Can anyone tell me how to clean and disinfect a mattress given to me? Then I'll buy one of those mattress cases and mattress pad. Thanks
Keeper from Morganton, NC
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Ok - what I did once with a mattress that I was given was spray it thoroughly with spray disinfectant - until it was damp - all over - I did it several times in the most used areas...then I left it out in the sun to bake and dry and kill anything in it. Then when I used it, I put it in a mattress bag, enclosing the whole thing - and I used a mattress pad. No problems...
Naw. Don't be a wuss. Wash it up with an antibacterial agent. Cover it with an nice cover. If you're really paranoid, stick it in the microwave to kill straggling bacteria.
By Fen Patrick
Fen,Thanks for the laugh..do I cut it b-4 the microwave or carefully fold it 1st.? LOL
Keeper
Thanks for all your helpful advice.Forgot to tell y'all it's my Grams...So I know where it's been.I do believe I'd never buy a used one.In NC none of the 2nd hand stores accept or sell mattress or boxsprings.Thanks y'all..Keeper
A thought:
If you've stayed in a motel or hotel, guess what? You've slept on a used mattress and I really doubt they disinfect after each checkout.
Sure buying new is best, but mattress prices are WAY outta whack. They're just wood,wire,foam batting and cloth for crying out loud.
Disinfect it, encase it, pad it and forget it.
While I do agree witih many of tne comments,I would like to add. In my household, we had a few "wetting" accidents. The mattresses were put in the sun (early), sprayed, and baked. Anything baked in the sun (long enough) is free of most germs. I bought a set of used matresses and I have not had one problem. I baked them, bought a mattress cover, put a pad on top and my company loves to sleep on it! As a mater of fact, it's everybody's favorite bed. Of course I bought it from a nice old lady who kept her house clean. I knew her and her overall cleanliness; now as for a public domain, I would be slightly more careful/cautious. Who would know? PB. 'bama
I purchased to mattress sets from the second hand store because I just did not have the money for new sets. I checked to make sure there were no stains. I took them home. spray them down with bug spray then vaccumed and let air dry.
laj52 this problem you have sounds like the one I had 2 years ago and I did on my own find a fix. Anything with tolfanate in it and go to the health food store for walnut hulls, I use the leaves from the tree itself and dry them crush them and use 2teaspoons of the crushed leaves for tea with another tea and sweetener. It took 6 months of once a month using the black walnut leaf tea and daily using the tolfanate .
The aforementioned tips sound great, but as one comment suggested. You never know what is in a used mattress. As professional mattress cleaning, I obviously recommend that you call a pro, in your area. However, I understand that costs can be prohibitive, in the DFW area, a mattress of any size can be cleaned for less than $100.
One thing mentioned above, is the use of a pesticide on a mattress, this a real no no. A pesticide is a poison and no one should have extend exposure to a deliberate toxin.
A safer and also economic way the disinfect a mattress, short of a pro, is to use a product called Odoban. It can be found at Home Depot and with the right concentration can kill any virus, bacteria or mildew. The cost is less than $15 a gallon, concentrated.
Simple read the directions and apply with spray bottle. After the proper dwell time and extraction with a small shop vac, it will be sanitized, deodorized and disinfected.
Many people balk at the idea of buying a used mattress but wouldn't hesitate to stay at a hotel and sleep in a bed that hundreds of different unknown people have slept in.
A used mattress in good condition can save you hundreds of dollars and is a perfectly good option for a spare bedroom or for someone in need of a new mattress but is on a tight budget.
While mattresses can be found at places like Salvation Army, I don't recommend this option. Shopping on Craig's List is a better option. You can look up the size you want in a location near where you live by customizing your search. Most listings will include a picture, not that you can tell much about the mattress from a picture but you can tell a bit about the surroundings the mattress lived in. Does the bedroom in the picture seem neat and clean? Then when you go to view the mattress, you can make your own judgments about the cleanliness of the person and home it is coming from.
When you first respond to the ad ask a few important questions. Has it been in a smoke free or pet free home? For many people the answers to these questions can be a deal breaker. Is it stain free? Has it always had a mattress cover on it? How long has the owner had it? What is the brand? Often people need to sell a mattress because they are moving and can't or don't want to take it to their next home. Sometimes the mattress has already been placed in a storage facility and it will be standing on edge when you see it. This is not an ideal situation for a buyer as you will not be able to easily sit or lie on it to feel how firm or soft it is or to tell if there are any depressions.
If you don't have a truck to carry your mattress (and possibly a matching box spring) home, you can often fit these items on the roof rack of a car. Just be sure to cover it for the ride with a tarp or something similar and tie mattress and tarp down extremely well. Highway driving will trap air under that thing and rip it right off if you haven't done a good job. Not only will you have lost your mattress, but you could easily cause a serious accident.
Once you have your purchase back home, cover the floor with a tarp or blanket and lay the mattress down on it. Vacuum both sides extremely well. Use Resolve to remove any spots you see or scuff marks acquired during transport. Spray both surfaces with an anti-bacterial spray like Febreeze, allowing one side to completely dry before flipping it over to spray the other side. If you live in a location where the weather dips below freezing at night, leave the mattress outdoors over night. This will kill any dust mites they may live in the mattress.
Now you are ready to cover your mattress with a good quality mattress cover and dream of ways to spend the hundreds of dollars you saved by buying a previously owned mattress. I can assure you your mattress will be infinitely more sanitary than the bed you slept in at the last hotel you were in.
Dr. Oz on his tv show says to enclose your pillows and mattress with the zippered allergen covers which go all the way around! It traps the remaining mites inside. The mattress topper won't do the trick.
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