Natural ways to clean your mattress
Having a clean mattress is an effective way to improve your sleep, maximise its life and ensure your sleep environment is as clean and calming as possible. We asked Wendyl Nissen, journalist, broadcaster, former magazine editor and author of 10 books, mostly about living a chemical-free, old-fashioned life, to share her expert advice on how to sustainably clean your mattress.
Slipping between clean sheets at the end of the day is something we all look forward to. But how often do we consider what lies beneath those sheets and the best ways to look after our mattress?
Keeping a clean mattress is something which was taken very seriously in days gone by when servants and housewives were instructed to brush mattresses once a week, beat them once a month and insert pieces of camphor inside the mattress to disinfect it. These days such precautions need not be adhered to, but it is a good idea to keep your mattress aired and as clean as possible to ensure the best night’s sleep you can get.
Utilise the sun
There are many eco-friendly and low-cost ways to look after your mattress including a natural, sustainable cleaner which will cost you nothing - the sun. Few people realise that sunlight is a free cleaning agent as it is a natural bleach and it also does a great job of airing anything you put in its path.
Once a season I lift my mattress off my bed and treat it to a day in the sunshine. It’s important to choose a day when you are guaranteed to get a full day of sun and find a spot where the sun will shine for most of it.
Get someone to help you lift the mattress and if you can, prop it up (supported) on one side so that the air can run through it rather than lay it out flat. If you do have to lay it out flat, be sure to turn it half way through the day as moisture may gather underneath it.
To prepare your mattress, give it a good brush on both sides with a stiff natural bristle brush to release any dust particles which may be hiding in the creases. Use a vacuum to remove any dust which may have settled under the mattress covers. Now prop it up and let the sun do its work. At the end of the day your mattress will be cleaner and fresher and will even smell great.
According to a recent study *leaving fabric in the sun produces numerous organic molecules that our noses might recognise from plants and perfumes. After a sunbathe your mattress might emit pentanal which is found in cardamom, and octanal which produces citrusy aromas, or nonanal which smells of roses. Heaven!
