Professional cleaning of mattresses

PunkRoquefort

I have a decent bed mattress, several years old, but it has got stained.

Although I use mattress protectors, I heavily sweat, particularly in the hot Sumner and I tend to move a lot during sleep, often waking up to a protector covering only part of the mattress.

I also swear that my sweat and even urine has passed through the protectors, whether quilted or plastic bottomed protectors.

I also use protectors which initially fit securely on the mattress corners.

How effective is a professional mattress clean and are there particular protectors for instances like mine?


Thank you.

Emmia

PunkRoquefort said:

I have a decent bed mattress, several years old, but it has got stained.

Although I use mattress protectors, I heavily sweat, particularly in the hot Sumner and I tend to move a lot during sleep, often waking up to a protector covering only part of the mattress.

I also swear that my sweat and even urine has passed through the protectors, whether quilted or plastic bottomed protectors.

I also use protectors which initially fit securely on the mattress corners.

How effective is a professional mattress clean and are there particular protectors for instances like mine?


Thank you.

Are your protectors ones that fit like fitted sheets or just elastic straps? We have one that's fitted sheet style and that doesn't shift.

Ours is from Soak & Sleep 
https://www.soakandsleep.com/

We have this one https://www.soakandsleep.com/products/quilted-cotton-protectors

PunkRoquefort

I have used ones which fit like fitted sheets, plus ones with an elasticy loop on each corner, which slides under the corners of the mattress.

How effective is professional cleaning for my stains?

Emmia

PunkRoquefort said:

I have used ones which fit like fitted sheets, plus ones with an elasticy loop on each corner, which slides under the corners of the mattress.

How effective is professional cleaning for my stains?

I'd probably consider getting my own steam cleaner in your situation, so I could clean my mattress regularly (i.e. every change)

Do you wear pyjamas to bed, or just undies? I find pjs (especially bottoms.+ pants underneath):help avoid staining.

PunkRoquefort

I wear now't in bed.

A steam cleaner sounds a good idea.

Emmia

PunkRoquefort said:

I wear now't in bed.

A steam cleaner sounds a good idea.

Wearing now't will be at least part of the problem. Even just clean pants will help.

Spikeygran

I think if its badly stained a professional clean is probably the best first step. They have specific enzyme pretreatments for the type of stains, and hopefully a higher  moisture extraction than domestic shampoo machines.  I haven't used one, but I believe they have methods of drying quickly. You might need a night on the sofa while its airing?

You can get a type of protector, that fully covers the matress, and  zips closed.  A pain to get on and off but fairly foolproof, with stretchy sides and a quilted moisture repellent top. You can also get similar fully waterproof ones but they tend to rustle in the night, putting a blanket over before the sheet helps damp down the noise.    I'd buy 2 so you can change them when changing the bedding.   

If you change regularly you should keep the mattress clear.  But I'd still give the mattress a good vacuum when changing and maybe buy steamer and give it  a good steaming a couple of times year (or more frequently if needed).  When you change your bed, pull everything off first thing so the mattress can air during the day.

Dont make your bed, leave the covers pulled back to air during the day, open windows when possible to get air circulating, if you have pets like us shut them out of the bedroom.   I hook my main pillow up on a hanger to air too. 

ButterCheese

Does the mattress smell or is it just stained?  If it doesn't smell then I'd be tempted not to touch it.  If you get it too wet, it can be impossible to dry unless you have commercial grade dehimudifiers and can suspend the mattress off the ground.  A steam cleaner will probably be best but you'll have to try and mop/dab the stains off as you go.  If too much moisture gets into the mattress it will rust the springs (if it has any) and smell like damp.  We succesfully steam cleaned an old sofa once and it was fine, just try not to get too much steam in any one place for too long else moisture will build up and seep into the mattress.  But a sofa is pretty much hollow frame, so not as much risk of retaining damp 

MyRealNameToo

PunkRoquefort said:

I also swear that my sweat and even urine has passed through the protectors

sweating and wetting the bed are very different things

If you are doing the later then your only option really is going to be a waterproof layer. You can get what is basically a rubber fitted sheet from firms specialising in incontinence products. Even with a normal sheet over the top they dont feel great (used to have one for my nan when she visited) and so you'd probably want the mattress protector on top. 

If it's just sweat then rubber bedding is probably OTT and would be surprised if you get a decent protector and definitely not a topper that it would soak through. Even more unlikely if you move around so it's not concentrated in one place. 

The game changer for me, who also sweats at night, was replacing cotton bedding for linen. It's a bit of a pain to find because people call bedding linen even when made of cotton but you can find it if you look. Linen has better sweat wicking so it dissipates faster plus it's more of an open weave so if you also add a fan you stay much cooler. Should go without saying to leave things uncovered in the morning to make sure it's all fully dry by the time you get back in. 

Emmia

MyRealNameToo said:

PunkRoquefort said:

I also swear that my sweat and even urine has passed through the protectors

sweating and wetting the bed are very different things

If you are doing the later then your only option really is going to be a waterproof layer. You can get what is basically a rubber fitted sheet from firms specialising in incontinence products. Even with a normal sheet over the top they dont feel great (used to have one for my nan when she visited) and so you'd probably want the mattress protector on top. 

If it's just sweat then rubber bedding is probably OTT and would be surprised if you get a decent protector and definitely not a topper that it would soak through. Even more unlikely if you move around so it's not concentrated in one place. 

The game changer for me, who also sweats at night, was replacing cotton bedding for linen. It's a bit of a pain to find because people call bedding linen even when made of cotton but you can find it if you look. Linen has better sweat wicking so it dissipates faster plus it's more of an open weave so if you also add a fan you stay much cooler. Should go without saying to leave things uncovered in the morning to make sure it's all fully dry by the time you get back in. 

Piglet in bed does 100% linen bedding. It's not cheap though!

https://www.pigletinbed.com/collections/100-linen-bedding

Spikeygran

@Emmia Thanks for the link..  I like those gingham ones, might treat myself.

I've got egyptian cotton at the moment, 20 years old and still in good condition despite hot washing 26 times a year (I have 2 sets). Definitely a superior feel compared to cotton or polycotton.   They turned out to be amazing value, unfortunately getting anything near the quality now is proving impossible.

I'd forgotten that linen is from flax. The process from harvest to fibre is a lot more labour intensive than cotton, hence the price, but as the other poster mentioned a lot of whats stated as linen isnt actually linen.  There was an old chap on youtube who showed the hand process from start to finish, if anyone is interested.