Want to know something
positively disgusting?
The average person sweats
out about a half pint of perspiration
each and every night.
Want to know
what that looks like?
Seeing as how we spend almost
a third of our life lying horizontally
on a mattress, one would think
it would stand alone atop our list
of regular cleaning duties.
But let's face it.
We rarely think about
cleaning the mattress.
The problem is once you strip
away all the sheets, you're left
with a mattress that has a
cover that you can't remove.
It's not like there's a zipper
and you can simply unzip
the cover and throw
it into the wash.
The sad truth is that once we pull
all the sheets off, we tend to turn
a blind eye to whatever nastiness
might live atop our mattress.
I know you don't want to admit it,
but mattresses harbor spills, stain,
dirt, dust, dust mites, and worse.
So maintaining a clean mattress
is important for several reasons,
not the least of which is the fact
that your partially clothed body
is lying on top of it with only a sheet
separating you
from your mattress.
Well, my beautiful and talented
viewers, worry not, because we here
at the Clean My Space Institute,
aka my house, have put together
a few helpful tips and tricks,
which will make cleaning and caring
for your mattress a breeze.
And if you stick around
until the end of the video,
I'll show you something that will
enable you to never have to worry
about stains, spills, and other crap
on your mattress ever again.
All right. Let's get down
to some maintenance tips.
Vacuum the mattress.
This is an important step
because it removes the dust,
dead skin cells, and other debris
that lands on your mattress.
Consider doing this every time
you rotate your mattress,
or once a season.
Now, the important part here is to
use a clean upholstery attachment,
because remember your vacuum
sucks up all kinds of nasties,
and you specifically don't want to be
depositing those onto your mattress.
We actually have a video
on how to clean your cleaning tools,
and that video will actually teach you
how to clean your vacuum brush attachment.
So we'll link that
to the end of this video.
Deodorizing your mattress.
You can fancify your mattress vacuuming
by adding another step,
and this is deodorizing.
I guess with all that sweat, dust,
and other fun stuff that your mattress
handles, it can start to develop
its own unique aroma.
And to combat this, simply sift
baking soda over your mattress,
leave it for about 30 minutes,
and then vacuum it up
with that upholstery attachment.
As you know, baking soda is
a natural deodorizer, so it will
definitely help neutralize any odors.
But note that it won't really clean
or remove any stains using this
dry cleaning method.
If you like essential oils, you can add
five drops to the baking soda pre-sift,
and you'll get to enjoy that lovely scent
for a few nights thereafter.
A scent I would use would be lavender,
but you can use
anything you like.
Spot cleaning and stains.
Stains come in three varieties,
but only one usually
ends up on your mattress.
Those three varieties, protein stains,
grease stains, and tannin stains,
and the stains you'll see
on your mattress are protein stains.
Protein stains consist of things
like blood, sweat, vomit, urine,
and other bodily fluids that we
usually need to contend with.
It's best to tend to any
stains as soon as possible
to avoid the
stain from setting in.
You have a much  better
chance of getting rid of it.
Liquid stains need to be blotted up
first with a cool, wet cloth, and then
excess moisture can be
blotted up with a dry cloth.
Use a pressing motion, rather than a
circular motion, to lift the stain
to avoid further rubbing the
stain in, which is what this will do.
Also, remember that
heat sets protein stains.
So only use cold water
when handling these.
Now, fresh protein stains
can usually be removed
with a mixture of salt,
baking soda, and water.
So just create a paste of equal parts,
rub it on the area, and then brush
it off 30 minutes later.
Then, use some cool water
on a damp cloth to remove
the excess, and then allow
the mattress to dry.
If that doesn't work, upgrade your
solution and try our favorite
homemade stain remover, consisting
of two parts hydrogen peroxide
to one part dish soap.
Put a teeny, tiny tad of that solution
on the stain, gently apply it
to the area, and then gently brush
it in with a cleaning toothbrush.
Leave it for about five minutes, and then
wipe it up with a cool, damp cloth.
This should also help
with any unsightly discoloration.
Some people love using enzyme
cleaners to remove protein stains,
and you're welcome to try this.
They're highly effective.
Just remember to use as little liquid as
possible and ensure that your mattress
is completely dry before using
it again to avoid growing
your very own
colony of mold spores.
Steam cleaning or deep cleaning.
Now, some folks swear by steam cleaning
or deep cleaning their mattress,
and, yes, there is a difference.
Steam cleaning is just covering the
mattress with steam to kill dust mites,
and extraction or deep cleaning
is simply wetting the mattress
and then extracting the moisture.
Now, I know that mattresses
don't do well with moisture,
so I don't use either of those methods,
even though I have access
to both pieces of equipment.
Now, I do know that there are professional
service providers who do offer this.
And for people with allergies or very
difficult mattress stains, you might want
to consider using a professional
rather than hacking it on your own.
These folks are trained, and they have
access to great extraction equipment.
And here are a few other
mattress cleaning  pointers.
Turn and/or flip your mattress
so it will wear evenly.
And it's recommended that you do
this at the turn of every season.
Chad and I have about
100 pounds difference between us,
so rotating the mattress means that
we prolong the life of the mattress
and even out the wear.
Or else, this side is way deeper
than that side.
It takes us a grand total
of 45 seconds to do.
No big deal.
No water on your mattress.
Now, mattresses really
don't like water, or liquid I should say,
and memory foam mattresses
can't actually handle liquids at all,
because liquids will get trapped
in that cellular structure, and then
the liquid has nowhere to go.
On that note, never ever get
your memory foam mattress wet.
Now, if you need to spot clean,
be super stingy with the liquid,
and blot like a
madman or woman.
Use fans
to dry the mattress.
So if that mattress does get wet
and you blot it like a madman or woman,
then you can crank the fans
on to assist in drying time.
And if you have access to a
wet/dry vac, of course, using
a clean attachment, use it
to help further extract the moisture.
Don't even think about
sleeping on mattresses
until they are
completely dry.
Now, we've been asked several
times how to deal with bedbugs,
and this is a serious issue.
It shouldn't be a DIY project.
Act fast and call a professional
if you think you have them.
Have the professionals treat
your mattress, the room,
and any other areas affected
in your house immediately.
If you get them, you want
them gone, and these are
the guys that
know how to do it.
Now, you may recall at the beginning
of this video that I mentioned something
about a tip, which would save your
mattress from those spills and stains,
and everything else.
Well, it's not really a huge secret,
but a mattress protector is one of the
best investments for your mattress.
And there are a few different types,
which I've linked for you below
if you're interested
in learning more.
But trust me on this one.
It's way easier to take off a
mattress cover, throw it in the wash,
or even throw it out if you did something
real bad on it, than to have to fiddle
around with your actual mattress.
We've had this mattress
for about four and a half years.
Our mattress protector
has taken a beating.
The mattress looks brand new.
Also, it's important to note that many
mattress manufacturers strongly
recommend using a mattress protector,
because stains on your mattress
will actually void your warranty.
Now, if you gagged at the thought of a
gross mattress, maybe you should check
out our pillow cleaning video.
It's linked to the end of this one.
And that brings us to our
Clean My Space poll.
Leave me a comment
in the comment box below,
and let me know if you
use a mattress protector.
And if you do, has it saved
your bacon on more than one occasion?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I hope you enjoyed the
video and/or found it helpful
and/or love the funky
floral print on my mattress.
If you did any of those three,
don't forget to give us the thumbs up.
You know what it looks like.
And if you haven't already, be sure
to hit Subscribe, which is right
down there, to catch more of our
great cleaning videos, including
tips, tricks, product reviews,
and a whole bunch of
other great cleaning stuff.
Thanks so much for watching,
and we'll see you next time.
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