One note: Be wary of over-saturating your mattress. Leaving liquid behind can cause mold and mildew within your mattress.
“Anytime you’re getting your mattress wet: vacuum, vacuum, and then when you think you’re done at vacuuming and extracting that out with a little spotter machine, do it two more times,” Pleshek says. “Always put a fan on it and get good airflow through the room.”
Scenario 2: Your Period Arrived Early
Looks like you have a crime scene on your hands: the crime being the mattress mess. Blood stains are a pain when it comes to removing them from any fabric, and mattresses are not exempt. Periods aren’t the only situations where blood could mysteriously appear; healing cuts, scabs, and nosebleeds are also common. The miracle cleanup go-to for bloody situations, according to Pleshek, is hydrogen peroxide.
Pleshek’s cleanup process is this: “Grab a brown bottle, get a basic spray bottle, and mist the area where the blood is. Let it sit.” It’ll have a small reaction akin to a middle school science experiment, but that’s good. Leave it alone for a good 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size and severity of your stain. “What’s kind of cool and fun about cleaning up blood with hydrogen peroxide is that you will see it bubble and it vanishes really fast,” adds Pleshek. “Follow up with a damp towel and blot a bit to remove the stain.”
Scenario 3: “Mom, I Threw Up”
Time is, once again, of the essence here. “Vomit is extremely acidic,” says Pleshek. Depending on what was eaten, whether that be food or medication, it can make bile even more acidic than is typical. You need to act quickly to address the stain—and the smell. If any vomit made its way onto the mattress itself, remove any residual solids off the surface—you may want to wear gloves for this one.
Enzyme cleaner is once again going to be your go-to. However, removing the excess vomit is a crucial step—you can’t just spray it on top of the mess as is and hope for the best. According to Pleshek, the enzyme cleaner isn’t going to be able to efficiently do its thing if all the excess hasn’t been adequately removed first.
Scenario 4: Food Stains
I don’t think you’re going to be spilling chili all over your bed like Kevin in that scene from The Office, but I won’t discount any possibilities. First, Pleshek says to grab a spray bottle, a tablespoon of dish soap, and warm water. From there, “lightly agitate it with a toothbrush or soft material to suspend the soil.” Follow with a spotter machine.
If something has the tenacity to stick around even after that, time to bring back our friend hydrogen peroxide. “Mist [the stain] with hydrogen peroxide, and let it sit. The hydrogen peroxide should be able to pull out the color,” Pleshek says. He suggests doing this as a multistep process, because hydrogen peroxide and a degreaser don’t work well simultaneously. While this two-prong approach may take more time and evaluation as you go, it’s the recommended way to tackle the stain.
Save the Day, Your Mattress, and Your Sanity
This is one of my nonnegotiables, and it’s backed by Pleshek: Get a waterproof mattress protector or encasement. It may save you a lot of heartache from big messes. These cleanup tips hopefully prove to be helpful. But from experience, you may breathe one big sigh of relief when you just have to handle bedding and not the bed itself by using one of these as a fail-safe.
