Spring Clean Your Mattress
I’ve been making my way through the bedding in our home giving it a good Spring Cleaning. It feels so nice! Saturday we even had enough warm weather to open up the windows! My home always feels cleaner after it has been aired out a bit after the long winter.
Spring cleaning mattresses is a simple process for me. I start by removing all the bedding, including bed skirts and mattress covers… and putting it all into the wash.
Next I lift the mattress and box springs off the bed and thoroughly vacuum and dust. I also love to wipe down the wall and floorboards behind the bed.
I lay the mattress back into place and make my own special concoction. You could just use straight baking soda, but I love to pour about 1 cup of baking soda into a mason jar and drop in 4 drops of lavender essential oil. Put on the lid and shake up the jar.
Using a kitchen strainer sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress and let it sit. I leave it for an hour or more, usually the time it takes for me to finish washing all the bedding and press the bed skirt.
Using the hose end of your vacuum and an upholstery attachment, thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Bye, bye dust mites and other nasty things. The baking soda helps draw up any moisture and deep dirtiness. It deodorizes and leaves the mattress smelling fresh and clean. I also love the faint scent of lavender left by the essential oil.
The word lavender is derived from the Latin “lavare” meaning to wash…. I guess I’m in good company with the Ancient Romans in thinking it smells nice and clean.
When I get in bed after a deep clean like this, I wonder how I ever slept a wink in my dusty bed. I am pretty much guaranteed to sleep like a baby tonight!
Next step is washing the quilts on our beds…. but that’s for another day.
Thank you for sharing such a useful tip! I have a Kirby vacuum that has a wondeful attachment for cleaning the mattress. I love th idea of going the extra step with baking powder and lavender. I will give this try!
I am so going to try this!
I’m totally going to do this since I just made my spring cleaning checklist for each room in the house. And I’m assuming you meant to say baking soda, rather than baking powder, since that’s what is in the photo. Thanks for the cleaning tip!
Jen, thank you so much for the heads up on the powder! I need a full time editor. I’ve made the change in the post.
Thank you so much for your post.
I am going to use your method just as soon as I purchase a kitchen strainer. :o) I love to spring clean and so glad you can open your windows. I cherish those days.
Have a nice day.
Sincerely, Trish
Love the idea of this…I’ve heard of people cleaning mattresses but never really knew how they did it.
Just to clarify, do you use the powder or soda when you do it?
That is a fantastic tip. Can’t wait to try it!
~Kimberlee, http://www.TheSpunkyDiva.com
I am definitely going to do this! I don’t have lavender handy but I am definitely going to try out the baking soda. I’ll do my daughter’s mattress first- it needs it. :)
I never would have thought of this! Terrific idea.
Great tip! I can’t wait to try!!!!
Great tip! I did this and the bed smelled clean and lovely! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for posting.
Thank you so much for this tutorial! Where do you purchase lavender essential oil?
I bought mine at my local health food store, you can also find it at natural grocery stores like Whole Foods. It lasts forever even though I use it fairly often.
I cannot wait to try this! Thanks for sharing.
thanks for sharing
Does this work on tempurpedics?
I’m not sure, since I have traditional coil mattress, but I can’t see a reason why it wouldn’t. Maybe test it out on a small area or check with the manufacturer.
I found and pinned this on pinterest. I used it today on my mattress and it works FANTASTIC! Thank you!
I could do this on couches too right? Want to clean couches that dogs are constantly on, that stink to the high heavens, this would work right?
Yes, I’ve used baking soda on my sofa as a matter of fact. Our naughty dog, Finn loves to sleep on our sofa whenever we aren’t home, even though he knows he’s not allowed when we are home. I also sprinkle baking soda on my carpets, let it sit for a while and vacuum it up. It works great for odor control.
Do you think this could be used on a sofa set?
Yes, I’ve done it on mine. But I would be sure to test it on an out of the way spot.
I love using baking soda to freshen up mattresses, carpeting, etc. … but, I’ve never added essential oil. Why didn’t I think of that … I use baking soda, vinegar & essential oils in so many ways in my home. What a wonderful scent to doze off to … love it … thank you so much for sharing!
Lavendar is also an anti bacterial agent. if you want to clean your kitchen you can use water dispersable lavender about 1 tspn in about 1 litre of water. Works wonders and calms the house down.
Is the lavender oil the only oil you can use? Or can you use any other scent?
Hi Whitney, You can use another scent, I like lavender since it’s one of my favorite calming bedtime scents, but I think anything you love would work great.
Hi – I came across this on pinterest. I hope you don’t mind that I shared on my latest blog post. I gave your credit and linked directly to this post. Check it out – http://365daysasmom.blogspot.com/2012/01/cleaning-your-mattress.html
I can’t wait to check out more of your blog :)
Do you know if this voids the warranty on the mattress? It says stains and bodily fluids do… But does this leave anything that would be like a water mark or anything??
I love this idea!!
This is a great idea!! Ever since my baby was born, I thought we’re doomed to a stinky mattress forever (or buy a new one). Thank you for sharing! I’ll be trying it the next time we change our sheets! :)
I loved using the baking soda on the carpets, until my vacuum broke. The repairman told us the baking soda clogged the filters! Who knew? This sounds like a great idea though. I’m wondering if anyone else has ran into this issue or know of a solution?
I love baking soda for my carpets too (and the mattresses) I don’t do it often and I’ve never had trouble with my vacuum. I hope I don’t in the future! Thank you for the alert.