As individuals and couples, people spend an inordinate amount of their lives in the bedroom. Yet, many people shirk the care needed for their mattresses.
Having the right type of mattress, and caring for it properly can mean a better night’s sleep. According to The Sleep Foundation, adults need around 8 hours of sleep a night. Some slightly more, and others slightly less.
Having a good night’s rest helps with mental wellness, and also physical health. It can improve mood and help with cognitive function.
Not cleaning your mattress as often as you should, or properly, could result in your health suffering in some surprising ways.
How often should you clean your mattress?
You no doubt clean your sheets, pillowcases, and blankets regularly, but do you give the same consideration to your mattress?
The answer for many people will be no. Rotating and flipping mattresses has long been seen as a way to extend their life, but many people ignore this too.
However, with modern mattresses, flipping is not quite as vital as it once was. Except when cleaning. One of the things every homeowner should know is how to clean a mattress.
Many experts say that a mattress should be cleaned every six months, so at least twice a year.
Why is it important to clean a mattress?
Humans sweat, and they shed skin. Even when sleeping this happens, and the amount you sweat may startle you. On average, a person sweats around half a litre each night while sleeping, and more in hotter climes.
Your mattress is then soaking up this sweat. Human dander can pass from sheets to a mattress when they are being changed, and this also builds up.
In effect, if you don’t clean your mattress you are creating quite a gruesome base to sleep on.
Professional mattress cleaning is one way to make sure you have the best surface to sleep on, and you’ll avoid some other nasties too.
What can happen if you don’t clean a mattress?
All this build-up of dander and dust provides the perfect environment for dust mites. If the idea of sleeping on thousands of tiny mites doesn’t bother you, then don’t worry about cleaning your mattress.
Leaving a mattress alone may also mean that you don’t discover other problems with it. Bed bugs for one.
Some people don’t react to bed bug bites and they only realise they have them, once they see one, or the evidence they leave behind. Lifting your mattress during a clean may reveal that you have more serious problems to deal with.
You may take pride in your home, and invest in the best bedroom ideas in recent years, but you might have something nasty lurking in your mattress if you don’t clean it.
Is it unhealthy to have poor bed hygiene?
Clearly, the words healthy and poor hygiene don’t really go together. According to Web MD, if you do have dust mites, there could be up to 10 million of them in your mattress.
Frightening stuff. Not as frightening as what could happen to you if you don’t clean your sheets and mattress often enough.
Beds attract both pet and human dander, they build up bacteria, grime, dust, pollen, and even fungi. This can lead to dermatitis, eczema, and asthma problems. It may also cause sneezing, watery eyes, and a runny nose.
It may also take its toll in other ways. Poor bed hygiene leads to poor sleep. Humans cannot function to their best ability unless they receive adequate sleep.
How do you clean a mattress?
There are two choices for cleaning a mattress, one is to roll up your sleeves, the other is to call a professional.
The issue with cleaning it yourself is that it is time-consuming, to say the least. You will need all day to do the job properly.
To clean a mattress first it needs to be stripped. afterward, you must vacuum it to remove as much dander and dust as possible. Then you can spot clean any stains or areas that need to be attended to.
You must wait for the mattress to dry after you have washed and wiped at any stains. Once this is done, you then need to apply baking soda to help remove odours.
After a few hours, you can vacuum thoroughly again to remove the soda. Then flip the mattress and repeat all the above steps.
You can probably see that hiring a professional to come in to clean your mattress may be an easier option. And they should come with some kind of service guarantee.
Summary
You lie on your mattress for many hours every night, and perhaps in the day too. Wouldn’t you be sleeping better if you knew it was more hygienic and less likely to be lurking with dust mites?
If you are finding yourself sneezing or having other symptoms while trying to sleep, it might be time to clean your mattress.
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