How to Clean a Mattress to Remove All Stains & Smells

Best Of Hometalk
by Best Of Hometalk
3 Materials
$200
1 Hour

Most people never clean their mattresses. However, without proper cleaning, mattresses can get discolored and smelly. Sometimes urine, blood or other liquids get on mattresses, making it even more essential that you deep clean a mattress. At their worst, dirty mattresses can make you sick. Here’s the step-by-step tutorial in 6 easy steps!

How to Clean a Mattress (Jaym Lannis)

See post: Jaym Lannis | How-To: Mattress Cleaning


How to Deep Clean a Mattress

Here are easy step-by-step directions on how to clean a mattress to remove all smells, stains, and discoloration. Children and pets can wreak havoc on a mattress, so you’ll also learn how to clean mattress stains and how to clean urine from a mattress. Fortunately, you’re just a few steps away from a fresh, clean mattress.


1. Remove all bedding and vacuum the mattress

You should vacuum your mattress regularly, even when you’re not planning to deep-clean your mattress. This will keep your mattress free of loose materials that could cause discoloration or stains if left on your mattress for long periods of time. When deep-cleaning, this vacuuming is essential as the first step in the right direction. Using a vacuum attachment, make sure to vacuum in all the grooves of the mattress and on its sides.

Vacuum Your Mattress (Jaym Lannis)

See post: Jaym Lannis | How-To: Mattress Cleaning


2. Sprinkle baking soda all over the mattress and rub it in

Baking soda is not only a great deodorizer, but it also is great at soaking up all kinds of oils. Therefore, putting this on your mattress first will help pull out some of the nasty oils that might be set into your mattress. Use a scrub brush to really brush it into the mattress. Ensure that the entire mattress has been brushed with baking soda. Be careful if you are attempting to do the sides of the mattress since it can get a little messy. Let the baking soda sit on the mattress for at least 10 minutes. This will ensure that the baking soda has time to soak up any oils and properly deodorize the mattress.

How to Clean Mattress Stains (Abbie M)

See post: Abbie M | How To Deep Clean a Mattress


3. Vacuum up all the baking soda

Now that the baking soda has had time to set in and do its work, it’s time to vacuum it all up. Once again, vacuum the entire mattress. Make sure to get in all the grooves to remove all the baking soda from the mattress.

Cleaning a Mattress (Abbie M)

See post: Abbie M | How To Deep Clean a Mattress


4. Spray the entire mattress using a spray bottle filled with hydrogen peroxide, water and clear dish soap

In addition to baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap are your best friends when deep-cleaning a mattress. These three ingredients deodorize, disinfect and remove stains. Put one tablespoon of dish soap in a spray bottle. Fill the remainder of the bottle with half hydrogen peroxide and half water. Do not use colored dish soap since it could discolor your mattress. Swirl the bottle to mix it together. Do not shake it vigorously. Spray the entire mattress with this liquid. It’s not necessary to really soak the mattress. Just make sure that the entire mattress is damp and you don’t miss any areas, especially those with bad stains.

How to Clean Pee from a Mattress (Katelyn Fagan)

See post: Katelyn Fagan | How to Remove Pee Stains (and smell!) From a Mattress


5. Sprinkle the mattress with baking soda again and rub it in

Once again, sprinkle baking soda on the mattress and rub it in with a scrub brush or white towel. Ensure that you get every area on the mattress. Let this sit on the mattress for a few hours until it’s dry. This will once again help deodorize the mattress and soak up any oils. The baking soda will work well with the previously-applied hydrogen peroxide and dish soap mixture.

How to Deep Clean a Mattress (Abbie M)

See post: Abbie M | How To Deep Clean a Mattress


6. Vacuum the entire mattress

Lastly, vacuum the entire mattress, making sure to not leave behind any baking soda residue. To avoid molding, make sure the mattress is completely dry before putting on sheets. If needed or if you get impatient, you can get the mattress to dry faster by using a hair dryer on it. Depending on the condition of the other side of your mattress, consider flipping it over and deep-cleaning the other side as well. Of course, you can clean the other side a different day if you have had enough mattress-cleaning for the day.

Cleaning a Mattress with Baking Soda (Abbie M)

See post: Abbie M | How To Deep Clean a Mattress


How to Clean Urine from a Mattress

After following these 5 simple steps, your mattress should be bright, clean and disinfected! However, if you happen to still have a tough stain that won’t come out, try reapplying a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water right on the stain. Brush it in well and wait for a few hours. Once again, vacuum up any remaining baking soda residue. Remember that the sooner you treat a stain after it happens, the easier it will be to remove. However, most stains are not impossible to remove with the right materials and enough scrubbing.


How to Clean a Memory Foam Mattress

People oftentimes wonder how to clean a memory foam mattress. It isn’t as difficult as you might think. You can still follow the above 6 steps but just make sure to not really soak the mattress with your hydrogen peroxide, water, and dish soap mixture. Also, make sure to let the mattress fully dry. If you can place the mattress outside in the sun or in a well-ventilated area, that will help. The real key to cleaning a memory foam mattress is to ensure that you don’t leave moisture in the mattress when you are done. This moisture can ruin your mattress by causing molding. However, there is really nothing to worry about if you simply ensure that you don’t soak the mattress and you let it dry thoroughly.



Now that you know how to deep clean a mattress, I hope you get started on your mattresses! The deep cleaning process is quite simple and extremely inexpensive. You can use everyday household items including baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap to remove all the dirt, stains and smells from your mattresses. Keeping your mattresses clean will make sure that you and your family stay healthy and your home stays clean and fresh. Once you’ve completed these steps, don’t forget to recommend this tutorial to friends and family to help promote clean homes and happy, healthy families!


Written for the Hometalk community by: Mary @ That Crazy Look

Resources for this project:
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Pam Stewart Pam Stewart on Feb 10, 2019

    What is hydrogen peroxide and where's best to buy it

  • Linda Linda on Jan 11, 2020

    Can you use this same procedure to deep clean a couch? And if so if the couch is blue would it get discolored)

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 5 comments
  • Sweetcini Sweetcini on Jan 11, 2020

    if you own a steam cleaner, that works. steam clean the mattress being sure to not get it extremely wet and then suck as much moisture out as possible. works great on my mattress.

  • BrokeCrazyLady BrokeCrazyLady on Jan 12, 2020

    Many vacuum cleaner warranties have a clause about damage from baking soda or other powder products. Be sure you know if your vacuum can handle the powder before trying this.


    Also, I prefer to use a white anti-bacterial hand soap over dish soap. With a house filled with grandkids, I'm more concerned with the germs than I am about body oils. Different bodies leave you with different cleaning requirements.

    • Cate Melvin Cate Melvin on Jan 10, 2023

      you bring up a good point about vacuum cleaner warranties. i work for an Aerus franchise in Canada and i can assure everyone that the best way to kill your motor is to vacuum up powders, drywall dust and/or moisture. even those carpet powders can kill a vacuum motor! thats why most construction sites will use cheap shop vacs if they have been in business for any amount of time.

Next