Even if washing your sheets is one of your weekly chores, you should also take care of your mattress. You can clean and freshen your mattress to make it last longer and stay healthy.
During sleep, normal adults sweat and lose dead skin cells, which get soaked up by their bedsheets and mattresses. Dust mites and other allergens can thrive in your bed because of moisture and dead skin cells.
Allergens can make breathing hard, give you a runny nose, a sore throat, watery eyes, or irritate your skin.
This allergen buildup is bad for your health and can make your mattress smell bad, making it more important to clean and deodorize it. This article will discuss how to deodorize a mattress and make it smell better.
How to Deodorize and Freshen a Mattress
The bed linens, mattresses, and sweat include dust mites, skin cells, and sweat. You should clean and deodorize your mattress every six months to keep allergens away.
When applying any liquid to your mattress, be cautious because the moisture it may leave behind could promote the growth of allergens. This is why it’s often best to start with dry ways to freshen your mattress, like baking soda, which absorbs smells.
If you deodorize your mattress with liquid, let it air dry completely before making the bed.
1. Baking Soda
Baking soda, a common deodorizer, is a good place to start if you want to eliminate the smell on your mattress. Here’s how to deodorize a mattress with baking soda:
- Place a layer of baking soda on top of the mattress by putting it into a flour sifter. The baking soda will be more evenly distributed thanks to the flour sifter.
- Please do not touch it for at least two hours. Acidic smells will react with the baking soda to make them go away.
- Remove the baking soda by vacuuming it with a handheld vacuum with an upholstery brush.
You can add other things to the baking soda if you want to sprinkle it on your mattress.
2. Essential Oils
Adding a few drops of essential oil to baking soda and then sprinkling it on your mattress is an easy way to improve the odor.
There will be no more unpleasant odors thanks to the baking soda, and the mattress will have a pleasant aroma thanks to the essential oil. Several essential oils are well-known for their soothing effects, including:
- Lavender
- Chamomile
- Jasmine
- Rose
- Peppermint
- Lemon
3. Vacuum
Use the upholstery attachment to eliminate all the dust and bacteria that have gathered on your mattress. Clean the upholstery attachment with warm water before using your vacuum to clean your mattress.
When you clean the attachment with warm soapy water, the dust and germs stuck to it will be washed away.
With the upholstery attachment, vacuum the top, sides, and even under the seams of your bed to get rid of all the dust and germs that have built up there. Place your mattress on support and vacuum the opposite side as well.
4. Cornstarch
Leslie Reichert, a cleaning expert, told Better Homes and Gardens to try mixing cornstarch and baking soda to eliminate body oil and smells.
Follow the same procedures above, except this time, add a pinch of cornstarch to the baking soda before spreading it out on the mattress. After letting it stand for about two hours, thoroughly vacuum the entire area.
5. Vinegar
If your mattress has stains that smell bad, you can try vinegar. Vinegar is a good cleaner used to get rid of dirt and stains. To use vinegar:
- Mix one-part white vinegar that has been distilled and one part water. Fill a spray bottle with this.
- Spray the mixture lightly over the mattress. Don’t use too much vinegar because you don’t want your mattress to get wet.
- Let the mattress dry in the fresh air.
One problem with using vinegar is that it has a strong smell. Let the smell go away by letting the mattress get a lot of air.
You can also follow the instructions for baking soda and add a few drops of essential oil to cover up the smell of the vinegar.
6. Laundry Detergent
A mild laundry detergent is another way to remove spot-sized, pungent stains. You can make a paste out of laundry detergent and baking soda and then spread it over the stain. After waiting a while, remove it using a towel or a spoon.
Other Ways to Keep a Mattress Fresh for Longer
After freshening and deodorizing it, you’ll want to keep your mattress clean for as long as possible. By doing a few other things, you can keep that fresh. You can get shut-eye without stressing over allergens, dust, or other potential health hazards.
Use a Mattress Protector
Mattress covers shield your mattress from stains, sweat, dust mites, and allergens. They are simple to install and cost-effectively lengthen the life of your mattress.
Waterproof mattress protectors are great for people with allergies because they prevent allergens from settling into the mattress.
You might wonder why you need a mattress protector if your bed already has a cover that goes over the mattress. A mattress cover, on the other hand, is normally neither impermeable nor detachable. So, you can’t clean it like a mattress protector, and it can’t cover your mattress as a protector does.
Clean the Mattress
It’s easy to forget to clean your mattress, but doing so regularly can do a lot to keep it fresh. For deep cleaning and bed insect removal, you need to enlist a professional cleaner’s assistance. But you can clean smaller stains yourself.
Use a cleaning with enzymes if the stain is caused by blood, sweat, vomit, or urine. You can make one at home if you don’t have one.
- 4 teaspoons of baking soda
- 16 ounces of hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of 3%
- 2–4 liberal splashes of liquid detergent
Spray the mixture on the stain from a spray bottle. After 30 minutes, use a towel to soak up the liquid.
Clean stains on-the-spot with a gentle detergent, then let it air dry before replacing your bedding. Avoid covering the stain completely with detergent since the foam will absorb that.
Clean Box Spring or Foundation
Box springs, bed foundations, or platform beds are usually what your mattress sits on. If you clean your mattress, base dust and germs won’t get on your mattress. When you put your mattress on a stand to vacuum it, take the bed skirt off and wash it.
Clean the box spring, base, or platform bed’s surface with a vacuum. A mattress will last longer if it is put on a clean base. As part of your routine mattress cleaning regimen, we advise vacuuming your bed frame.
A bed foundation keeps your bed elevated off the dust, dead skin, and other debris that collects on the floor. Thus we also want to emphasize the significance of using one.
Putting your mattress directly on the floor makes it more likely that moisture and heat will build up, leading to mold.
Keep Your Room Airy
Wet mattresses provide a haven for various microorganisms and spore-bearing organisms. After you wake up, keep your ceiling fan running for an hour or two to absorb any lingering moisture.
Open your windows whenever you can to let fresh air and natural light into your bedroom, preserving the freshness of your mattress.
Sunlight
Your mattress can be naturally refreshed with sunlight, which can also assist in removing stains and stopping yellowing. If your room is usually dark, try letting the sunshine on your mattress.
The mattress can get some sun if you can put it outside, on a balcony, or elsewhere. If not, open a window nearby.
Wash Your Bedding Regularly
It’s advisable to wash your pillowcases, duvet covers, and sheets once a week to get rid of allergies, sweat, and skin cells. Unless the care label says otherwise, wash your sheets in hot water.
The high heat kills germs. There will be less of a possibility for dust mites and other allergens to settle into your mattress if fewer are on your sheets.
To keep allergens from building up, you should wash your pillows every three to four months. Sunlight dries out the moisture in your pillows and comforters, making them fluffy once again. The sun’s UV rays can also kill germs.
Washing your bed skirt once every few months is recommended if you use one. It’s time to clean your bed skirt if there is obvious dust.
Remember that the temperature of the water you wash your bedding in and the kind of detergent you can use will depend on the fabric it is made of. The same goes for the material’s washability.
Also Read: How to Fix a Sagging Mattress – 6 Easy Hacks
Other Suggestions for How to Deodorize a Mattress
Here are some things to consider as you learn how to deodorize a mattress. These pointers focus more on warning signs than on specific cleaning techniques.
- Memory foam mattresses can trap heat and make you sweat more than usual. Repeated applications of baking soda improve mattresses.
- A mattress pad can still gather allergies and dead skin, even if it helps protect your mattress. Use the same tips as for a mattress to get rid of smells from a mattress pad.
- The pillow top of a mattress with an integrated pad will need to be cleaned to eliminate the allergens that tend to gather there.
- Even if you wash a feather blanket thoroughly, the feathers will eventually fall apart and leave behind mounds of dust, providing the ideal environment for dust mites to flourish. Before you buy one, think about this.
- Mattress protectors and toppers are great investments if you’ve just purchased a brand-new mattress. Most of the time, these things have a removable cover you can wash in the machine.
FAQs
How do you easily deodorize your mattress?
Using baking soda to deodorize your mattress is a viable alternative immediately. Sprinkle baking soda over the mattress, allow it to sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours, and then vacuum it.
How do you clean a mattress that smells?
If your mattress has a musty smell, try sprinkling some baking soda. Air out the mattress after vacuuming the baking soda. A pleasant mattress scent is as simple as adding a few drops of essential oils.
Can you remove fungus or mildew from a mattress?
Sorry to say that’s not the case. You should suspect mold and mildew growth inside your mattress if it smells musty even after you’ve washed and deodorized it. It’s best to get a new mattress if there’s any sign of mold or mildew inside the old one.
How to Make a Mattress Smell Better with Sunlight?
Don’t keep your mattress hidden away in a dark room; instead, take advantage of a bright, sunny day to give it a much-needed breath of fresh air outside.
Since it’s outside, you may safely beat the dust, pet dander, dead skin, and dust mites out of it while also benefiting from the sun’s natural deodorizing properties.
The sun’s rays can kill off any germs that may be present. Because of the sun’s light and heat, any molds or fungi on the mattress will be killed, making this the simplest method for disinfecting a mattress.
Conclusion
Maintaining a clean sleeping environment and getting a better night’s sleep depends on routinely washing and deodorizing your mattress.
Your present mattress will last longer, saving you money, and it will be healthier for you by eliminating allergies and microorganisms. Check out how to get rid of bed bugs now that you know how to freshen a mattress.
If there are no germs or dust mites in the bed, it won’t cause allergic reactions or keep you from sleeping. A well-maintained mattress will last longer, which could save you money because you won’t have to buy a new one as soon.
