Keeping your home clean can sometimes feel like a never-ending task. From washing dishes every night to vacuuming every weekend, chores need to be done almost every day in order to keep your home fresh and sanitary.
But in the sea of chores that need to get done, there are some that get overlooked because they aren’t obvious. For instance, you can tell when the dishes are piling in the sink or dust is collecting on your dresser, but you don’t always take a glance at the carpet are know it’s time to steam clean. This is especially true when it comes to your mattress.
Did you know that your place of sleep is a breeding ground for all types of bacteria, microorganisms and dust mites?
Gross, we know. But don’t worry! We’re going to take a look at some tips for cleaning and maintaining your mattress for years to come.
3 Ways to Clean Your Mattress
Keep Your Sheets Clean
If you want your mattress to be clean, you have to ensure that what you’re putting on it is clean, too. This is something that we do every day with ourselves.
We wear clean clothes because it’s important for our hygiene and health to stay clean, right?
The concept is the same with bed sheets and your mattress. Wash your sheets once every week or so to help ensure that they stay clean, free of dead skin buildup, and discourage dust mites from taking up residence in your mattress (because these little pests like to feed on dead cells).
Keep Your Mattress Dry
The last thing you want to do is allow your mattress to become wet or moist. Because it’s such a thick item, moisture can be difficult to banish completely. Avoid putting wet or damp sheets on your bed and if you spill something on the mattress, remove all of your bedding, turn on a fan, and let your mattress air dry for a day. Doing this helps prevent mould or mildew from setting in.
However, the biggest threat to a damp mattress is your sweat. The average person sweats at least half a pint of perspiration each night. While this is disgusting, it also creates the perfect environment for microorganisms to thrive—a warm and damp place. So you can see why it’s important you air out your bed every once in a while. And if you find yourself repeatedly waking up drenched in sweat, maybe it’s time to see if your mattress itself is the problem. Memory foam tends to trap heat; whereas, latex and innerspring mattresses promote better airflow. Take a look at your sleeping structure and environment to help nix excessive sweating.
Vacuum the Surface
This may sound weird, but vacuuming your mattress is a surprisingly good idea. The main reason you should regularly vacuum your mattress isn’t that there might be crumbs on it or to merely keep your home clean for the children (although that’s certainly not something you want to leave unatended) but rather to avoid dust mites. Your body sheds dead skin every day, and dust mites feed off them. Vacuuming the surface of your mattress helps limit the population of dust mites in your mattress.
3 Tips for Maintaining Your Mattress
Now that we’ve covered task you can work into your chores for the week, here are three tips for maintaining the structure of your mattress for years to come.
Provide Plenty of Support
One of the most important steps to take when it comes to maintaining your mattress is providing it with plenty of support. You don’t want to end up with a sagging mattress too soon – they aren’t the cheapest investments, after all. A mattress that sags in the middle also causes issues of low back pain. So the best way to avoid this problem is to invest in a quality mattress foundation. This might mean a bed frame and a solid set of box springs.
For other mattresses, that might mean special bed foundations that are designed to be used with the specific mattress you purchase. Whatever the support looks like in your case, make sure that it’s strong enough to support your mattress and the sleepers that sleep on it.
Rotate the Mattress
If your mattress is a two-sided one, make sure that you rotate it every few months. Flipping mattresses is a good way to help your mattress’ longevity and avoid your body from making a permanent impression in the top too soon.
You should also rotate your mattress 180 degrees at the same time. Note that if the manufacturer of the mattress advises against this particular step, then defer to their instructions. For mattresses without a defined foot and head, however, as well as those with two “sleepable” sides, rotation can help lengthen their lifespans.
Don’t Jump on the Bed
Jumping on your mattress might seem like fun, but it’s not the best way to maintain your mattress and ensure that it remains in great shape. Bouncing on the bed can actually negatively impact the mattress, its frame, and its box springs. You might take years off of its lifespan by allowing your children to bounce on it.
Even if you take the proper steps to clean and maintain your mattress on a regular basis, once a mattress reaches a certain age an upgrade is inevitable. The average lifespan of a mattress is 7-10 years. Anything beyond this age (even if the bed hasn’t been slept on regularly) is questionable.
So keep your home and mattress healthy with regular cleanings and appropriate upgrades! Remember not to skip your mattress when doing chores. It needs some TLC e just like the rest of the house.
