To clean a mattress, strip the bed, vacuum the top and sides with a brush or upholstery attachment on low, spot-clean stains with as little liquid as you can, then let it air out before remaking the bed. Do a full clean a few times a year. The one rule that applies to every mattress: don't soak it. Tempur-Pedic's care page says its foam should never get wet, and water trapped deep in any mattress is hard to get back out.
How often should you clean a mattress?#
IKEA's mattress care guide splits it into three rhythms, and it's a sensible schedule for most beds:
| How often |
What to do |
| Daily |
Leave the bed unmade with the window open for at least 10 minutes |
| Weekly |
Vacuum the mattress when you change the sheets |
| Twice a year |
Rotate it, and flip it if it's a two-sided design |
| A few times a year |
Full clean: vacuum, deodorize, spot-clean |
The daily airing sounds fussy, but it's the cheapest thing on the list. You lose moisture into the mattress every night, and throwing the duvet straight back over it traps that moisture in.
What you need#
- A vacuum with a handheld brush or upholstery attachment, cleaned first so it isn't spreading dust from the floor
- Baking soda
- Clean white cloths or towels (colored ones can transfer dye)
- Mild dish soap and cool water in a spray bottle
- An enzyme cleaner if you're dealing with urine
- A fan, or a dry day with the window open
How to deep clean a mattress, step by step#
- Strip everything, including the mattress protector, and start it washing.
- Vacuum the whole top surface on the lowest suction setting with the brush attachment, as IKEA recommends. Go slowly along the seams, the piping around the edge, and any quilting dips. That's where skin flakes, crumbs, and hair collect. Do the sides too.
- Treat any stains now, using the methods below. Keep it to dabbing and blotting.
- Sprinkle a thin, even layer of baking soda over the top. IKEA suggests leaving it for an hour; longer is fine if you have the time. It absorbs moisture and odor. It doesn't kill dust mites or disinfect anything.
- Vacuum the baking soda back up thoroughly, going over the seams twice.
- Let the mattress air with the window open, ideally in a sunny room, while the bedding dries.
- Rotate it if your mattress allows, then remake the bed with a clean protector.
How to get stains out of a mattress#
Whatever the stain, the method is the same in principle: blot, never scrub, and use as little liquid as possible. Spray the cleaner onto the cloth, not onto the mattress.
Sweat and yellow stains#
Mix a few drops of dish soap into cool water. Dab the stain with a cloth dampened in the solution, then dab with a cloth dampened in plain water to rinse, then press a dry towel hard into the spot to pull moisture out. Old yellow sweat stains rarely disappear completely. The aim is a clean, odor-free surface, not a brand-new color.
Urine#
Speed matters more than product. Pull off the bedding, then press dry towels into the wet patch, standing or kneeling on them to push the liquid back up. Tempur-Pedic's instructions for spills are to remove and wash the cover if your mattress has a removable one, soak up as much as possible with towels, let it air dry, and put a fan on it to speed things up. Once the excess is out, an enzyme cleaner on the fabric surface helps break down the smell. Follow the product's dwell time, then blot again.
Blood#
Use cold water only. Hot water sets blood into the fibers. Dab with a cold, damp cloth and a little dish soap, rinse by dabbing with plain cold water, and blot dry.
Don't steam or shampoo a mattress#
Upholstery shampooers and steam cleaners push water deep into the filling, where it can take days to dry out. The EPA's guide to mold and moisture says wet materials need to be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold. Thick foam often won't dry that fast. Only use wet cleaning methods if your mattress maker explicitly allows them.
If a mattress has been properly soaked (a flood, a burst pipe, a large spill that went unnoticed overnight) or you can see or smell mold in it, the EPA notes that absorbent materials that get moldy may have to be thrown away. A mattress is about as absorbent as household items get. Ask the manufacturer before you try to rescue it.
Should you flip or rotate your mattress?#
It depends entirely on the design, and the manufacturers disagree:
- Tempur-Pedic says its one-sided mattresses never need to be flipped, rotated, or turned.
- IKEA recommends rotating its mattresses at least twice a year, and flipping them if they're designed to be flipped.
- Most one-sided foam and hybrid mattresses must not be flipped, because the comfort layers are only on top.
Check your mattress's care label or the manufacturer's site. Rotating 180 degrees, head to foot, spreads wear on any mattress that allows it.
Can you wash a mattress cover?#
Sometimes. Tempur-Pedic says the covers on most of its mattresses can be removed and machine washed in cold water and dried on a cool setting, without bleach or harsh stain removers. That isn't true of every brand. Check the tag sewn into the cover or the care page before you unzip it, because some covers aren't designed to come off.
Keeping it clean longer#
A washable protector does most of the work. It catches sweat and spills before they reach the mattress, and it's much easier to wash a protector than to spot-clean foam. Change your sheets weekly and vacuum the mattress at the same time.
If you're cleaning the whole room, the bedroom deep cleaning checklist puts the mattress in the right order with everything else. A ChoreLists.com reminder every three months for the full clean, and every six for rotating, keeps it from becoming a once-a-move job.