How To Disinfect a Mattress

Ally Childress

You and your mattress are pretty close, but when was the last time you disinfected it? A pro shows you how to reduce germs in your mattress.

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Time

2 hours

Complexity

Beginner

Cost

$20

Introduction

Whether you have a traditional innerspring, memory foam or a popular mattress-in-a-box, all mattresses get dirty. They're repositories for dead skin cells, dirt, sweat and germs. If this is news to you, it's time to clean your mattress.

But what about disinfecting? Is that possible?

"It depends on how you define disinfection," says Allen Rathey, director of the Indoor Health Council. Technically, disinfection means to kill germs on hard, nonporous surfaces, and "mattresses are too porous and thick to effectively and completely 'disinfect' in place," Rathey says.

However, if you define it more informally — say, making something more hygienic — you can do that to a mattress.

One way is to spray it with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered disinfectant. "Some of those products will reduce germs on soft surfaces, too," Rathey says, "though not necessarily at the same level as on hard surfaces." Rathey says with this method, it's important to follow label directions. The solution needs to stay in the fibers of the mattress long enough to kill germs.

If spraying your mattress with a harsh chemical isn't for you, Leanne Stapf, chief operating officer of The Cleaning Authority, walks us through a DIY cleaning and disinfection technique that physically removes dirt, skin flakes and other food sources that germs need to thrive.