A good mattress is a great sleep companion! It allows you to get a good night’s rest, only to wake up feeling fresh in the morning.
How does a dirty mattress sound like? Would you feel comfortable sleeping on a surface that has not been cleaned since you got it? Surely, you have the option to throw it away and get a new one. However, before you go down that path, you should know that you can conveniently clean your mattress right at home.
Is it Possible?
Since you are already using your steam cleaner on your carpets, how about using it for your upholstery as well? In case you were wondering, yes, it is possible to use a portable carpet cleaner on a mattress.
The benefits of using this tool are quite a few. You will be able to eliminate various stains generated by sweat, dirt, dust mites, bedbugs, mosquitoes, and even urine.
Moreover, cleaning your mattress using the carpet cleaner is also much cheaper than hiring professional cleaners.
Advantages
While removing light stains from the surface of the mattress is not the most difficult task, going deep is not that easy either. Hot water extraction is a great choice for removing deep, old stains.
If you have a steamer, you should know that the steam is very effective at removing allergens and disinfecting the surfaces.
Old urine stains can be deeply embedded in the mattress. In such cases, a steam cleaner may not be able to remove these spots. Therefore, you should go more aggressively with hot water extraction or dry cleaning. The second option uses powder or foam with chemical stain removers.
Furthermore, even if it is better to call a professional exterminator, in case you have to deal with a bedbug infestation, you can also go for steam cleaning which is an excellent choice for routine sanitization and cleaning, as well.
How to Clean Your Mattress?
If you are one of those people who prefer natural methods of cleaning without the use of harmful chemicals, here is a great way to perform this task. Moreover, it is completely safe for you and your family.
You will need to prefer a few things before you start. Make sure you have enough baking soda, your steamer, and a vacuum cleaner.
Step-by-step Procedure
First, you will need to remove the mattress cover, sheets, pillows, and anything else you might have on it.
Then, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda throughout the entire surface of the mattress. You should leave it like that for at least 45 minutes so that any unpleasant odors are eliminated.
The next step is to vacuum the surface using the upholstery attachment, in order to remove the soda and dust.
Once you are done, take your steam cleaner and run it across the surface of the mattress, again, using the upholstery attachment, to blow the steam.
After you finish the entire procedure, make sure you allow the mattress to dry completely, in a well-ventilated area, for at least four hours.
Although steamers do not leave a lot of moisture behind, some of it might still remain trapped inside as a result of heavy steaming on very deep stains. That is why it is important to allow all moisture to evaporate before you start using the mattress again.
No Upholstery Attachment?
Not all carpet cleaners have an upholstery attachment. Does this mean you cannot use it to clean your mattress as well? Not at all!
If your machine does not come with this piece of equipment, you can simply wrap a towel on the head of the steam cleaner. This is important because it will help you prevent tearing or scratching the surface of your mattress.
Recommendations
In order to obtain the expected results, make sure that the water in the steamer gets heated to at least 212 Fahrenheit degrees so that it is powerful enough to disinfect your mattress.
How Often Should Your Mattress Be Cleaned?
Did you know that when you sleep you also sweat? There is quite a bit of sweat that is left behind on the bed every night. If you add that in years, this accumulation can attract fungi which can make you really sick.
That is just sweat we have mentioned. What about urine? Parents know very well how small children often wet their beds. That being said, you end up having to deal with a mattress that is loaded with sweat and pee stains.
If that is also your case, you should deep clean your sleeping surface twice every month. This frequency will prevent dirt, sweat, urine, and saliva from accumulating.
How Do You Know it is Time to Clean Your Mattress?
If you are not sure whether you should clean your mattress of not, there are some signs you can look for. In case you can see marks and stains from sweat, dirt, or urine, you should definitely start cleaning.
Also, you ought to clean your sleeping surface if you notice that your allergy symptoms get worse during the night.
Other signs that indicate you should treat your mattress with a thorough cleaning include bad or unusual smells or bedbug bites. Moreover, if you’ve got the mattress for some time and you have not cleaned it yet, you should definitely consider it.
Precautions
Even though you do not have to get a separate upholstery steam cleaner, because you can use your carpet cleaner, you need to keep a few things in mind.
For instance, you should know that the steam may damage the elastic parts of the mattress if you heat the water up too much. Make sure you select a medium heat setting. Reading the mattress’s care guide will provide you with details about the most appropriate way to clean it.
Wrapping it up
Since it is the surface you sleep on every night, it is extremely important to keep your mattress clean. Using your carpet cleaner allows you to naturally and safely remove sweat, urine, and other types of stains, kill bedbugs, eliminate allergens, get rid of bad odors, and disinfects your mattress.
It is not only possible to use your carpet cleaner on your upholstery, but it is also much healthier than using chemicals, and cheaper than professional cleaning services.
