I moved in to a 'garden' (aka basement) apartment 2 months ago. I have my mattress on the floor and just got my box spring and frame. As i was putting my matress on my new bed i noticed i have mildew/mold all on the back side. How can i clean it? What can i do to make sure it doesn't grow again between my mattress and box spring?
2006-06-24 08:30:35 · 10 answers · asked by Bebo T 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
Do not place your bed directly onto the floor. Place it on cinderblocks so you can get air flow under the bed.
Killing mildew is difficult, but bleach will do it. Take the mattress outside on a hot day and take a spritz bottle. Put a few tablespoons of bleach in a cup or two of water and squirt the mattress. Let it totally dry in the sun for a few days, standing it upright so both sides can dry. If the bleach can penetrate to all the mildew, it should kill the stuff. It will also most likely remove color from the mattress.
When you go to reuse the mattress, if it is still smelly, try putting the mattress inside one of those plastic mattress covers that are made for bed wetters...or people with allergies.
Always use a thick mattress pad underneath your sheets, as people sweat during sleep and the bed absorbs body moisture. That moisture will cause more mildew in the environment where you live.
You also might take bleach and wash down all the floors with it to kill off any mildew.
Use a fan to circulate air in your apartment, bringing in outside air to help freshen things and remove moisture.
2006-06-24 09:38:27 · answer #1 · answered by mw 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I think what you are planing to do, with the steam cleaning and the anti-allergen protector is a good choice and quite a thorough one! But make sure your mattress will be completely dry when you encase it in that cover, otherwise mold will again. Another good choice is to encase your mattress in a plastic cover, which will completely encase the mattress. With no air circulation! Mold is a living organism and needs oxygen, light and food...and when you get rid of these sources, there wont grow any kind of mold anymore! The same procedure could be possible for the second mattress, which is a bit more affected from mold.
2016-03-16 12:02:21 · answer #2 · answered by Patricia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
Mildew on my mattress?
I moved in to a 'garden' (aka basement) apartment 2 months ago. I have my mattress on the floor and just got my box spring and frame. As i was putting my matress on my new bed i noticed i have mildew/mold all on the back side. How can i clean it? What can i do to make sure it doesn't...
2015-08-20 22:00:55 · answer #3 · answered by Elke 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ugh! A friend of mine discoverred mold trying to grow in her guest room- and unfortunately it had gotten into the bed. She had to use a LOT of bleach, and ended up disposing of the bed.
You'll want to get your box spring off the floor, and get a dehumidifyer. After you've scrubbed the place down. You probably would be better off buying a new mattress, but if that's not in your budget try using bleach and baking the mildew out in the sun.
Good luck!
2006-06-24 10:14:50 · answer #4 · answered by Tigger 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try Lysol or pinesol. Scrub floor with it. Take mattress out into sunshine - mold hates that! Then spray with lysol. Let dry thoroughly. Don't put box spring directly on the floor. Use mattress covers. Turn mattress once a month. If moldy smell stays, repeat or buy new mattress
Good luck!
2006-06-24 09:53:59 · answer #5 · answered by Da Bomb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would not risk it, I would try to get a new mattress. If you can't afford a new one, look around in news papers, or ask around some one might have one they want to get rid off. We have a local freecycle website, that we got my sons futon from for free, and it was unused .
2006-06-24 08:36:47 · answer #6 · answered by gwarr129 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really sounds like the basebent has a mold problem. In this case, you should not only get a new matress, you should clean all mold from walls (also behind walls) and everywhere else you can find it.
By the way, bleach does a good job.
Good Luck!
2006-06-24 08:35:21 · answer #7 · answered by April 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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Dilute some bleach and spray it on the area with mildew; Bleach kills everything.
2016-04-04 04:16:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would throw it away. I've found that Scrub free ( 3 bucks at walmart) does an awesome job killing mold. You could spray it on there but it would probably ruin it.
2006-06-24 08:39:11 · answer #9 · answered by harbaugh5 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can't clean it, trash it. There's too much moisture in the apartment. Get a dehumidifier.
2006-06-24 08:33:05 · answer #10 · answered by rustang4698 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋