You spend about a third of your life on your mattress. When was the last time you gave it a good, deep clean? The seldom-used living room sofa probably feels the bristle of a vacuum brush more often than your trusty mattress. It’s time to change that. Besides promoting a more pleasant and productive night's sleep, a clean, cared for mattress can last longer—and it might even help prevent nasty, not to mention costly, pest infestations. Back when most mattresses could be flipped over, the conventional wisdom was that you should turn it twice a year, and take that opportunity to clean it as well. These days, a lot of mattresses, including the pillow-top variety, can’t be turned because they have a proper top and bottom. But cleaning your mattress two times a year remains a good rule of thumb. (Check the mattress label for instructions since the manufacturer might recommend rotating the mattress head to foot to ensure even wear.) Start the cleaning process by stripping the mattress of all sheets and bedding and tossing the items in the wash.
To remove tough stains, always use a Consumer Reports top-rated laundry detergent and the hottest water setting on your washing machine; dry on high heat as well to zap any surviving critters. Next, vacuum the entire mattress surface with the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Pay attention to seams and crevices, where dirt, dust, dead skin, and other icky stuff collect; switching to your vacuum’s crevice attachment can help get in deep. Our tests have found that a normal vacuum cleaner provides capable cleaning, but if you’re fastidious, consider investing in the Dyson V6 Mattress Handheld Vacuum, a $250 device designed specifically for the job. In a Consumer Reports at-home mattress test, we cleaned half of a foam Tempur-Pedic mattress with a top-rated canister vacuum and half with the Dyson handheld. The Dyson sucked up 3 grams of material, including dead skin cells that dust mites like to nosh on, compared with the 1 gram that our regular vacuum removed. Once you’re finished vacuuming, check for stains and spot treat them with an appropriate cleaner.
An upholstery cleaner or enzyme-based pet-odor remover can do the job on many bodily fluids. You can also try a simple solution of 1 teaspoon mild dish detergent and 1 cup of warm water. Next, deodorize the mattress by sprinkling baking soda over the entire surface. Especially if this is your first cleaning, don't be afraid to empty an entire 1-pound box onto the mattress. For best results, leave the baking soda there for 24 hours. That means you might need to plan the project around an overnight trip—or be willing to sleep elsewhere in your home. If you can place the mattress near a window, the sunlight will add its sanitizing power. After the baking soda has had a chance to tackle odors, go back over the mattress with your vacuum’s upholstery attachment. If you don't already own a mattress cover, we recommend buying one. And adding a mattress pad between the cover and bottom sheet will help absorb moisture. Along with the periodic deep cleaning described here, these extra layers of protection will help prevent mites, fleas, and other pests from sharing your bed.
That should really help you sleep tight. Once upon a mattress How often do you clean your mattress? Getting a Good Night's Sleep Why Americans Can't Sleep How to Fall Asleep the Natural Way The Problem With Sleeping Pills Does Melatonin Really Help You Sleep? What Is a Sleep Coach, and Do You Need One? The Dangers of Drowsy Driving What Can Happen When You Drive Drugged Can the Sleep Shepherd Sleeping Cap Lull You Into Sweet Slumber? Sleep Tracker: Gimmick or Great Gadget? 3 Blue Blockers Put to the Test Smartphone Apps Can Sound as Good as a White-Noise Machine Should My Pillow Become Your Pillow? Mattress Buying Guide and RatingsThe Dyson V6 Mattress is designed to remove dust mites and other microscopic particles According to Dyson, bed mattresses contain anywhere between 10,000 and two million dust mites that churn out around 40 million droppings per day. To deal with the pesky critters and provide relief for allergy sufferers, the company has announced its handheld V6 Mattress cleaner, which packs HEPA filtration and is powered by the Dyson digital motor V6.
Dust mites are a constant, microscopic, though somewhat disturbing, part of our lives, wandering around our homes feeding on the roughly 28 g (1 oz) of dead, sloughed off skin cells we each shed every month. That's an important service in keeping our environment clean, but mite droppings are also a source of allergens that can cause asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis.Dyson says that, unlike other devices that rely on slow-acting UV light to kill dust mites, the V6 Mattress uses a more powerful vacuum suction to remove mites and other particles from mattresses entirely. The company says that its latest digital motor, the V6, has the most powerful suction of any cordless handheld vacuum.To help shake dirt and dust out of mattresses along with the mites, the V6 Mattress has a motorized brush assembly with powered bar pivots featuring nylon bristles and suction channels for more complete cleaning at the mattress edges. Behind this is a whole machine HEPA filtration system that uses Dyson's 2 Tier Radial Cyclone Technology.
This uses centrifugal force to remove dust and dirt, while germs and other microscopic particles are caught in the post-motor filter.Run time on a full charge is 20 minutes, 16 minutes with the motorized cleaner head operating, and six minutes in boost mode. Like Dyson's other vacuum cleaners, the V6 Mattress is bagless, with the contents able to be emptied straight into the bin with the push of a button."Awareness of allergens residing in your bed is relatively low, and many find it obscure to vacuum your mattress," says James Dyson. "Our US$370 million investment in Dyson digital V6 motors has allowed us to achieve the suction power required to remove more allergens, such as dust mites, from your mattress than any other mattress cleaner – reducing the number of critters you share the bed with."Select a handheld vacuum V6 Mattress vacuum features: Dyson digital motor V6 Creates powerful suction to penetrate deep into the mattress. 2 Tier Radial™ cyclones Capture more microscopic dust and allergens.