Memory foam has risen in popularity in recent years and has become an important part of many people’s lives when sleeping, being used in both the pillows and mattresses of households worldwide. However, due to the difference in material, it can be unclear how exactly you should be cleaning your memory foam products. But don’t worry, it is a lot simpler than you probably think!
Why should you clean your memory foam pillows and mattresses?
Before you get started, you might be asking what benefits come from cleaning your memory foam products. This is mostly necessary because your memory foam products work a lot different from regular mattresses and pillows, as they are made out of a different material. This causes memory foam products to require special care to ensure they maintain their maximum comfort and improve your sleep quality for years to come!
Properly cleaning your mattresses and pillows can both improve the air quality of your bedroom as well as stave off any mold that may begin to grow throughout your bed’s lifespan. Furthermore, many allergens that can cling to your mattresses and pillows can be done away with by regular cleaning, allowing you a better night’s rest.
When should you clean your memory foam pillows and mattresses?
Whenever you change your pillow coverings and mattress sheets you should properly tend to your memory foam as well, making sure that they are taken care of until the next time you clean your coverings and sheets. Taking proper care of both of these frequently will improve how long your memory foam stays in peak condition and will aid you in sleeping better throughout your time using them.
Cleaning your memory foam pillow
One struggle that comes with owning a memory foam pillow is knowing how exactly to clean it, due to its size you may think to place it inside of a washing machine. Make sure you don’t do this, as it will weaken the memory foam material! Cleaning your memory foam is meant to prolong its lifespan, but doing this will only harm it and should be avoided at all costs. Instead, you should be a lot more personal and careful with your memory foam. Avoiding deep cleaning of the material is also advised as this can harm your pillow as well.
General Cleaning
If your memory foam pillow is stainless, you may consider just doing a simple vacuum job to get rid of any unwanted allergens on the pillow.
- Step 1. Make sure to strip the pillow of any coverings first and then lay it on a flat surface.
- Step 2. Applying a small amount of baking soda on your pillow can allow for easier cleaning, so do this if available. If you do this, make sure to let the pillow rest for a short while, as this will aid in odor removal. Up to an hour should suffice, in which case you may move to the next step!
- Step 3. Use either an upholstery tool attached to a regular vacuum cleaner or a handheld vacuum cleaner to precisely clean the pillow. This will remove anything living on your pillow as well as get rid of any baking soda and odor left on there.
- Step 4. Flip the pillow over and repeat these steps to clean the other side. You may wish to only clean one but ensuring proper care of both sides of a pillow will help keep it fresh for much longer.
- Step 5. Inspect the pillow for any stains that may be on it, as you’ll want to instead move into Stain Cleaning now if there are any, starting from Step 5.
Stain Cleaning
If you notice stains in your memory foam pillow, you may wish to clean those as well. Make sure not to wash the entire pillow as this can harm your pillow as stated above, instead, you’ll want to spot clean to get rid of each stain individually. Now keep in mind, memory foam is quite a frail material so you will want to use a more mild cleaning solution rather than anything intense.
- Step 1. Make sure to strip the pillow of any coverings first and then lay it on a flat surface.
- Step 2. Applying a small amount of baking soda on your pillow can allow for easier cleaning, so do this if available. If you do this, make sure to let the pillow rest for a short while, as this will aid in odor removal. Up to an hour should suffice, in which case you may move to the next step!
- Step 3. Use either an upholstery tool attached to a regular vacuum cleaner or a handheld vacuum cleaner to precisely clean the pillow. This will remove anything living on your pillow as well as get rid of any baking soda and odor left on there.
- Step 4. Flip the pillow over and repeat these steps to clean the other side. You may wish to only clean one but ensuring proper care of both sides of a pillow will help keep it fresh for much longer.
- Step 5. Inspect the pillow to make sure you know where all of the stains are, you’ll want to get rid of every single one to keep your pillow clean.
- Step 6. For most stains, some form of mild detergent is best, but you may use dishwashing liquid as well. Get something that you prefer using and create a cleaning solution using a 2:1 ratio of warm water to cleaner. This is to dilute the cleaning solution and ensure that it will not soak into and ruin your memory foam pillow.
- Step 7. Lightly apply the cleaning solution to the stain on your pillow, making sure not to soak the pillow as this can harm the memory foam despite diluting your cleaner.
- Step 8. Use a damp cloth to clean the stains off of the pillow, make small and precise motions. Follow up with using a clean cloth to wipe away excess stains or liquid and then allow the spot to dry.
- Step 9. If the stain is tougher, you’ll want to instead create a stronger solution. Avoid using hydrogen peroxide unless absolutely necessary, as this can also affect your memory foam. Instead, use 3/4ths of a cup of water and 1/4th of a cup of vinegar to create a stronger cleaning solution.
- Step 10. Clean the tougher stain in the same way as the other stains, applying a light amount of your vinegar solution and then wiping the area clean.
- Step 11. If the tough stain still won’t come out, you’ll want to apply baking soda. First, apply more of your vinegar solution to the stain and then pat the area dry. Follow up by covering the stain in baking soda, this will allow the baking soda to absorb everything on the pillow, including drawing the stain out to be removed. Wait a few hours for this process.
- Step 12. Return to the pillow and vacuum the baking soda off much as you would for general cleaning, this should allow the stain to be cleaned much easier.
Aftercare
Now that you’ve finished cleaning your pillow, make sure to give it a look over once more to make sure you didn’t miss any stains. If you’ve cleaned everything, you’re done! You can now cover your pillow once again and move on to anything else you need to clean. Make sure to repeat this process whenever you can, as regular care of your memory foam pillow will ensure that it lasts longer as well as giving you a better night’s sleep.
Cleaning your memory foam mattress
Something important when looking over your memory foam mattress is that every part of it is crucial to keeping your memory foam as comfortable as it always feels. You might just want to clean the top, but the sides and bottom work wonders in keeping your memory foam comfortable and soft. Also, most memory foam mattresses have two usable sides, allowing you to use the bottom as a top as well! For the best experience, make sure to flip your mattress over and use the other side to sleep on whenever you finish your cleaning. This will ensure that both sides have equal wear-down over time rather than ruining one side alone.
General Cleaning
If you inspect your memory foam mattress and find that there are no stains, you can just do a regular cleaning job instead of focusing on these pesky stains.
- Step 1. Make sure to strip the mattress of anything that can get in the way. Sheets, blankets, toppers, protectors. All of it needs to be out of the way (and preferably cleaned!) while you take care of your mattress.
- Step 2. Use either an upholstery tool or a brush tool attached to a vacuum, or alternatively use a handheld vacuum cleaner, to clean the mattress. Make sure to clean the entire bed this way to get rid of any allergens or excess debris on the mattress. This is necessary to ensure that these things don’t get a firmer purchase in your memory foam when performing a more thorough clean.
- Step 3. Take special care to get the sides and bottom of the mattress as well, as cleaning every surface on the mattress will ensure that the mattress doesn’t suffer from further issues later on.
- Step 4. Create a cleaning solution using half a cup of fabric cleaner and one cup of water. Mix the solution properly and place it in a spray bottle.
- Step 5. Spray the mattress with the solution, make sure to be sparing with the solution as you don’t want to soak the mattress.
- Step 6. Inspect the mattress for any stains that may be on it, as you’ll want to instead move into Stain Cleaning now if there are any, starting from Step 6. You may move on to Step 7 if there are no stains.
- Step 7. Now, you’ll want to use baking soda on the mattress. Doing this while the mattress is still wet can help to allow the soda to absorb the liquid, ensuring your mattress doesn’t soak in too much.
- Step 8. Dry off the mattress, this can be done by simply running the ceiling fan of your room, or you can open some room windows as well.
- Step 9. Once the mattress is dry, go over it once more with the vacuum to get rid of the baking soda and any excess debris that may be left on.
Stain Cleaning
If you notice stains in your memory foam mattress, you’ll want to spot clean these stains out instead of deep washing them like you could with other materials. This is purely for the safety of your mattress and can ensure it stays cleaner than it otherwise would.
- Step 1. Make sure to strip the mattress of anything that can get in the way. Sheets, blankets, toppers, protectors. All of it needs to be out of the way (and preferably cleaned!) while you take care of your mattress.
- Step 2. Use either an upholstery tool or a brush tool attached to a vacuum, or alternatively use a handheld vacuum cleaner, to clean the mattress. Make sure to clean the entire bed this way to get rid of any allergens or excess debris on the mattress. This is necessary to ensure that these things don’t get a firmer purchase in your memory foam when performing a more thorough clean.
- Step 3. Take special care to get the sides and bottom of the mattress as well, as cleaning every surface on the mattress will ensure that the mattress doesn’t suffer from further issues later on.
- Step 4. Create a cleaning solution using half a cup of fabric cleaner and one cup of water. Mix the solution properly and place it in a spray bottle.
- Step 5. Spray the mattress with the solution, make sure to be sparing with the solution as you don’t want to soak the mattress.
- Step 6. Inspect the mattress to make sure you know where all of the stains are, you’ll want to get rid of every single one to keep your mattress clean.
- Step 7. For most stains, some form of mild detergent is best, but you may use dishwashing liquid as well. Get something that you prefer using and create a cleaning solution using a 2:1 ratio of warm water to cleaner. This is to dilute the cleaning solution and ensure that it will not soak into and ruin your memory foam mattress.
- Step 8. Lightly apply the cleaning solution to the stain on your mattress, making sure not to soak the mattress as this can harm the memory foam despite diluting your cleaner.
- Step 9. Use a damp cloth to clean the stains off of the mattress, make small and precise motions. Follow up with using a clean cloth to wipe away excess stains or liquid and then allow the spot to dry.
- Step 10. If the stain is tougher, you’ll want to instead create a stronger solution. Avoid using hydrogen peroxide unless absolutely necessary, as this can also affect your memory foam. Instead, use 3/4ths of a cup of water and 1/4th of a cup of vinegar to create a stronger cleaning solution.
- Step 11. Clean the tougher stain in the same way as the other stains, applying a light amount of your vinegar solution and then wiping the area clean.
- Step 12. Some intense stains will still remain despite this thorough cleaning. To get rid of these stains, you’ll want to apply some extra vinegar solution to these spots and then dampen them with paper towels, before moving on to the next step.
- Step 13. Now, you’ll want to use baking soda on the mattress. Doing this while the mattress is still wet can help to allow the soda to absorb the liquid, ensuring your mattress doesn’t soak in too much. This also aids with the stains, as the baking soda will help raise the stains out of the mattress for better cleaning.
- Step 14. Dry off the mattress, this can be done by simply running the ceiling fan of your room, or you can open some room windows as well.
- Step 15. Once the mattress is dry, go over it once more with the vacuum to get rid of the baking soda and any excess debris that may be left on.
Aftercare
Now that you’ve finished cleaning your mattress, you’ll want to use the other side of the mattress this time. Regularly flipping the side you sleep on is very useful in ensuring your mattress’s lifespan. Though, some mattresses do not have two usable sides so make sure to check if yours is. Make sure to check for any stains you may have missed and if there are none, you’re done! You may now replace any of the bedding you took off (preferably clean too now!) and your mattress is ready to sleep in once again!
Afterthoughts
I hope this article helped you in cleaning your memory foam products! Some additional tips on how to take care of your memory foam products, make sure to take care of any supports for your mattress as well, such as bed frames and box springs, as they can provide a lot of help in keeping your bed comfy and supporting your memory foam mattress. Additionally, use waterproof protectors and covers to keep your mattress and pillows as clean as possible between cleaning!
