How to Clean Your Memory Foam Mattress – Tips & Ideas

We all love our memory foam mattresses and want them to last a long time, especially since replacing one is usually not a cheap endeavor. But a crucial part of maintaining your memory foam mattress that is often overlooked is cleaning it properly, and many people experience some confusion as to how to go about cleaning their memory foam mattress the right way.

In order to help you with this, we’ve put together this article about how to clean memory foam mattresses.

First we’ve put together a basic set of instructions for how to clean your mattress just in general. After that, we briefly discuss some methods you can try if you have specific stains you need to remove. And finally, we offer you some easy tips to help keep your mattress clean and make maintaining it a little bit easier.

The first step is to take off your sheets and blankets and set them aside while you work on the mattress itself. Most people either put them somewhere where they won’t get wet from the cleaning process or take this opportunity to launder the bedding itself as well.

This will help to remove any loose dirt , lint, and other unwanted debris that’s on your mattress. Typically, it’s a good idea to use an upholstery attachment for your vacuum, since it’s both gentler on the mattress and better for catching little pieces of detritus. Whatever attachment you use, it’s important to vacuum all sides of your mattress to make sure you remove all the dirt.

There are some brands of cleaner on the market that are specially tailored towards cleaning memory foam mattresses, but the easiest thing to do if you don’t want to spend a lot of money is combine a cup of water with half a cup of a fabric cleaner of your choice (and make sure to shake the mixture well to combine the ingredients together). Spray this mixture all over your mattress (covering all of it) and then let it sit for thirty to forty-five minutes. Then rinse your mattress off. 

It is important, however, to try and avoid soaking your mattress completely through; memory foam mattresses retain water very easily and it can be difficult to dry them out (which can lead to mildew and damaged memory foam if you’re not careful).

Apply this solution to your mattress as well, and then rinse it again (once again, make sure to squeeze out as much water as possible). Vinegar as a natural cleaner is very good for dealing with microbial contamination, and these disinfectant properties are very useful for maintaining a safe and healthy memory foam mattress.

This can be done with either a hair dryer or a small fan. You will also most likely need to leave your mattress somewhere out of the way to finish drying; the entire drying process can take a couple of days depending on its thickness. If you want your mattress to dry more quickly, place it out in direct sunlight (and remember to flip it around periodically while it’s drying so that all portions dry evenly).

If your memory foam mattress doesn’t need a general cleaning but instead has specific stains you need to treat, it’s advisable to try a homemade mixture that includes vinegar or baking soda.
Vinegar, as mentioned previously, has strong disinfectant properties. Meanwhile, baking soda is good at absorbing odors and also has properties that help to break down grease, dirt, and oils, making it an excellent choice for stain removal.
Once you’ve decided on a cleaning mixture to use on your stains, apply it to the problem areas and let it sit for five minutes (be careful not to let the mixture sit for too long, because memory foam mattresses re very absorbent and the mixture might seep in too deeply if left for too long).
Once the cleaning mixture has had time to work on the stain and break it down, carefully wipe at it with a soft damp rag. Try to avoid pressing too hard as you scrub because applying too much pressure can result in pushing the stain deeper into the mattress and exacerbating the problem.
Another method for stain removal is to sprinkle dry baking soda onto the stain and let it sit overnight. The next day, all you should need to do is vacuum up the used baking soda; this method is also good for capturing any odors that might have accompanied the stain.

Instead of only cleaning you mattress once in a blue moon, it’s better to do light cleanings more frequently. We suggest going over it quickly with a hand-held vacuum about once a month or so, in order to prevent a build up of dirt and dander.

Also, if at any time you want to remove odors from your memory foam mattress, you should try sprinkling baking soda on the surface and letting it sit overnight; once the baking soda is vacuumed up off the mattress the next day, any offensive odors should be gone. Another odor removal trick you ca try involves lightly spraying a citrus based cleaner onto your mattress. After spraying your mattress, all you need to do is let it sit and dry out.

You might also consider investing in a memory foam mattress cover to help protect your mattress from dirt and stains.