How to Clean Mattress Stains

It’s not at all uncommon for mattresses to become stained or discolored over time, especially if you have children or pets. Midnight mishaps happen and it’s important to be prepared ahead of time to deal with them. Learning how to clean mattress stains quickly and easily with items you likely have around your house already, and how to protect your mattress from future stains, will give you a peace-of-mind like never before.

Common Causes of Mattress Stains

The most common ways a mattress becomes stained is through:

• Sweat
• Urine
• Blood
• Body oils

The most difficult stains to clean are blood stains. If for example you had a bloody nose while you were sleeping, it may have soaked through the sheets and stained your mattress. Regardless of how your mattress became discolored, there are some fairly simple ways to get it clean.

A Simple Mattress Cleaning Solution

Use this simple mattress cleaning recipe to create a solution that can be kept under the sink and brought out as needed. Cleaning a stain as soon as it occurs is key—delaying means the stain will be harder to remove.

• ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1 tablespoon clear liquid dish soap
• 1 tablespoon table salt

To clean a mattress stain, apply mixture to stain and allow it to dry. Vacuum up the dried mixture and lift any remaining stain with a white rag that has been saturated with hydrogen peroxide. Use a dabbing motion and rotate the rag as the stain lifts out from the mattress into the rag. To prevent the leaching of dye into your mattress, make sure to a white rag instead of a color dyed rag.

What you don’t want to do is scrub the stain in any way – it will likely rub the stain further into the fibers of the mattress instead of lifting it out. For particularly difficult stains, a professional cleaning service or product may be needed.

Protecting Your Mattress from Future Stains

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or so they say, and the same holds true for mattress stains. Protect your mattress by spraying Scotchguard on it, or, if you prefer to go chemical-free, simply use a thin mattress protector. Many people are wary that a “plastic sheet” will feel awkward when sleeping, but many of today’s protective covers are barely noticeable and are surprisingly comfortable. It is much easier to take off a protective sheet and wash it, or even purchase a new one, than it is to clean a mattress.

To learn more about caring for a mattress or purchasing a new mattress, contact Gardner Mattress by calling 1-800-564-2736.