How to clean a mattress: stains, smells, and the things that make it worse
Most mattresses are never cleaned, and most cleaning attempts do more harm than the stain: a soaked mattress that never dries, a foam layer ruined by bleach. Here is what works, what to use for each mark, and what never to do.
The rules before anything
- Never soak it. Foam and fibre hold water and do not let go. A wet comfort layer takes days to dry and grows mould in the meantime. Damp cloth, blot, small amounts.
- Never use bleach or strong solvents on foam. They break it down.
- Do not use a steam cleaner on memory foam (heat and moisture) unless you can dry it fully.
- Work from the outside of a stain inward so you do not spread it.
- Dry completely, uncovered, by an open window or with a fan, before making the bed. Hours, not minutes.
The general clean, twice a year
- Strip the bed and, if the cover zips off and the label allows, wash it at 40 °C.
- Vacuum the whole surface and the sides with the upholstery tool. This removes skin, dust and most of what mites live on.
- Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over the surface, leave it an hour (longer for smells), vacuum it off. It lifts odour and a little moisture.
- Air it: window open, no bedding, a few hours. Sunlight helps if you can get it.
- Rotate it while it is stripped. See how to rotate a mattress.
Stains, one by one
Sweat and general yellowing. A mix of equal parts water and white vinegar, or a little washing-up liquid in water, on a cloth; dab, do not rub; blot with a dry towel; bicarbonate over the damp area, leave, vacuum.
Urine (fresh). Blot as much as possible with towels, pressing hard. Then equal parts white vinegar and water on a cloth, dab, blot. Then bicarbonate over the area, leave several hours, vacuum. For pet urine, an enzyme cleaner (sold for pets) breaks down the smell that vinegar does not; use sparingly and blot.
Urine (dried). The same, but expect two rounds, and the smell may need the enzyme cleaner.
Blood. Cold water only; heat sets it. Dab with cold water and a little washing-up liquid, or a paste of bicarbonate and cold water left for half an hour then blotted. Hydrogen peroxide (3 per cent) on a cotton bud lifts what remains on a pale cover; test on a corner first, and keep it off foam.
Tea, coffee, wine. Blot at once. Cold water with a little washing-up liquid, dab, blot. Wine: sprinkle salt on it fresh, leave, vacuum, then the water-and-detergent dab.
Vomit. Scrape and blot, vinegar and water dab, bicarbonate, vacuum, air for a day.
Mould spots. Small spots on the surface: a cloth with equal parts rubbing alcohol and water, dab, dry fully in sunlight. Mould through the fabric or through the base: the mattress is finished; do not sleep on it.
Smells without stains
Bicarbonate, an hour or overnight, vacuumed. Air. A new mattress's foam smell fades in days with the window open. A persistent musty smell is moisture under the mattress: check the base and the room, and get the mattress off the floor if it is on one.
Dust mites
Vacuuming and airing help. Washing bedding at 60 °C and a mite-proof encasement do more. See protector, encasement or topper.
When cleaning will not save it
- A stain that has soaked through to the foam and smells after two attempts.
- Mould inside the mattress.
- A dip or sag: no amount of cleaning fixes structure.
- Bed bugs: an encasement and professional treatment, not a clean.
Prevent it
A breathable waterproof protector, washed with the sheets, means the mattress never needs any of the above. It is the entire answer for almost everyone, and it is £25.
How ours are built for it
Every Chapter comes with a card asking for a protector before the first night. The New Parent's cover zips off and washes at 40 °C for exactly the reasons on this page; the knitted covers on the other chapters wipe clean and dry fast. Stains are not covered by any mattress guarantee, ours included, which is one more reason for the protector.
The short version
- Damp cloth, blot, small amounts, dry completely. Never soak, never bleach foam.
- Sweat and urine: vinegar and water, then bicarbonate. Blood: cold water only.
- Twice a year: vacuum, bicarbonate, air, rotate.
- A protector means you never do any of this.
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