Sleep Hygienically:
Cleaning Your Mattress is This Easy
While you sleep peacefully, sweat, skin flakes, hair, and dust accumulate on your mattress. Even if you shower regularly before going to bed, contamination gradually occurs overnight without you doing anything about it. Regular mattress cleaning helps to combat this. It extends the life of your mattress and improves your health.
Clean Your Mattress Professionally – at Home
You should clean your mattress from time to time. This prevents it from becoming a perfect breeding ground for germs, mites, and bacteria. Regular mattress cleaning does not require expensive care products or special cleaners, nor do you have to take your mattress to a professional cleaner. It is sufficient to follow a few basic care instructions when cleaning your mattress.
A Removable Mattress Cover Is Half the Battle
When buying your mattress, make sure that the mattress cover is removable and washable. This will save you from having to buy an additional protective cover or pad for the mattress. Although you can clean mattress covers separately, they interfere with the interaction between the mattress core and the cover, which in turn impairs sleeping ergonomics.
Washing the Mattress Cover is Easy
The HyBreeze® functional cover that surrounds the QXSchaum® mattress core of bett1 mattresses is equipped with an all-around zipper. This allows you to separate the two halves of the cover and wash them separately.
The two-part cover offers you several advantages:
- One half of the cover fits securely into any standard household washing machine.
- You can load your washing machine to its full capacity, ensuring the best cleaning results.
- If the washed half is not yet dry, you can cover your mattress with the other half at night.
Fresh Air Against Mites
In addition to vacuuming the mattress, thoroughly airing out the bedroom is a simple yet effective way to combat mites. These tiny arachnids thrive in warm, humid bedding and feed on our bodily waste. On average, there are up to 2 million microscopic mites in every bed. Apart from the disgust we feel at the thought of this swarm, they are fortunately harmless. However, their feces are responsible for one of the most widespread allergies, house dust allergy, or more precisely, house dust mite allergy.
The Art of Proper Ventilation
To reduce the proliferation of dust mites, a well-ventilated and dry climate in the bedroom is best. It is therefore advisable to ventilate at least twice a day—for example, after getting up and before going to bed. For effective ventilation, make sure that the air is almost completely replaced. To do this, you should keep the windows open for five to ten minutes. Cross ventilation is ideal. This involves replacing all the air in your home by keeping opposite windows and doors open. Daily cross ventilation guarantees an excellent sleeping environment.
Made Beds Are Detrimental to the Bed Climate
It may look tidy when the mattress is neatly covered by the duvet, but mites feel particularly comfortable under these conditions. A bedspread over your made bed further improves the comfort factor for these tiny arachnids. If, despite your love of animals, you have no place in your heart for allergy-triggering mites, and certainly not in your bed, then leave your mattress uncovered for as long as possible after getting up to allow it to air out. Ideally, you should not cover your mattress at all during the day.
Cleaning Your Mattress with a Vacuum Cleaner
For basic cleaning, it is perfectly sufficient to vacuum the surface of your mattress from time to time. However, always use a clean brush attachment when cleaning your mattress, as otherwise you will tend to rub in dirt rather than remove it.
Difficult Cases and Stubborn Stains
Breakfast in bed or nighttime accidents can occasionally leave unsightly stains on the mattress cover. Particularly stubborn stains can remain even after washing at a hygienic 60°C in the washing machine. Household remedies or special cleaning products can help with stubborn stains, which are more common on mattresses.
Blood Stainsn
Blood stains are particularly stubborn. Blood stains are best removed from the mattress while they are still fresh. Due to the coagulating properties of blood, wash them out with cold water if possible. Dried stains should be soaked in cold water. You can also add mild detergent to the water or, after cleaning with cold water, sprinkle the stain with soda or baking powder and leave it to work for about half an hour.
Vomit
Carefully remove the vomit with kitchen paper or a cloth – do not rub, just absorb, otherwise everything will be pressed deeper into the material. Baking soda or baking powder binds odors and draws out moisture. Cover the damp stain with it, leave it to work for at least 30 minutes, and vacuum it thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner. If it is still damp, you can repeat the step. A disinfectant suitable for textiles is ideal for removing bacteria and odors. It is best to put the mattress cover in the washing machine. Allow the mattress to dry thoroughly – preferably in a warm, airy place. A fan or hair dryer on a low setting can help.
Coffee Stains
Carbonated water can help with coffee stains. It dilutes the stain and the oxygen in the carbon dioxide acts as an additional stain remover. You should then put the mattress cover in the washing machine again.
Red Wine Stains
Before washing, you can remove some of the red wine stain with a vacuum cleaner. Simply sprinkle a layer of salt on the stain, let it dry, and thoroughly vacuum up the dried salt crust along with the red wine stain. Then put the cover back in the washing machine.
Urine Stains
If your child's diaper was not fitted correctly, it can happen quickly. But don't worry, vinegar and lemon juice help against urine stains on mattresses. Simply drizzle one of these onto the stain and let it soak in for a while. Once dry, brush the stain vigorously. If possible, put the cover back in the washing machine, as otherwise an unsightly mark may remain on the cover.
Please Note: Vinegar and lemon juice are particularly effective on human urine. However, you should never use vinegar on the stubborn smell of cat urine. The smell of vinegar can encourage your feline friend to mark the spot again with urine. Furthermore, vinegar does not reliably clean the mattress of the strong smell and bacteria in cat urine. Instead, special enzyme cleaners are suitable. You can spray these on more than just your mattress. Before using the mattress again, make sure that the stain is completely dry.
Professional Mattress Cleaning
In some cases, none of the tips for cleaning mattresses will help, as the stain is deeper or you have an older model without a removable mattress cover. In this case, you can have your mattress cleaned by professionals from time to time. Professional cleaners use special vacuum cleaners and UVC lamps to clean mattresses, which significantly reduce mites and germs. Due to the close contact with the body, skin-friendly agents are usually used. However, you should replace your mattress after about eight to ten years.
Deep Cleaning of the Mattress
Unlike conventional cold foam mattresses, the QXSchaum® mattress core of the BODYGUARD® mattress is water and heat resistant. This means that the BODYGUARD® mattress is completely washable, from the removable HyBreeze® functional cover to the QXSchaum® mattress core. For hospital use, it can therefore be steam sterilized in autoclaves. However, we strongly recommend that you refrain from washing the mattress in a standard household washing machine. It will definitely not fit inside. Hand washing is also not recommended, as manual scrubbing of the mattress core can damage the surface and the slat modules. Drying the mattress cores is also particularly problematic, so when cleaning your mattress, be careful not to use too much water to avoid promoting mold growth due to residual moisture.
The SuperBreeze® Kids Mattress is different: here, the lying surface made of QXSchaum® Mattress Foam is removable. It fits in the washing machine and, like the mattress cover, can be washed at a hygienic 60°C.
What Should I Do If My Mattress Has Mold?
If you find mold on your mattress, you should first check how far it has spread. Keep in mind that mold is not always visible. If you discover a small amount of mold somewhere and appear to have removed it, keep an eye on the area over time to see if it returns. If the mold infestation is severe or recurring, you should definitely dispose of the mattress, as mold spores can be harmful to your health. Light and superficial mold can be removed with household remedies such as vinegar, lemon juice, or baking soda. Then wash the cover at a hygienic 60°C. Make sure that the mattress cover is completely dry before putting it back on your mattress.
Occasional vacuuming is the basis of mattress cleaning. You can wash your mattress cover in the washing machine once a year. In general, depending on how you use your mattress, cleaning may be necessary more or less frequently. If you sweat more or regularly eat in bed, you should clean your mattress more often.
When it comes to urine stains, it all depends on whether they are human or animal urine. Human urine can be cleaned with vinegar or lemon juice. For cat urine, you should never use vinegar, but instead use enzyme cleaners specifically designed for this purpose.
Blood stains on the mattress should be removed as quickly as possible with cold water. For dried stains, you can soak the mattress cover in cold water and then wash it in the washing machine.
Baking soda or baking powder has proven to be an effective home remedy for sweat stains on mattresses. Apply it to the stain as a powder or diluted with a little water as a paste and vacuum it off after a while.
Vomit on the mattress should first be roughly removed. You can dab the residue with baking soda or baking powder, leave it to work, and then vacuum it up. Finally, you should use disinfectant or wash the mattress cover in the washing machine.
