The bed serves as the heart of a bedroom, especially since it’s where people spend a third of their life. It’s where you sleep and relax, so the quality of the mattress can have more impact on your sleep quality and back more than you think. Seeing its importance in your everyday life, it’s surprisingly one of the items in a home that is rarely cleaned.
Most homeowners only clean mattresses if there’s a spill, but keeping it spick-and-span beyond your usual accidents is good for your hygiene since mattresses tend to trap the most body oils, dead skin, sweat, dust mites, and other dirty residues from pets.
Changing the sheets doesn’t necessarily eliminate the deep-seated dirt, that’s why the guide below should clue you in on the proper basics of cleaning your mattress:
Layer #1: Mattress
Good mattresses can last for years, but that doesn’t mean you can just lay on it and leave it as is without caring for it. Maintaining its cleanliness can extend the lifespan of your mattress and ensure it retains its quality. With that in mind, it’s best to wash your bedding every six months or every time the seasons change.
Some ways to clean easily is to vacuum the mattress, which is an effective way of sucking away dead skin cells that cake up on the surface over time. Sprinkling some baking soda and leaving it to sit for an hour can also freshen up the mattress, be sure to vacuum it after.
If you want to avoid leaving dips or indents on your mattress, flipping it every now and then is an excellent way to maintain its shape. If you have a bed that can’t be flipped, rotating it so that the foot end becomes the new headrest is sufficient.
Layer #2: Sheets
Sheets are the ones given the most attention, which is just appropriate since it is the part of the bed that is the most exposed to dust and body oils.
Other than cleaning the bedsheets, you also need to include pillowcases and fitted sheets on the pile and wash it every one to two weeks to keep your bedding fresh.
If you have pets or tend to sweat a lot while you sleep, washing your sheets weekly is a must!
Layer #3: Sleeping Pillows
You may be giving the right attention to your sheets, but you need to provide the same care for your pillows. Pillows tend to accumulate all forms of dirt – from sweat, oils, residues, and dust mites hiding in all that fluff, that’s why giving it a good washing every six months is necessary to maintain proper hygiene.
Be on the lookout for its quality, too, as pillows can lose its shape over time, so if you always find yourself needing to fluff your pillows every night, it’s a sign that you need to buy yourself a new set.
The Bottom Line
Your sheets, pillows, and mattresses can harbor dirty stowaways that can build up over time, so if you want to ensure that your bedding remains a place of an oasis, cleaning them regularly should be part of your routine.
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