Clean Mattresses Are a Necessity for Creating a Healthy Living Environment

When we talk about the mattress and human health the quality of mattress comes to our mind first. A poor-quality mattress is not only uncomfortable but also unable to support the body weight properly thereby affecting the musculoskeletal system and causing body ache and joint pain. Although mattress materials are sometimes responsible for causing allergies, a lot of health problems can arise from poorly maintained mattresses. Therefore, keeping mattresses clean is an absolute necessity for ensuring a clean and healthy indoor environment.

Mattresses become dirty not only because of dust and dirt exposure but also because of the accumulation of harmful substances that the human body releases. For example, our body keeps shedding minute flakes of skin besides releasing half a liter sweat every day and these substances find a place in mattresses thereby soiling it. Over a period, the accumulated substances create a conducive environment that encourages the growth of bacteria, dust mites, and fungal spores and starts spoiling the indoor air quality. When left unattended for long, dirty mattresses can create a lot of health problems from allergies to viral infections.

Effect on indoor air quality

The human spoils which are biological contaminants damage the air quality of home interiors. In addition, there are many other contaminants generated from paints, glue, smoke and household cleaners that pollute the indoor air. While people are familiar with the latter contaminants that are more visible and take steps to clean it away, they hardly pay any attention in cleaning the minute and almost invisible biological contaminants that hide inside mattresses. Bacteria, viruses, molds mites and mildews, as well as pollen and pet dander and above all cockroaches, are the most dangerous elements that pollute indoor air. It is possible to minimize the threat of indoor air pollution to a great extent by cleaning mattresses regularly. For a safe and healthy living, mattress cleaning should be a top housekeeping agenda.

Keep the threats under control

Regular mattress cleaning is important, but it is often quite costly to do a thorough cleaning by professional cleaners while doing it on your own does not always give satisfactory results. Therefore, it is prudent to try to keep the threats under control so that you can extend the interval of cleaning thereby making it cost effective. Ideally, you should clean mattresses thoroughly once in six months, but in between, you can clean it every week so that the accumulation of contaminants from human spoils in mattresses can never become menacing. Home cleaning drives away oils and sweat as well as skin flakes from mattresses.

Mattress cleaning methods

Mattress cleaning comprises of doing certain things on your own while leaving the heavy work of steam cleaning on professional carpet and mattress cleaners. You cannot afford to turn a blind eye to mattress cleaning because it would result in risking the health of your family. Mattress cleaning involves four different stages comprising of vacuuming and deodorizing followed by stain removal and steam cleaning.  Steam cleaning needs professional expertise which also applies to some extent for stain removal while you can do vacuuming and disinfecting by yourself.

When the cleaning methods seem not to work well, it is an indication that it is time to replace the mattress.  You can buy new mattresses at a very attractive price by using discount coupons available at leesamattresscoupons.com.

Cleaning mattress at home

When cleaning mattresses at home by getting rid of the human spoils, you can either do it inside the house or take it outdoor depending on the space available and your convenience. Before you start the cleaning process, wash the mattress covers in warm water heated to 130^o Fahrenheit and add vinegar to it for softening the fabric.

For removing the human contaminants from mattresses, use a vacuum cleaner with upholstery attachment which is the safest way of cleaning mattresses indoor. The attachment helps to extract the harmful elements from the mattress and prevent it from going back into the mattress once again. In the process, dead skin, pet dander, hair and dust, and skin particles are all removed effectively thereby making the mattress less dangerous for human health. To remove any odor from mattresses, before vacuuming, sprinkle some baking soda on the surface and leave it for 30 minutes.

Outdoor mattress cleaning

Choose a bright sunny day if you plan to take the mattress outside for cleaning. Leaving the mattress under sunlight helps to kill bacteria that are unable to withstand the heat. The process of cleaning consists of beating the mattress surface hard with a stick for some time continuously so that the accumulated items keep coming out from the deep interiors of the mattress surface and escape into the air.  Keep beating for about 20 minutes for effective cleaning and then turn the mattress to do the same to the other side after allowing it to heat appropriately under the sun. Since sunlight is very important for cleaning mattresses, never try to do it on a cloudy day. Remember that such cleaning is only helpful to keep the mattress partially clean and you must arrange for steam cleaning before it is too late.

Preventive cleaning saves cost

When you clean mattresses regularly at home, it reduces the load of contaminants and helps to maintain good indoor air quality, and you get some more time for professional cleaning.  Besides cleaning mattresses every week, take some other measures that help to prevent the buildup of contaminants.

Keeping the mattress covered ensures that the harmful elements accumulate on the cover only and do not reach the mattress surface. Washing the cover periodically is good enough to keep the mattress clean.  When you remove the mattress cover, vacuum the carpet in the room so that the contaminants from the rug do not travel to the mattress. If you observe any stain on the mattress, remove it immediately because leaving it unattended can lead to the growth of bacteria and other harmful elements.

Mattress cleaning is just like any another healthy activity that should become a habit for the sake of maintaining good health at home.