Looking to purchase the perfect mattress or are you trying to save some money and bring some life back into your old one? One of the best things about a natural latex mattress is it looks fantastic with modern decorating styles, and it that it doesn’t contain harsh chemicals like other types of mattresses do. When it comes to cleaning your mattress, you’ll want to use natural products, too, or you’ll defeat the purpose of buying a natural mattress such as those from LatexBear and LatexForLess. Using ingredients you probably already have at home, you can clean your mattress naturally.

To clean and deodorize your mattress, start by stripping off the sheets and sprinkling a thin layer of baking soda on the mattress. Let stand for 30 minutes, allowing the baking soda to draw out the moisture, dirt, and odours that can be trapped in the mattress. Once the 30 minutes have elapsed, vacuum up the baking soda, leaving the mattress fresh and clean. If desired, you can add a few drops of an essential oil or two to add a bit of fragrance to your mattress. Consider choosing those with a fresh fragrance (such as lemon or orange) or those that having a relaxing effect (such as lavender).

Stubborn stains can be, well, stubborn! It can be tempting to bring out the big guns and combat those stains with harsh chemicals, but there’s no need. Natural cleaning solutions and a little elbow grease can get the job done just as well, without the harmful fumes. If your mattress becomes stained by blood, urine, or dirt, try this at-home recipe for stain remover that contains no harsh chemicals.

Mix together:

2 parts hydrogen peroxide

1 part mild dish soap

1 part salt (standard table salt is fine)

Work the solution gently into the stain, and allow it to air dry. When dry, blot the mattress with a clean towel and remove any residue. The stain should have been lifted away. For really stubborn stains, you may need to repeat this process more than once.

Another time-test mixture that works very well for removing stains is vinegar and baking soda. Follow the same steps as above.

If you have pets or children, you may find yourself with a urine stain on your mattress. For this, you’ll need a enzymatic cleaner. Those are the only things that will break down the uric acid and remove the odor associated with urine stains. You could buy an enzymatic cleaner, but you can also buy one. Blot the urine with towels, then sprinkle with baking soda to soak up as much of the urine as possible. Let sit for several minutes. Then, spray with your homemade enzyme cleaner. To make your own:

Into a spray bottle, place 7 tablespoons of brown sugar, about 1 cup of lemon and/or orange peels, and one litre of water. Shake, and loosen the cap to release the gasses that will be created. Let sit for up to three months to ferment. This step is necessary to “activate” the enzymatic cleaning action.

After you have sprayed the stain, let the mixture sit on the stain to do its work (about 5 minutes). Blot the mattress again, and sprinkle with baking soda again. Allow the mattress to dry overnight, and then vacuum the baking soda away. Allow the mattress to dry completely, preferably in as much natural sunlight as possible, as this will help with the sterilization and stain removing efforts.

After a long winter, it’s time to freshen up your mattress and get it sparkling clean for springtime. Before you do anything, strip off your linens and mattress cover and toss it in the washer at high heat. Now let us give you an easy breakdown on how to clean your mattress the right way:

Photo: KawarthaMaxPro

Vacuum Your Mattress: First things first, make sure to vacuum every square inch of your mattress to get out as much dirt, dust, and lint as your can. Vacuum the top and bottom sides using a cleaner’s upholstery attachment.

Get Out Smells: Getting out bodily odors and sweat smells out of your mattress is easy! Sprinkle baking soda all over your mattress and use a scrub brush to get deep into the mattress. Let this sit for about 15 minutes and then vacuum it all up again.

Remove Stains: To remove bodily stains off your mattress, dissolve 3 tbsp baking soda in 8 oz. hydrogen peroxide and a drop of liquid dish soap. Using a sponge or wet rag, dap your stain or let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then vacuum it up. If the stain is still there, repeat.

Rotate Your Mattress: Every mattress should be flipped side-to-side and top-t0-botton weekly for the first three months, and then quarterly after that. It’s easy with a single, but it you have a double mattress or bigger, get some help from a family member to help flip your mattress. Make sure you do rotate your mattress to get an even wear on all sides. You don’t want your mattress to be dented on one side, or slopping to the other side after sleeping in one area for so long.

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