If you are one for keeping your home spick and span, then most likely you’ll have wondered how you can clean your mattress properly. This is something that you won’t be able to simply put in the washing machine, so how best to clean it.
Some people might not decide to even clean their mattress, even though it is a place that you sleep in every night and will gather a pretty healthy amount of dirt, grime, dead skin cells and hair. But is it possible to use carpet cleaner on these stains?
How can you clean your mattress properly? Can you apply carpet cleaner to a stain on your mattress without damaging the mattress itself?
How easy will it be to clean a stain on your mattress with carpet cleaner? Well, if you want to know the answer to these questions and a whole lot more, then you should carry on reading.
Why Clean Your Mattress?
A mattress is a place that is ripe for gathering stains. In fact, you can be sure that a mattress will be able to accumulate more stains than any other piece of furniture in your house. Why? Well, this is due to the frequency of use.
Much like an armchair, you’ll be using your mattress for comfort and relaxation frequently. You’ll also use it as a place to eat food, drink and perhaps even let the kids into on a lazy Sunday morning.
Your mattress can accumulate a whole variety of stains, including jam, butter, wine, gatorade, kool-aid, gravy, crumbs, tomato ketchup, vinegar and many more.
The bed will also store up any dead skin cells and hair follicles that you shed on a daily basis. You might also see some discoloration on your mattress, especially if you tend to sweat during the night. This might take the form of a yellow human-shaped shadow.
You might also get sweat on your pillow, which will also cause it to discolor over a long period of time.
What Is Carpet Cleaner?
A carpet cleaner is pretty much as the name suggests – it is a cleaner for cleaning your carpet.
This kind of cleaner is available in most types of hardware store or supermarkets. You can simply add a little blob of this onto whatever stains that you see. Usually, you leave it for anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour before the stain will rub off easily.
This substance is designed to get rid of stains on fabric. It is only mildly caustic and will usually leave a pleasant aroma on the carpet after you’ve used it.
But lets’ cut to the chase: can you use carpet cleaner on your mattress? Well, the simple answer to this question is yes. In fact, this might be the best option to clean your mattress thoroughly.
So how can you apply it successfully? Keep reading to find out.
How To Use Carpet Cleaner On Your Mattress
When using a carpet cleaner on your flooring, you might be tempted to scrub really hard until the stain is removed. You might think this is doubly true for a stubborn stain like wine. However, you should not apply this tactic.
Scrubbing a stain very hard might not only push the stain deeper into the fabric, but it might also wear away the fabric of the bed itself. This could also cause the odors to be more entwined with the fabric.
Here we’ll give you a complete breakdown of how to use carpet cleaner properly on your mattress:
- Remove all of the bed linen – take all of the sheets and pillowcases and throw them in the washing machine. You won’t want to put unclean bedsheets on a freshly scrubbed mattress.
- Take your mattress off the bed base – take off the mattress and lean it up against the wall.
- Vacuum your mattress – take the vacuum cleaner and use it to suck up all the dirt and grime that has accumulated in your mattress. This includes the grooves that your mattress might have, as well as the sides.
- Clean with carpet cleaner – repeat the step above with the carpet cleaner solution. Do not soak the mattress too much. Make sure you gently wipe over the sides.
- Wait for one side to dry – make sure your mattress is completely dry before turning it over to use the carpet cleaner on the other side.
- Do not skip the sides – again, make sure you get complete coverage of your mattress. This will make sure that you don’t miss a spot.
- Replace the mattress – place the mattress back onto the bed base.
- Take the bedding from the washer/dryer – remake the bed with the linen.
This is the quickest method of cleaning your mattress (including memory foam mattresses), ensuring that you won’t have to bend over and cause yourself a back injury.
Can Carpet Cleaner Damage Your Mattress?
When you are cleaning your mattress with a carpet cleaner (e.g. the Bissell Proheat Carpet Cleaner), you will need to watch what type of carpet cleaner you use, as some of them can be corrosive to mattress fabric.
If you are using a carpet cleaner that you have never used before, then you should make sure that you read the instructions on the side. Here is a list of chemicals that are very harmful to your mattress:
- Perchloroethylene
- Naphthalene
- Ammonia
- Trisodium Phosphate
- Sodium Hypochlorite
These chemicals are toxic. If you use them on your mattress and do not clean them properly, then you might find that you will breathe them in and it will make you ill.
If you ingest any of these chemicals, then you could suffer from liver or kidney failure. You should always make sure that you wear a mask when you are applying this carpet cleaner.
Can You Have Your Mattress Cleaned Professionally?
Yes, you can have your mattress cleaned professionally, although it will cost you quite a bit of money. Learning how to spot clean it & deodorize it will save you serious cash in the long run.. These companies do a generally better job of cleaning, although the cost might deter some people.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you decide whether or not to use a carpet cleaner on your mattress. This will be an effective method of fully getting rid of stubborn stains.
