how do you clean a matress?

Question

someone gave me a used matress because im desperate for one and i needed it. it is very nice with a pillow top and it is very very thick. and it also only has one side. like you cant flip it and use the other side. is smells very bad and i would like to sanitize it just because it was pre owned. so how do i get the smell out (febreeze doesnt work. tried it) and how do i disenfect it?

i live in arizona so we have a ton of sun and i cant take the pillow top off. its connected.

Answer 1

my son spilled a can of pop on his and i cleaned it with the steam cleaner for carpets i just used the attachments it worked fine for me..

Answer 2

i would throughly soak it with a strong astringent....vinegar water is great, and then let it sit in very hot very strong sunlight for over a week.
don't use anything with soap, because you'll never be able to get it out... with that same thought in mind, you need to dilute the vinegar too, because you don't want to smell it forever.

even after i'd used the astringent and the sun, i'd always keep a vinyl/plastic matress cover on it, under the regular mattess cover. this will do 2 things, keep anything still in the mattress from getting on you, and keep you from getting the cleaned mattress dirty again. though do know, if you sweat while you sleep, you'll need to make sure you change sheets twice a month or so, or you'll start growing mold where the moisture collects.

ps, you could try taking the pillow top off too, the mattess underneath is still probably fine.

my family was able to save some things, like quilts my great grandma made and other sentimental stuff after a fire by putting them in the sun. we had washed and washed, but the smoke smell wouldn't come out, the sun did the trick.

Answer 3

The old timey remendy for stinky matresses was to air them outside and allow the sun's rays to shine on the matress for a day or two. Applying a vinegar based rub into the smelly area might eliminate some of the odor or use a pine scented sanitizing product and allow to sun dry as above.

Good luck

Answer 4

Take a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment and clean out all the bed bugs that are in the bed. All beds have them. Next, get a carpet/upholstery cleaner and clean the mattress with water and antimicrobial carpet cleaning solution and let it dry in the sun. Maybe that will work. If you still feel like its not clean enough, get a allergy mattress cover. That way it will be thick enough to keep out all the things that could be trapped in the mattress.

Answer 5

Rent one of those rug shampoo machines to give it a deep cleaning. Then spray it with disinfectant. Put on a mattress protector sheet. If the smell is still there...throw it out.

Answer 6

I would not recommend using the used mattress. Especially if it smells as you have indicated. Keep in mind that those smells are more than likely the bodily fluids of many other people. It is unsanitary and can actually make you sick.

Answer 7

If it smelled bad in the first place it's probably not something you can fix yourself. You can contact a mattress cleaning service, like Hygienitech.

http://www.hygienitech.com/index.html

This is the safest method available if you want to keep a mattress.

Answer 8

Bleach get a spray bottle & spray it let it set for a few hours then use a fabric refresher like febreeze

Answer 9

Steam clean and then air dry in the sun for a day or two

Answer 10

First, you should scrub it with hot soapy detergent water, dry it off, and let it air dry... then spray it with Lysol spray and let air dry for 24 hours, then use it. You dont just want to avoid the odor, but also you dont want other peoples body oils or dust mites..etc.