If you’ve got a mattress pad on your bed, then you have taken a step in the right direction to keep your mattress clean. Mattress pads help to protect your comfortable investment, the mattress. With the variety of mattress pad types, you may be wondering just how to clean a mattress pad once it has become soiled or stained.
A standard mattress pad needs regular cleaning in the washing machine if it is machine washable, but what do you do with the tough stains? While the best way to clean a mattress pad is to follow the washing instructions on the care label, this may not always get the job done for tough stains or for removing dust mites.
You may also discover problems when attempting to find ways to clean a mattress topper or a foam mattress pad. Here are our suggestions for proper mattress pad cleaning.
Cleaning a Mattress Pad
The best way to protect any mattress is by using a mattress protector or pad. While these will protect your mattress from staining, they will also need proper cleaning. If you have a specialized mattress pad, you may have the following questions. Can you wash a foam mattress pad? Can memory foam be washed? The answer is yes, and we’ll demonstrate how to do it.
Accidents happen in life, and they do not need to be a burden. We’ll show you how to get rid of mold on a mattress pad, remove a pet stain, and other unpleasant accidental mattress cover stains. You only need a few ingredients, a little time, and one of the following step-by-step methods to help you through the cleaning process.
How to Wash a Mattress Pad
A mattress pad should be cleaned once every couple of months if there haven’t been any accidents. The following method will show you how to properly clean a mattress pad to remove dirt, dead skin, and debris that can accumulate on the pad, and that can cause allergic reactions to the sleeper. These steps can be used for any basic mattress pad that doesn’t contain down or foam.
Cleaning a Basic Mattress Pad
Place the mattress pad and mild detergent into the washing machine on the delicate cycle and wash as you would normally. Once cleaned, place the pad into the dryer on low heat to tumble dry or hang outside to air dry. Drying the pad on high heat can damage the mattress pad and cause shrinkage.
Cleaning a Mattress Topper
If you have a memory foam mattress pad or memory foam topper, then you need to take specific steps while cleaning to prevent damage to the foam pad. Memory foam may collect allergens, dirt, and debris over time and will need proper cleaning to ensure that it remains fresh and stands the test of time.
Lay the memory topper onto a clean floor. You may want to place a tarp beneath the topper in case of any water spillage. Use a handheld vacuum or a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment to vacuum the topper on both sides using circular motions to loosen dirt.
If you need to remove any odors from the topper, sprinkle a simple homemade fabric deodorizer like baking soda over the entire surface before vacuuming and let it sit overnight. Use a soft bristle brush to gently scrub the baking soda into areas of particular concern.
To clean memory foam mattress topper, fill a spray bottle with the water and detergent and spray it onto the surface of the mattress pad. Be sure not to saturate the foam. A light spray is all that is necessary. Allow the spray solution to sit for about an hour.
Wipe down the surface using a cloth wet with cold water. Make sure to wring off the excess water and then wipe the soapy residue off the pad with the damp cloth. Use a dry cloth for blotting excess liquid off the topper.
You will need to let the pad sit for a couple of days to air dry before putting it back onto the bed. If you have it sitting outside to dry, make sure that it is not sitting in bright sunlight, as this can break down the foam. Also, make sure to turn the pad throughout the drying time so that all areas can get dried efficiently.
How to Remove Stains from a Mattress Pad
While you want to clean the entire mattress pad regularly to remove dirt and odors, there may be times when you need to work on a specific area to remove a stain.
Get stains out of a polyester mattress pad with simple household ingredients you already have. These are the best mattress cleaners to remove stains like food spills, urine, vomit, sweat, or other accidents on the bed.
Mattress Pad Stain Removal
The first step to take when spot cleaning a mattress pad is to blot up the stain as much as possible using paper towels. If the stain is fresh, you may be able to clean the affected area using little hot water and soap.
If the stain has already set, spray the stained area with some hydrogen peroxide. Allow the peroxide to sit on the stain for about five minutes and wipe the area clean with a towel.
If you have a stubborn stain, sprinkle some Borax onto the stain and gently rub it into the mattress. Spray some hydrogen peroxide onto the Borax and blot the stain away.
For urine stains, spray the stain directly with white vinegar and allow it to dry. The vinegar will kill the bacteria and disinfect the urine stain.
For tough stains, spray the area with vinegar and then sprinkle baking soda onto the stain. Once it has dried, use an upholstery attachment on a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the pad.
What is a Mattress Pad?
A mattress pad is a protective covering that fits snugly over your mattress to protect it from stains and accidents. Placing a mattress pad on your bed will prolong the life of the mattress and make clean-ups easier.
There are various types of mattress pads that you can put onto your mattress. It boils down to what you want out of a mattress pad. There are basic pads that are designed for covering the surface of your mattress.
You can also get a more luxuriously styled pad or topper for your mattress. These include memory foam and down mattress pads that require special care and cleaning. If you have a dust mite allergy, you can get a dust mite protector pad.
Do I Need a Mattress Pad?
A mattress pad will go a long way in protecting the investment you put into your mattress and ensure that you get as much use out of it as possible. The job of a mattress pad is to protect the mattress from accidents, spills, and stains that result from everyday use.
They are also particularly helpful on a child’s bed or if you have pets. A second reason that it is wise to have a mattress pad on your bed is to protect the sleeper from nasty dust mites and an infestation of bed bugs.
You can do several things to eliminate dust mites and bed bugs. Using a dust mite mattress protector will keep dust mites at bay, while diatomaceous earth kills bed bugs that have already become a problem in your home.
Can You Wash a Foam Mattress Pad?
Cleaning a memory foam mattress is possible, but it does require a little more work. The critical thing to remember when washing memory foam is never to put it into the washing machine or dryer.
Even if your washing machine has a bedding cycle or seems large enough to accommodate the pad, this may damage the memory foam. Washing a mattress topper in the washing machine is not recommended. It’s safer to follow a few simple steps for cleaning that topper or pad by hand.
You dedicated your time and money into picking out the right mattress. You took it a step further and got the perfect mattress pad to protect that investment.
All you need are the ingredients and know-how to remove stains and smells and to clean the mattress pad to take that final step toward a good night’s sleep.
If you think that it’s time to get a new mattress topper because your old one is worn or old, there is a way to get rid of a mattress pad without just throwing it away. Contact your local waste management agency to see about recycling it.
You now know the proper way for how to clean a mattress pad quickly and efficiently, so why not share these mattress pad cleaning methods with your friends and family on Pinterest?