It's hard enough to get a good night's sleep nowadays what with kids, work, stress, and other things we do to ourselves (food, drink, television). Our mattresses shouldn't be one of these culprits! Here are a few tips to keep your mattress in tip-top shape.
1. Dust mites. A typical mattress can contain tens of thousands of dust mites. For most people, dust mites are not harmful, but for some, allergies and asthma can be worsened by the presence. The best way to control dust mites is by vacuuming: vacuuming your mattress (with a high-powered vacuum), your pillows and your furniture. Also, if you continue to have problems, invest in dust mite covers for your mattress, box springs and pillows.
2. Flip or rotate your mattress. Flipping and rotating your mattress can lengthen it's life by distrubuting wear patterns. Try to do this at least every 2 months. If you have a no-flip pillow top mattress, rotating is sufficient.
3. Change your bedding weekly. Wash and dry your bedding at at least 130° F and change weekly, to help control dust mites. This is the lowest temperature that will kill a dust mite.
4. No monkeys jumping on the bed! Child rough-housing and jumping on the bed can damage the integrity of the mattress springs and ruin it. Let the rough-housing jokes begin..
5. Clean any stains with a mild detergent, and a damp cloth. Keeping a high-quality mattress pad can help to avoid stains, as well.
6. Use a bed frame or a box spring. A single mattress resting on the floor will lose it's structural density.
Got tips of your own? We want to hear them!
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I use a futon mattress on my wood platform bed frame. I sprinkle baking soda on the mattress when I am washing the bedding and leave it for about an hour, then vacuum it off. It was recommended as a way of drawing out some "impurities" (the specifics of which I think I'd rather not know about). If nothing else, my mattress usually smells pretty fresh.
I bought a memory foam mattress from Walmart online. Best thing I ever did. Impervious to dust mites--and bed bugs--yuk! Cheaper than a conventional mattress and very comfortable.
Downside: It had a strong chemical smell. You need to let it air out for a few days before use. And it's heavier than hell. A small price to pay, IMO.
I would be wary about memory foam mattresses as many people have reported health issues after using them, that may be related to that "strong chemical smell."
A mattress cover is a good idea, I just haven't been able to find one that isn't crinkly. I have a dog that likes to sleep in the bed with us, so weekly washing (or more) is absolutely necessary. Although, I would argue that if you are drying your sheets in a dryer you don't need to wash them with hot water. And if you're not allergic to dust mites then there's no point in wasting the energy/money for hot water.
I suggest anyone with any pets or young kids - preemptively put on a waterproof (as in, pee/poo/barf-proof) mattress cover. Things might go fine for years and then bam, too late to totally undo the damage! You can get ones that feel really soft on top, or put it under a separate mattress cover, so it's not like you're sleeping on plastic.
I do all of these, except 6...my mattress is on the floor. I sprinkle baking soda mixed with orange & lavendar essential oils on the surface, let sit for an hour or so (as mentioned by someone else above), then vacuum the crap out of it.
http://soaringheart.com/pages/natural-mattress-pads
Here is a non-crinkly mattress pad. It's expensive, and they last forever. I love ours, and we use it on our memory foam bed.
My sister gave me a great tip if you like a soft mattress and apparently this is used in top hotels. When you change the sheets, place a duvet on the bed, then put your mattress protector and sheet over this, it makes the bed lovely and comfortable.
"6. Use a bed frame or a box spring. A single mattress resting on the floor will lose it's structural density."
If you have a queen or king sized beds, you probably should replace the wooden cross slats in the bed frame with some metal ones that have little legs that provide addition support to the mattress.
A brilliant tip via Martha Stewart posted here last year: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/its-time-to-turn-your-mattress-165188
We did tons of research before replacing our old, saggy, petrochemical-filled mattress last year. We wanted a flippable, natural latex mattress for under $1,000 and ended up getting IKEA's SULTAN EDSELE, which came in at $929 for a full size. It's only 85% natural latex (the other 15% is synthetic), but has a natural wool and cotton cover and the best part it's fully flippable in all directions because it doesn't have any "pillowtop". Because natural latex tends to be quite firm, we also bought a Cuddledown natural wool topper that is naturally bed-bug proof (wool is too dense for them to move through) and water repellent due to natural lanolin coating. Sorry for the lenthy post, just wanted to share what worked for us in terms of a flippable and mite/bug-proof mattress (complete with IKEA's 30 year guarantee!)
There are high end dust mite proof mattressa and pillow covers that aren't crinkly. They also don't hold heat, so they're well worth the price.
Can't flip a mattress if it's a one-sider! Even though it's easier to get the trendy low-profile look with a one-sided mattress, you lose the ability to flip it and, in return, lose years off of it's life! You can always a get a low-profile box spring to keep from needing a stool to get into bed but you just can't beat the quality of a double-sided mattress.
About once every couple of months or so, I take the sheets and pillows off my mattress (around when they need to be washed) and put my mattress in the sun. The sun helps to sterilize the mattress and also freshens it. Additionally, I put my pillows and sheets out in the breeze (weather permitting) so that they can air out too.
thanks for the details on the IKEA SULTAN EDSELE. I am looking and didn't think about Ikea.
We have a sleep number bed that can't be flipped/turned due to air lines and bladders. Any input on handling that?
Upon reading this article, I felt shame and guilt. I haven't vacuumed by bed since I got it (3 years), haven't rotated it since I moved in (1 yr), and my gf and I did do some monkey jumping on it. But it is wash day, so the bed will now be vac'd and rotated. Thanks for the timely tips.
@jdoey-
What health issues? Curious as hadn't heard it.
I bought two memory foam pillows and had to leave them out in the garage FOR TWO YEARS to get rid of the smell. That experience definitely deterred me from buying a memory foam mattress. And the sales people lied and said they'd never heard of smell issues.
I ended up getting a natural latex mattress from Room and Board. It's fabulous.
@Omariala-
Where did you get your wool topper?
I purchased an australian wool duvet from Costco last year which I was amazed, was 10,000 times better than down. This year they didn't carry them. So bummed.
Dust mite folks, change your pillows often, but while washing your sheets you can put your pillows in a plastic bag (garbage bag) and put them in the freezer. That kills the dust mites. You can also iron your sheets if you're really keen.
It is very difficult to rotate or flip a mattress by oneself. Just sayin'. I tried a few months ago and almost gave myself a concussion.
@concretekid
You can also get a featherbed which is like a down duvet made specifically for putting on top of a mattress, but way thicker than a duvet. I had one and it's really only appropriate for the winter or for people who keep super-cooled houses in the summer as they sleep a bit hot. But wholly mackerel are they ever comfortable! Like sleeping on a cloud!
@ Portlandrules
That's a much bigger freezer compartment than I have. Ack.
@ LaureltQ
I don't think the flip rule includes the Sleep Number bed. I have one too and do no flip it. I do try to vaccuum it, but not inside as it's a pain to open up the whole thing.
Is it just me or does point #6 make absolutely no sense. A mattress sitting directly on the floor is supported just as well (or better) than if it were in a bed.
Oops, just realized our mattress topper is actually SnugFleece brand (not Cuddledown), and we purchased it here: http://www.snugfleece.com/
Highly recommend it! You can always try it at the IKEA store and if you don't like it, they have a 90-day "no questions asked" return policy.
I too have the Ikea Sultan Edsele mattress and it is fabulous. Having had a couple high-end pillowtop mattresses that immediately developed valleys where I slept (even rotating every 3 months) it is so nice to have something that keeps its shape. And to have the flexibility of flipping in addition to rotating.
For mattress care, I've found the most important thing for me is to have 2 sets of bedding - including 2 mattress pads - in rotation. That way you can strip the bed and immediately remake it with fresh bedding so it's ready to go, and you can wash the used set at your leisure. You never skip washing the pad to save time. They can be inexpensive mattress pads that you put on over whatever featherbed or memory foam topper, etc., you have on your bed, but changing them out regularly makes a huge difference.
One more thing - relevant because it makes changing linens less onerous a task. I am neither tall nor strong, and tucking in sheets, etc. on a platform bed where the top of the slats are 2" or so under the edge of the frame is very difficult, since you have to lift the mattress out of the frame. Recently got a bunky board - a little like a boxspring, but only 2" thick, and it completely solves the can't-make-the-bed-without-pulling-something problem.
I think a lot more goes into maintaining a mattress than people realize. The spinning and flipping. the trying to keep clean and get add on in case you got stuck with a crappy mattress.The hurdles you have to go over just to get some sleep...