How to Clean a Mattress

Jul 30, 2017

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You may not realize it but you spend a lot of time on your mattress so every once in a while, you should know how to clean a mattress. Don’t be too confident that there is nothing in there that can harm you because germs build up over time. And if you haven’t once cleaned your mattress for years, maybe it’s time you do some cleaning.

It’s too easy to forget and take for granted because after a long and tiring day, even after tending to the other chores in the house, you don’t really think of having your bed cleaned. You just want to lie down on it and rest. But it needs cleaning too so you need to give some time to it. Don’t worry because it doesn’t have to be as daunting as you may think. It may look like a very big task but there are ways to easily do it as long as you follow this simple guide on how to clean a mattress. And the great thing is you don’t really have to do it as often. Just enough to ensure that there’s nothing too messy lurking in there.

Things That Happen to a Dirty Mattress

To give you more motivation in learning how to clean a mattress, let us look at some of the things that happen when a mattress gets too dirty over time without any cleaning.

You Start to Get Medical Symptoms

One of the things that you might notice is that you get medical symptoms like allergies and respiratory problems. Your mattress could be the culprit. It could be home to millions of dust mites and microscopic bugs and they feed on the skin cells that you shed. The allergies and respiratory problems could be because of the high concentrations of dust mites.

Mild allergies could just be a runny nose and watery eyes but for severe cases, it could be chronic. That means you might experience persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure and even asthma.
Bed Bugs

Aside from the dust mites, it could be worse. You could have bed bugs. If you don’t learn how to clean your mattress in time, you might have to inevitably replace it. But knowing how to clean your mattress regularly will prevent this severe infestation.
Nasty Bacteria

Not only bugs and mites, there could be nasty bacteria growing under it and bacteria and viruses have become more aggressive over the past few decades. There are even some that are now resistant to antibiotics.

There’s a strain called MRSA that is resistant to penicillin that can cause bumps that get more painful and larger over time. This results in a fever and leads to rashes. The problem is it can become untreatable, eventually leading to death. Then there’s the Campylobacter that is most dangerous during the winter months. Its symptoms are bloody diarrhea, cramping, and abdominal pain, eventually fever. You can, of course, prevent this when you learn how to clean a mattress and do it as recommended.
Fungi and Mold

These can also invade your home through your mattress, especially if it’s been years. They can cause serious allergies and other problems.

Here are some other health effects of old mattresses.