Keeping your mattress clean isn’t only essential for your health but promotes comfortable sleeping during the night by getting rid of dust, stains, allergens, and odours. Baking soda is one of the most reliable techniques for cleaning a mattress. The trusty white powder isn’t only a reliable cleaner, but it disinfects the mattress and prevents mould build-up. If you want to learn the ideal technique for cleaning a mattress with baking soda.

The Advantages of Using Baking Soda to Clean Mattresses

Before cleaning a mattress with baking soda, you should understand how it works.

Baking soda is simply a powder of pure sodium bicarbonate with various chemical properties that allow it to handle various cleaning-related functions while staying mild and safe. Here’s a quick look at them:

Cleaning Mild Stains

Baking soda is an alkali which reacts with acids in stains to break them down, making them easier to wipe off with a clean sponge or towel. That being said, baking soda isn’t strong enough to clean tough stains, which might require additional help from additional items, but more about that in the following section.

Moisture Absorption

In its powder form, baking soda is hygroscopic. This means it has a remarkably high affinity for absorbing moisture from its surroundings. You can also use it to effectively remove moisture from sweat and fresh stains without worrying about damaging the mattress’s fabric. Keeping the mattress dry is essential to prevent it from forming mould, which can damage it and lead to respiratory health problems.

Deodorising

Baking soda is also a reliable deodorising agent because it cleans stains. The powder reacts with smelly acids to neutralise them, changing their chemical composition to salts that don’t emit an odour.

Disinfection

Lastly, adding baking soda to the mattress can also help you disinfect it by killing germs and microbes that linger on its surface. The key behind this property is that many bacteria can’t survive in sodium bicarbonate’s high pH, especially when it combines with moisture and releases alkaline ions.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning Mattresses with Baking Soda

Now that you know how baking soda works, here’s a simple guide to show you how to use it while cleaning your mattress correctly.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

When cleaning with baking soda, you’ll need a spray bottle with clean water and a vacuum cleaner (preferably one with an upholstery attachment).

This makes your job much easier and saves you time and effort while removing the baking soda.

Additionally, while baking soda is highly effective in cleaning mattresses, you might still need more powerful cleaners for tougher stains. Remember to check the mattress care guide to avoid using any items that may damage the mattress’s fabric. You may also want to bring some of your favourite scented essential oils after cleaning.

Step 2: Prepare Your Mattress for Cleaning

Start your cleaning process by removing any bedding, sheets, pillows, and covers that you have over the mattress. This should also be a good time to toss them in the washing machine for a quick cleanup while you work on the mattress. Luckily, you don’t need to remove the mattress from the bed while cleaning.

Step 3: Vacuum Your Mattress

Now that the mattress is exposed, you should start by giving your mattress a quick vacuum cleaning round. This is essential for removing any lingering dust particles that might affect the efficiency of baking soda while cleaning.

Start from one side of the mattress and carefully work your way to the other side, but make sure that your strokes overlap each other so that no parts are unvacuumed.

Step 4: Sprinkle Baking Soda on the Mattress

Avoid spraying vinegar before sprinkling the soda, as it will leave an unpleasant scent on your mattress. Instead, lightly mist the mattress’s surface until it is barely damp.

After that, sprinkle a generous amount of the powder cleaner on the mattress and allow it to sit for 30 minutes to 2 hours. During that time, the soda will absorb any moisture and odours lingering on the mattress.  You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the water bottle before spraying, giving your mattress a fresh scent.

Learn more: How to Clean your Mattress from Bed Bugs

Step 5: Remove the Baking Soda Using the Vacuum Cleaner

After a few hours, you should be ready to clean out the mattress. Turn on your vacuum cleaner and suck out all the baking soda that you’ve sprinkled on the surface.

If you find tougher stains that don’t go away with baking soda, you may want to use stronger cleaners like mild detergents (chlorine-free), dish soap solution, hydrogen peroxide solution, and enzymatic stain cleaners.

Step 6: Let the Mattress Air Out

After vacuuming the baking soda and using additional cleaning solutions, let the mattress air-dry. If you’re cleaning on a particularly sunny day, you can also open the windows to expose the mattress to sunlight, which can further disinfect the mattress.

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How Often Should You Clean a Mattress with Baking Soda?

Ideally, you need to clean a mattress with the baking soda technique once every 3 to 6 months. The frequency of cleaning depends on factors like how often you sweat, whether you have a pet, etc. You can also refer to the mattress’s care guide for more information on how often you need to clean the mattress. As a good rule, you might need to clean the mattress whenever you need to rotate or flip it.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! A brief guide that shows you how to clean your mattress using baking soda to deodorise and disinfect it. Baking soda is a highly reliable cleaner, but it’s not a mighty one, so you might need to combine it with other methods for optimal results. In case you need professional advice, our mattress cleaning service in London is a great choice!