid of the excess by simply using a clean cloth and water but one it dried still the same. So now I’ve used more water and the bristle brush to try and scrub the laundry detergent out. I used a fair bit of water this go round so I’ve balanced it wet side down in front of an open window. I’ll see how it looks tomorrow when it dries I guess.
I hope it’s turned out okay for you by now, Carol. I’ve never had a problem with developing a crust that I couldn’t get rid of. Did you use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum to clean the mattress after the second step?
I used a flat rectangular plastic piece about 6″ wide without any bristles on it. I think that I may have used too much? Or a wrong kind of dry detergent. It’s not really visible anymore but I can still feel where the rub was.
How frustrating! I really don’t know what the cause could be but, if you’ve already used a vacuum with an upholstery attachment (hand-held vacs won’t have enough suction power) then try going over the area with a lint brush. That should pick up any remaining rub.
I looked at your website too late. I have already soaked my mattress with bleach and used the steam cleaner on it.obviously that didn’t work very well otherwise I wouldn’t have started looking for your site. I hope to let it dry and then perhaps try one of your methods. I have a urine stain on my bed from my old dog who had kidney problems. scrubbing it with bleach and the steam cleaner only made a big white spot where the urine was and the rest of the mattress is the color of when I bought it. I think I’ve made a mess and this is an expensive mattress. I wish I would have come here first. Wish me luck!
Oh no! Soaking a mattress is never, ever a good idea. But here’s some bad news: if it’s soaked, it’s going to take a very long time to get it completely dry. Blot as well as you can with towels (seriously, put them on and lay down on them, then switch to new ones, repeat, etc. until the towels come up dry) THEN let it air dry or blow a fan at it for a day or so.
After it’s completely dry, give my methods a shot. But don’t soak it — never soak it. Please.
I hope it all works out for you! My dog did the same thing when she was having kidney and liver issues, bless her heart, and the directions in this blog entry fixed it. Wish I had directions to bring her back. She was a very good dog.
🙁
Let me know when you come up with the solution to bring your dog back… I need that too. Really makes me not want another dog bc I don’t think I can go through that again. It’s too hard!
Thank you for the cleaning methods though. I’m going to try it right now.
It took a long time before I felt brave enough to love another dog, Kim. In December, I got a French Bulldog puppy and I absolutely adore her. Life is just better with dogs in it. 🙂
What percentage of hydrogen peroxide is safe to use for mattress stain cleaning and removal? My child has had diarrhea during the night while in bed, an utter nightmare to clean. Tough lesson to learn on using waterproof mattress protectors!
I’m curious about the baking soda/deoderizing part – my fiancé and I have a pillow top mattress (sterns and foster, if the brand matters at all), and I’m worried that using a stiff bristle brush (or any brush, really) will end up completely tearing up the pillow top. is there another way to really get the baking soda into the top of the pillow top?
I have a pillowtop also-Serta. I am leaving out the brushing part. I did the peroxide/baking soday/ dishwashing solution, and it is working wonders.
Then I will just vacuum.
My cat got sick on my bed. Will either method work for vomit/diarrhea?
I’d start with the methods in the article below, then after your mattress is dry use the methods above to get rid of the stain.
http://housewifehowtos.com/clean/how-to-clean-poop/
I am going to try to save my king pillowtop. There’s is a large stain where an infection caused a massive discharge which soaked the mattress. I’m am afraid it is toxic. So I will try the cleaning method and then try to remove the pillowtop. Any suggestions?
The cleaning method should get that stain out, Sharon. With the hydrogen peroxide involved, you can rest easy about any lingering bacteria, too.
Will that work on horrible colored drink stains that’s been set in?
Perri, this should work for ALL stains on a mattress.
Katie your tip for stain worked great. My four year old did a number on my mattress which sift through the mattress cover I had (I ought to think about changing that) and the rest of the solution worked great for removing her pencil graffiti from the wall. Thanks!
Bebe, I’m so glad to have been of help! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. 🙂
I used lemon (from a presqueezed lemon bottle) and salt to make a paste and it turned the light light yellow stain on my mattress SUPER YELLOW! It stained it even more and made it worse!! How do I remove this??!!
Oh my god. The peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap have left a yellow ring where the wetness of it ends ??? This is a $1000 mattress that needs to be returned. Help! How do I get the yellow ring off???
I really don’t know, Melissa. The presqueezed lemon juice you’d mentioned using in a previous comment, presumably from someone else’s tip, most likely contains food dyes. The hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and table salt paste in my article has worked for everyone else — but it’s not designed to get out food dyes. I’m not sure what your best solution is at this point.