5 Ways to Clean Memory Foam Mattresses (for Most Situations)
Regardless of the type of mattress you are using, maintaining cleanliness and caring for your mattress are part and parcel of owning one. This is particularly important to ensure you get optimal sleep night after night.
Once in a blue moon, however, accidents do happen – drink spillage, bedwetting, or staining – you have in your hand a particular cleaning problem requiring a specific solution.
Either way, we have you covered.
The 5 proven methods on how to clean your memory foam mattress are:
1. Remove dirt, dust, and hair with a vacuum cleaner
Before you start using the vacuum cleaner on your mattress, ensure that you do these first.
Clean or dust the vacuum hose. You’d want to make sure the part of the vacuum cleaner that comes into contact with your mattress is clean before using it.
After vacuuming the mattress, change your sheets and mattress protector into clean ones (if you’re using a protector, although it is recommended that you do so).
2. Spot-clean stains using a DIY memory foam cleaning solution
First off – if you get a stain on the mattress, clean or remove it as soon as you can. The sooner you do so, the easier your job is.
If there’s been water spillage, take a paper towel and place it on the wet area immediately to soak up as much of the liquid as possible before it seeps deeper into the mattress.
In order to make your homemade cleaning solution, mix 1 part laundry detergent and 2 parts warm water, and fill the solution into a spray bottle. Shake well to ensure the solution is well mixed.
Spray on the mattress sparingly.
Take a clean, light-colored cloth to remove the stain. Scrub gently in small, circular motions.
After the stain is removed, wash the solution off the cloth and wipe the same spot(s) lightly to remove any excess solution on the mattress.
Let it dry completely before putting back the sheets – clean sheets are recommended.
3. Clean tough stains using a vinegar solution
Tougher stains require a stronger cleaning solution.
Fill a spray bottle with one-quarter white vinegar and three-quarter water. Shake well and spray gently on the stain.
Similar to the steps using laundry detergent – wipe and re-wipe to remove excess vinegar solution. After drying, the sheets can go back on.
4. Get pee out of memory foam mattress with white vinegar and baking soda
As with any staining caused by liquid spillage, acting quickly makes it easier to remove stains due to bedwetting.
Use layers of paper towels to soak up as much urine as possible. Discard them and repeat this step until there is no more urine left that the towels can absorb.
Spray vinegar gently and evenly on the affected area. Use paper towels again to absorb the vinegar.
Cover the affected area with baking soda – aim to achieve an even coverage. Baking soda is an effective stain remover and odor neutralizer.
After leaving it for 8 hours or overnight, you can now clean the baking soda off the mattress using a vacuum.
When the mattress is all clean and dry, the sheets can go back on it.
5. Dry your memory foam mattress with an electric fan or hairdryer
For any cleaning method that uses a liquid solution, it is inevitable that the mattress needs to be thoroughly dried before you can put the protector and sheets on.
Use an electric fan to blow directly at the wet patch until it dries. Should the affected area is too wet, using a hairdryer would assist with quicker drying.
While the drying process is ongoing, ensure that the bedroom windows are open to let in natural ventilation.
Alternatively, exposing the mattress to sunlight can help with the drying process as well.
Other FAQs
How to Protect Your Memory Foam Mattress?
Aside from covering for manufacturing defects, the manufacturer’s warranty also provides you with a peace of mind that your investment is protected.
However, protecting your mattress is the part you need to play in order for it to continue to provide you with comfort and restful sleep for years to come.
Here’s a list of what you can do to protect your memory foam mattress:
- Use a sturdy bed base as the foundation
A solidly constructed bed base is literally the foundation of a long-lasting mattress.
Memory foam mattresses are designed from the bottom up typically consisting of lower density foam at the top and higher density foam as the base layer.
However, the base foam layer is not designed to hold the full lengths of the mattress in its proper form without proper support from a bed base.
A good bed base needs to be able to support the continuous weight of the entire mattress throughout its lifespan without bending, breaking, or sagging.
- Rotate the mattress periodically
The common type of mattress back in the day was the innerspring mattress. It was double-sided and you were able and encouraged to flip it over from time to time to even out the wear.
Memory foam mattresses, on the other hand, are typically designed to be one-sided, and thus flipping them cancels out the benefits of using one.
Therefore, instead of flipping go for rotating.
Rotating your memory foam mattress once every 3 months helps to take the pressure off previously-concentrated areas of the bed and let them recover the original form.
- Use a mattress protector
Although the use of bed sheets somewhat acts as an intermediary layer between your body and the mattress, it is insufficient to prevent moisture from seeping into the mattress.
Potential sources of moisture are perspiration from the human body while sleeping and bodily fluids, as well as accidental spills.
The better and recommended solution is to introduce a mattress protector (or a mattress cover) in between the sheets and the mattress.
Mattress protectors are commonly made from materials such as cotton, down, polyester, or a combination of them.
Beyond that, a mattress protector can also help to maintain a consistent temperature in the microclimate of the mattress, increasing comfort for you.
- Use natural fiber bed sheets
Bed sheets made from natural fiber such as Egyptian cotton or bamboo help you to stay cool and dry throughout your sleep.
On top of that, the increased breathability of the bedsheet prevents moisture from being trapped inside the mattress.
- Avoid eating and drinking on the bed
From the point of ensuring a clean bed, eating and drinking on the bed should be avoided for obvious reasons.
Accidental spills can make getting the stain and odor out a real hassle, while the dropping of food crumbs attracts insects and potential growth of bed bugs.
The bed is an exclusive space for sleep and rejuvenation after a long day’s work. Every effort should be made to keep it as such.
- Clean the sheets regularly
As the bed is used night after night, dust, dirt, and dead skin build-up on the sheets. Add to those, perspiration, and other potential bodily fluids, and you can imagine why a proper mattress maintenance regime includes cleaning the sheets.
The bedsheet, quilt cover, and pillowcases should be washed and changed regularly to ensure the bed remains hygienic for optimal sleep health.
- Keep the bedroom naturally ventilated
8 hours of the bedroom being enclosed is a long enough time for humidity and odor to build up inside it.
Having the bedroom windows opened during the day, weather permitting, helps to ventilate the room and give it the much-needed air change.
Besides making the bed every morning, add naturally-ventilating the room to the to-do list as well.
Can you steam clean a memory foam mattress?
Cleaning with steam is a highly effective, hygienic, and chemical-free process that uses combines water and heat to clean.
Yes, steam cleaning can be used for a memory foam mattress. With the accumulation of dust, sweat stains, and dead skin making the mattress a breeding ground for germs, steam cleaning can be more effective than simply dry-vacuuming. The process involves placing the mattress upright and cleaning the top and bottom surfaces as well as the remaining 4 sides. Ensure that the mattress is thoroughly dry before putting the cover and sheets back on.
How to dry out a wet memory foam mattress?
All mattresses, memory foam included, would usually involve drying as part of the cleaning process.
Drying out a wet memory foam mattress includes standing up the mattress against the wall and using an electric fan, a dehumidifier, a hairdryer, or a combination thereof to dry the mattress. Exposure to sunlight can be an effective drying method as well.
How to remove odor from a mattress?
Cleaning stains on mattresses due to bedwetting or pet urine usually involves more than just removing the stain and drying the mattress. The odor left behind can present an even bigger problem.
The commonly used method used in removing odor from mattresses is to evenly sprinkle baking soda on affected areas of the mattress. Let the baking soda cover a slightly larger area beyond where the stains were. Allow it to sit for 8 hours or more, preferably in a naturally-ventilated room. Thereafter, vacuum up the baking soda and the mattress is good for use.
How to clean a gel memory foam mattress?
Cleaning a gel memory foam mattress is no different from cleaning any other memory foam mattresses:
- Use a vacuum cleaner to clean dirt, dust, and dead skin cells off the mattress.
- Use 1-part cleaning detergent and 2-part warm water DIY solution to spot-clean stains.
- Use a white vinegar + water solution to clean tough stains.
- Use a 2-step method consisting of white vinegar and baking soda to clean out pee stains and smell.
