You spend roughly a third of your life on your mattress, and it shows. The average adult loses around half a litre of sweat and up to a gram and a half of skin cells every night, and almost all of it ends up in the one piece of furniture you never clean. Add dust mites — which feed on those skin cells and thrive in the warm, humid conditions a bed provides — and you have the single largest reservoir of allergens in most UK homes.
The good news is that a proper mattress clean takes about 20 minutes of active work, needs nothing you don’t already own, and should only be done twice a year. Here is exactly how to do it.
What You’ll Need
- A vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment
- Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) — around 200g for a double
- A fine sieve or flour shaker
- White vinegar
- Washing-up liquid
- An enzyme cleaner (essential for urine, blood, sweat and vomit)
- Two or three clean white microfibre cloths
- A spray bottle
- Hydrogen peroxide 3% — optional, for stubborn protein stains on light mattresses
- A few drops of essential oil — optional, for fragrance
A note on white cloths: coloured cloths can transfer dye onto a damp mattress, and a white cloth lets you see how much of the stain you are actually lifting.
How to Clean a Mattress in 6 Steps
1. Strip and wash all bedding
Take off everything — sheets, mattress protector, pillowcases, and the pillows themselves if they are washable. Wash bedding at 60°C where the care label allows, as this is the temperature at which dust mites and most bacteria are killed. Duvets and pillows should be washed every three to six months; check the label, and use two clean tennis balls in the drum to stop the filling clumping.
Get this in the machine first so it is drying while you work on the mattress.
2. Vacuum the mattress thoroughly
Fit the upholstery attachment and work in overlapping strips across the whole surface, then do the sides. Use the crevice tool along every seam, piping and button — this is where dust, skin cells and mites concentrate, and it is the step most people rush.
Vacuum slowly. Speed is the enemy here: the suction needs a moment in contact with the fabric to pull anything out of the fibres.
3. Spot-treat stains
Deal with stains before you deodorise, and always work from the outside of the stain inwards to stop it spreading. Blot, never rub — rubbing pushes the stain deeper into the foam or padding and frays the surface fabric.
The golden rule for mattresses is use as little liquid as possible. A mattress is thick, absorbent and effectively impossible to dry from the inside, and a soaked mattress grows mould. Spray lightly, blot with a dry cloth, and repeat rather than applying more.
See the table in the next section for stain-specific treatments.
4. Deodorise with bicarbonate of soda
Sift a generous, even layer of bicarbonate of soda over the entire mattress — a fine sieve or an old flour shaker gives a much better spread than tipping it from the box. For a fragranced finish, mix five or six drops of lavender or tea tree oil into the bicarb first and break up any clumps.
Leave it for a minimum of two hours. Five to eight hours is far better, and overnight is best. Bicarbonate of soda pulls moisture and odour out of the fibres slowly, and there is no shortcut. If you can, open a window and let sunlight fall on the mattress while it sits — UV light is a natural disinfectant.
5. Vacuum again
Vacuum every trace of the bicarb back out, again using the upholstery attachment in overlapping passes and the crevice tool along the seams. Any powder left behind will feel gritty through a sheet and can attract moisture. Go over the whole mattress twice.
6. Air dry completely
Before the bedding goes back on, the mattress must be bone dry to the touch, including any spots you treated. Open the windows, put a fan on it, and give it two to four hours minimum. Press a dry white cloth firmly onto any area you treated — if it comes away with any dampness at all, keep airing.
Never put a mattress protector or fitted sheet on a mattress that is even slightly damp. That is precisely how mould starts.
How to Remove Specific Mattress Stains
Stain | What to use | Method |
|---|---|---|
Urine (fresh) | Enzyme cleaner | Blot up as much as possible with dry towels, pressing hard. Spray lightly with enzyme cleaner, leave 10–15 minutes, blot dry. Repeat if needed. |
Urine (dried) | Enzyme cleaner, then bicarb | Lightly dampen the area with water, apply enzyme cleaner, cover with a thick layer of bicarb and leave 8 hours. Vacuum out. |
Blood | Cold water + salt, or 3% hydrogen peroxide | Cold water only — heat sets blood permanently. Blot with cold water, then dab peroxide on with a cloth. It will foam. Blot dry. Patch-test first on light mattresses only. |
Sweat and yellowing | Bicarb + hydrogen peroxide paste | Mix 3 tbsp bicarb, 1 tbsp washing-up liquid and 100ml 3% hydrogen peroxide. Apply thinly, leave 30–60 minutes, brush off dry residue, vacuum. |
Red wine | Washing-up liquid + white vinegar | Blot immediately. Mix 1 tsp washing-up liquid + 1 tbsp white vinegar in 250ml warm water, dab on, blot. Repeat. Finish with bicarb once dry. |
Vomit | Enzyme cleaner | Remove solids, blot, apply enzyme cleaner generously, leave 15 minutes, blot dry, then bicarb overnight to kill the smell. |
Coffee or tea | Washing-up liquid solution | Blot, then dab with a weak washing-up liquid solution. Follow with a white vinegar rinse to stop a ring forming. |
Ink | Surgical spirit / rubbing alcohol | Dab — never rub — with a cloth barely damp with surgical spirit, moving to a clean part of the cloth each time. |
How to Get Rid of Mattress Smells
Most mattress odour is trapped moisture and bacteria rather than a single stain, which is why bicarbonate of soda is so effective — it addresses the cause rather than masking it.
For a persistent smell, do a longer treatment: a thick bicarb layer left for a full 24 hours in a room with the windows open, then a thorough vacuum. Repeat once if needed. For stubborn cases, lightly mist the surface first with a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water (barely damp, not wet), let it dry completely, and then apply the bicarb.
Avoid fabric refresher sprays as a solution. They perfume the surface while adding moisture to a mattress that is already holding too much.
How to Kill Dust Mites and Reduce Allergens
Dust mites are the main reason mattress cleaning matters for anyone with asthma, eczema or a house dust mite allergy. They are not killed by ordinary washing or airing, but they can be substantially reduced:
- Wash bedding weekly at 60°C. Below that, mites survive the wash.
- Use an allergen-proof mattress protector. A tightly woven, zipped encasement is the single most effective measure, and far cheaper than replacing the mattress.
- Keep bedroom humidity below 50%. Mites cannot survive in dry air. Ventilate daily and avoid drying laundry on radiators in the bedroom.
- Don’t make the bed immediately. Throw the duvet back for an hour after waking so overnight moisture evaporates instead of being trapped.
- Vacuum the mattress monthly if anyone in the household has allergies, ideally with a HEPA-filter vacuum.
- Hot-wash or freeze soft toys that live on the bed.
Steam cleaning at a high enough temperature kills mites on contact, which is why professional mattress treatment is often recommended for allergy sufferers — but it must be done with equipment that leaves the mattress nearly dry, not a domestic steam mop.
What NOT to Do
- Don’t soak the mattress. This is the number one mistake. A mattress that gets genuinely wet may take days to dry internally and will very likely develop mould you cannot see.
- Don’t use bleach. It damages fibres, degrades foam, and leaves fumes in something you breathe on for eight hours a night.
- Don’t vacuum while it’s damp. You will push moisture deeper into the padding and clog the vacuum filter.
- Don’t use hot water on blood or protein stains. Heat coagulates protein and sets the stain permanently. Cold water, always.
- Don’t skip the patch test. Test any solution on an inconspicuous corner — usually the underside near a seam — and wait for it to dry before treating a visible area.
How Often Should You Clean Your Mattress?
Task | Frequency |
|---|---|
Wash sheets and pillowcases | Weekly (60°C) |
Wash mattress protector | Every 2–4 weeks |
Vacuum mattress | Monthly (or every 2 months if no allergies) |
Full deep clean (bicarb treatment) | Every 6 months |
Rotate the mattress | Every 3 months |
Flip (if double-sided) | Every 6 months |
Wash duvet and pillows | Every 3–6 months |
Professional deep clean | Every 12–18 months, or after illness, pets or an accident |
When to Call a Professional Mattress Cleaning Service
Home cleaning handles surface dirt, odour and fresh stains well. It does not reach deep contamination, and there are situations where professional hot water extraction is the sensible call:
- A mattress that has been soaked through by urine, blood or a spill
- Persistent smells that survive two bicarb treatments
- Visible mould or mildew spotting
- Severe dust mite allergies or asthma in the household
- Mattresses in rental properties or Airbnb turnovers between guests
- Memory foam and pillow-top mattresses, which trap moisture badly and are easy to damage with home methods
Professional mattress cleaning in the UK typically costs £30 for a single, around £40–£50 for a double and £45–£60 for a king, and takes under an hour per mattress. Professional kit extracts almost all the moisture it introduces, so the mattress is usable again within a few hours rather than a few days.
Eco-Fresh cleans mattresses, sofas and soft furnishings across Croydon, South London and Sussex using eco-conscious products that are safe around children and pets. See our upholstery cleaning service or call +44 7490 854 937.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you deep clean a mattress at home?
Strip the bed and wash all bedding at 60°C, vacuum the whole mattress including seams with an upholstery attachment, spot-treat any stains with an appropriate cleaner, cover the surface in a fine layer of bicarbonate of soda, leave it for at least two hours (overnight is best), then vacuum it all off and let the mattress air dry completely before remaking the bed.
Can you clean a mattress with baking soda and vinegar?
Yes, but not at the same time — mixed together they neutralise each other and mostly produce fizz. Use white vinegar diluted 1:1 with water as a light pre-treatment mist for odours, let the mattress dry fully, and then apply bicarbonate of soda as a separate deodorising step. Applying both simultaneously wastes both and over-wets the mattress.
How long should baking soda sit on a mattress?
Two hours is the minimum for any real effect. Five to eight hours gives a noticeably better result, and leaving it overnight is best — bicarbonate of soda draws moisture and odour out slowly. If the mattress has a persistent smell, a full 24 hours in a well-ventilated room is worth doing.
Can you steam clean a mattress?
Professionally, yes — hot water extraction kills dust mites and bacteria and extracts most of the moisture it introduces. With a domestic steam mop, be very careful: household steamers add far more water than they remove, and a mattress that stays damp inside will grow mould. If you do use one, keep the head moving, never dwell in one spot, and allow a full day of airing afterwards.
How much does professional mattress cleaning cost in the UK?
Typical UK prices are around £20–£40 for a single mattress, £35–£50 for a double, £45–£60 for a king and £55–£80 for a super king. Most companies discount per-item when several mattresses or a mattress-plus-sofa are cleaned in the same visit, and prices usually include vacuuming, pre-spray, agitation, extraction and spot stain treatment.
How often should a mattress be replaced?
Every seven to ten years for a good-quality mattress, though the honest test is how you feel rather than the date. Replace it sooner if you wake with back or neck pain you don’t have during the day, if there is visible sagging, if you sleep better in other beds, or if the mattress has been heavily contaminated. Regular cleaning and a protector will get you to the top of that range rather than the bottom.
