Your bed is the most used piece of furniture in almost everybody’s house. Because of this constant use, bacteria and dirt accumulate quickly.  Bed covers and pillow cases are easy enough to clean but every once in a while you need to clean the rest of that bed. Any spillages should be dealt with immediately as stains are very difficult to get out of these items.

•    Pillows. Because pillows are fairly small, they are much easier to clean than a duvet. During the night you sweat a lot more than you know and because of this, pillows are prone to sweat stains if left to long untreated. To wash pillows, simply machine wash them on a low heat, delicate setting and with a little detergent (don’t use fabric softener). Dry the pillows also on a low heat and make sure they are fully dried all the way through before replacing them on the bed. Pillows can be easily protected and you can prolong their life by using a pillow protector. These can be washed along with your bedding in the washing machine.

•    Duvet. A duvet is just a big pillow and you can clean it in the exactly same way. A lot of the time however, they are a little too big to fit inside the washing machine drum. If this is the case, unfortunately they only way to thoroughly clean it now is to take it to the dry cleaners.

•    Mattress. Mattresses are particularly difficult to clean due to their size. They are in constant use which means dust, sweat and dead skin are all able to build up and damage the condition of it. To start with, vacuum both sides of the mattress using an attachment you feel is suitable. This removes any large dust or dirt particles and makes deeper cleaning more efficient. After this, you can then use an upholstery shampoo to work into the fabric and lift smaller particles out. If you have a steam cleaner, you can use this instead as a way of killing the bacteria without the use of any harsh chemicals but try not to get the mattress too wet as it could cause damage and will take much longer to dry again. If you have an odour you want to eliminate, you can sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over the mattress and leave it to soak up that bad smell before you wash it and then vacuum the remains up. Once you’ve cleaned it you should leave it to dry either in a well-ventilated room, with fans or under the sun to speed up the process. Once it has fully dried, vacuum one last time to get rid of anything that has fallen on it when it was drying. Every month or so you should flip the mattress, alternating which end goes at the foot of the bed as well. This allows the mattress to wear down easily and you won’t end up with a huge dip in the bed from where you usually sleep. As well as this, you can prevent damage to your mattress further by using a mattress protector. This increases the life span of your mattress, can be washed easier and prevents stains on the mattress.

So there you have it, it’s a hard job and it takes a while (and you should probably have a back-up place to sleep in case your mattress takes longer than expected to dry) but it doesn’t need to be done too often. Cleaning your bed regularly definitely prolongs the life expectancy and saves you a lot of money in the long run.