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How To Get Mold Out Of A Mattress - Best Tricks

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How To Get Mold Out Of A Mattress?

Dec 8, 2020

You always know when mold is here: you feel that musty smell, have allergy symptoms like headache and itchy eyes, and just see that dirty dark stains on the surfaces. The worst thing is that it grows in mattresses, too, and you should get rid of it as quickly as possible, and our goal is to tell you how you can do it right.

What may cause mold in your mattress

Why is mold growing inside your mattress? Here are the most common reasons:

Too high humidity levels. Moisture is what mold needs to grow. Air should circulate all the time, your bedroom should be ventilated regularly, even if it is winter.
Mold on your furniture. Keep in mind that mold spreads really, really fast. If you already have mold on your walls and/or furniture, you will inevitably find it on your mattress sooner or later. That is why placing your mattress in a room with mold doesn’t make any sense - you should get rid of mold on your walls and furniture first.
Spills. This is the most common reason why mold grows on a mattress. The truth is it is just too pleasant to drink beer or soda or any other drink in your bed, and the liquid is spilled very often. If you have no waterproof protector, your mattress is likely to become wet and as we know, moisture is a perfect growth medium, and that is why you need to act immediately if something is spilled on a mattress.
Low-quality, unprofessional mattress cleaning. You just can’t clean the mattress without using the liquid, the solution to kill bacteria (which can be also used to kill mold, too), to be exact. The solution itself works great, but the problem starts if you or a specialist fail to dry the mattress properly. Moisture in the layers turns into the growth medium for mold.

How to get mold out of a mattress?

If mold is already here, the safest solution is to replace your mattress. Nevertheless, we totally understand that in some cases, that’s not an option. So, if are completely sure that there is mold in your mattress and if you want to get rid of it, just follow this simple step-by-step instruction.

1. Vacuum your mattress

Vacuum both sides of your mattress and don’t forget to clean out the vacuum - mold is a really dangerous type of organisms that spread very, very fast anywhere, including the dust catcher.

2. Make the solution

Just mix rubbing alcohol with warm water (equal parts) - this is considered the best solution to get rid of mold. If you have no rubbing alcohol, you can vodka - just take ½ cup of vodka, the equal part of vinegar, ¾ cup of water and mix them. You can also add a few drops of tea tree oil.

Another popular option is 1 part hydrogen peroxide (it has good antibacterial properties) + 1 part water + some dish soap, but it is usually used as a cleaning solution that helps prevent mold.

3. Scrub the mold stains

Scrub in a circular motion focusing on the biggest mold stains. By the way, you can clean blood, water, urine stains, too - all the solutions we mentioned above work pretty well as cleaning mixtures, too.

4. Rinse the area

Use the towel or something like a towel and some warm water to rinse the area. Just don’t add too much water - as we have noted before, a wet mattress is the best place for mold.

5. Spray the disinfectant

Spray it evenly.

6. Use baking soda to absorb all the liquid

This is the optional step, but you can still take it to absorb the liquid. Just distribute it evenly, wait for 10 hours, and then remove soda.

7. Dry your mattress

Take your mattress outside and let it dry in the sun, of course, if you have such an opportunity. If this is not an option for you, leave your mattress in a ventilated room, use fans or hairdryers to make your mattress completely dry.

How to prevent mold growth in your mattress

Cleaning your mattress from mold is not the easiest task to do. This is a time-consuming process and you never know if you really get rid of all the organisms inside your bed. That is why you should do everything you can to prevent its growth. The good news is it is pretty easy. Just follow these tips:

A dehumidifier is what you need. As we have noted above, mold doesn’t grow in a dry, ventilated room. However, in some cases, it is pretty hard to provide proper air circulation. That is why we recommend using a dehumidifier.
A purifier is another great solution. This is another pretty good option for those who want to prevent mold. It is not super cheap, but a hundred bucks or even a few hundreds are still cheaper than most quality mattresses on the market.
Open the windows, let the air and sun do all the job for you. If it is too cold or windy for you, do it when you leave the room for at least a few hours.
Get a good bed base. Flip a mattress if it is flippable or at least make sure that air circulates properly on the bottom, as well as on the top side of your mattress. Slatted frames and foundations are the best when it comes to ventilation.

Conclusion

Don’t underestimate the dangers of mold - it has tons of negative effects even if it is in your bathroom, not to mention the mattress on which you sleep every single day. Follow the tips above to prevent the problem or get rid of it if it is already here.