Clean and care for your mattress
Most spring mattresses have a 7 to 10-year life span. To keep your mattress in top condition there are some tips you can follow:
- Change bed linen weekly. Don't immediately put on new bedding, allow the mattress to air for a minimum of two hours.
- Flip a reversible mattress every couple of weeks for the first few months, gradually increasing the weeks between flips after that. But don’t use the side handles for flipping and turning; these are designed for gentle repositioning only and could tear the cover. Depending on the size of your mattress, this can easily be a two
person job.
- Rotate the mattress 180 degrees, swapping the head and feet ends in non-reversible mattresses, such as pillow tops.
- Wash removable covers regularly.
- Vacuum the mattress, particularly between piping and crevices, to remove dead skin cells that attract dust mites. Intensive vacuuming is the best way to remove many of the allergens that settle inside of mattresses. A hydro (or water filtration) vacuum is ideal for cleaning a mattress, as the dust is retained in the water and not recirculated back into the air.
- Invest in a mattress protector or mattress cover -particularly for young children - and clean regularly or replace every other year.
- In the event that the mattress becomes soiled, use a Hydro - or water filtration - cleaning system to remove stains and refresh the outer cover. Apply as little water as possible during the cleaning process, and air dry the mattress outside on a sunny day.
- To remove musty odours from a mattress, sprinkle with baking soda - leaving on for as long as possible - and then vacuum off.