You clean your home multiple times per week. From your kitchen sink to your bathroom floor and nearly everything in between, the interior of your living space is sparkling. Thanks to such dedicated hygiene, you’ve successfully eliminated all harmful bacteria and disgusting life forms that may be festering within your home – right? Actually, it’s wrong. Unfortunately for most, there are certain areas of a home that people often forget to clean and one such area is something we use every single night – our mattresses.

The reason most people have yet to clean their mattress is because they weren’t aware they could do so. However, cleaning a mattress is actually a fairly simple process.

Here are a few simple steps:

→ Firstly, using a vacuum with a hose and attachment, carefully vacuum the surfaces of your mattress. Once this is complete, your mattress will be ready for a thorough cleaning.

→ Next, begin working on any soiled or stained spots on your mattress. You can attack these stains with either a special upholstery cleaner or a homemade solution composed of 1 tablespoon laundry detergent mixed with 1 quart of cold water. Wet a sponge with the cleaner and rub into stain until stain is no longer visible. After the mattress has dried completely, vacuum again to remove any debris that may have gathered on top.

→ Some people have found that placing their bare mattress in the sun for a couple of hours will dry out the moisture or sweat stains that collect on the surface. However, you must be sure not to leave the mattress outside too long.

→ To avoid deep set stains, be sure to treat spots as soon as you discover them. Change your sheets often, vacuum once a month and flip and rotate your mattress once per year to prolong its life span.