The mattress is undoubtedly one of the most expensive and most important elements of bedding. Choosing the right mattress is a very important step, as it determines the quality of your nights' sleep and its ability to be restful. However, once you've found the perfect mattress, it's also essential to properly maintain it to promote its longevity and hygiene. Here are several tips for maintaining your mattress!
Disinfecting a mattress
It's sometimes necessary to wash your mattress: accidents can happen quickly, especially among children. You'll then need to take action to make your mattress clean again. However, the first step is to analyze the situation: different products can be used depending on the type of mattress. For some, wet cleaning is possible, but others may require dry cleaning.
To disinfect your mattress, you can use:
- Bleach, diluted in a part water, and sprayed onto the mattress. Let it sit and rinse with a cloth dampened with water.
- Household alcohol, also to be diluted in three times its volume of water before spraying on the area of ââthe mattress to be cleaned.
- Soda crystals, to be dissolved in hot water, then applied to the mattress with a cloth soaked and then wrung out.
- Ammonia, to be mixed with water and dish soap, then applied to the mattress with a sponge before rinsing with water.
For dry cleaning, there are the following options:
- Sprinkle the area to be cleaned with baking soda, which should be left to act on the mattress itself.
- Applying ox gall soap to a damp sponge and rubbing it against the mattress.
How to clean stains from a mattress
Beyond disinfection, sometimes a mattress simply needs cleaning due to stains or odors. Again, there are multiple options.
- White vinegar: It's particularly effective for removing stains. It can be applied directly to the mattress, directly to the stain to be removed. Note that if there are multiple stains and the amount of white vinegar is insufficient, it can be diluted in clean water. In this case, you should use a volume of water equivalent to one-third of the volume of vinegar.
- White vinegar combined with baking soda: to eliminate unpleasant odors permeating bedding, nothing beats this mixture! To perfect it and add a pleasant scent, you can add essential oils.
- Hydrogen peroxide: another effective stain removal remedy! It's also very easy to use, as you simply soak a cotton ball in the liquid and apply pressure to the stained area.
Dusting a mattress
Dust is a problem that affects everyone. No matter the room in the house, dust builds up, and it's important to remove it regularly. When it comes to bedding, follow these few steps.
First, you need to remove dust from your bed linen. It's easy: after stripping the bed by removing the sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases, shake them out the window to remove the accumulated dust.
Once the bed linens are dusted, it's time to move on to the next step: the bedding itself. After setting aside the duvet and pillows, simply vacuum the mattress to remove any dust. You can also sprinkle baking soda on the mattress and let it sit for about thirty minutes before vacuuming. This helps remove unpleasant odors. Note that you can also add a few drops of essential oil for a pleasant scent.
Regarding dusting, it is on average recommended to do it once a quarter for good mattress maintenance.
Avoid bedbugs
To prevent the spread of bedbugs, it is important to maintain the best possible hygiene. To do this, it is recommended to:
- Vacuum the bedroom and the entire house regularly.
- Wash bed linen regularly.
- Ventilate rooms often, especially those subject to humidity.
Even with these guidelines, it's possible to notice the appearance and proliferation of bedbugs. The first step is to identify and verify their presence, then treat them if necessary.
How to get rid of bed bugs
If, despite all precautions taken, bedbugs are found to be infesting your home, you will need to get rid of them. There are several possible solutions:
- Fumigation.
- Exposure to cold, for about half an hour at a temperature of -35°C.
- Exposure to heat, with temperatures reaching 45°C for more than an hour.
However, it is recommended to call on professional pest control specialists: in some cases, supplementary solutions may not be sufficiently effective.
Throw away your mattress
When purchasing a new mattress, the question of throwing away the old one arises. Indeed, the replaced mattress can be very bulky. It would be a shame to throw it away, however, because it is possible to donate this mattress to charities like EmmaĂŒs, who will put it to good use.
Recycle your mattress
Mattresses are recyclable products: depending on their composition, up to 95% of the materials are recyclable. Only synthetic components are not suitable for recycling. It's therefore best to choose 100% natural mattresses! The process for recycling your mattress is relatively simple: you just need to contact specialized organizations. The Eco-mobilier organization, developed by the public authorities, has deployed more than 500 drop-off points where you can leave your mattress for recycling.
