How to Clean a Mattress

How to clean a mattress - several techniques that work well, and can be used to remove stains and keep your mattress fresh.

Steps

General steps

  1. Vacuum the mattress. This helps to keep it clean by the sheer fact that when it does get wet, there is less matter in the dirt to cause it to stain.
  2. If the surface does get soiled or dirty, try using an upholstery cleaner. Since they are made for surfaces that touch your skin (e.g. your couch), then, unless you are extremely sensitive to cleaners in general, it should work. It also has the advantage of removing dust mites and their refuse.
  3. Use enzyme cleaners. Enzymes cleaners are effective in breaking down the 'structure' of the stains which helps to lessen them.

For unidentified mattress stains

  1. Spray it with a citrus type cleaner and let it set for about five minutes. Afterward, blot (don't rub) as much of the cleaner out as you can using a clean, white, absorbent cloth. A mild dish detergent can also be used.

Blood stains

  1. Try using hydrogen peroxide to help with the removal of blood stains. Blot it while it is bubbling. This may not remove all the stain, but will help to lessen it. Be sure to blot it with a clean, white, dry cloth.

Cigarette odor removal

  1. Using the same process as above, apply it to the entire mattress, one section at a time.
  2. Launder your linen even more often than you would on an ordinary basis. This will help keep the odor from being so pervasive.

Mold and mildew removal

  1. Give your mattresses a 'suntan'. These types of stains are caused by too much moisture. Try taking your mattress outside on a bright, sunny day and let the sun dry it out. Try to remove the excess mold and mildew by wiping it off or sweeping it off.

Urine stains and odor

  1. Blot the excess fluid as much as possible.
  2. Using the oxy-clean type cleaners, or those that say they remove the stains (of which there are many), spray the stain and methodically blot it.
  3. Once dry, shake baking soda over it, let it set over night and vacuum it the next day.

Removing stains caused by colored drinks.

  1. Although impossible to remove entirely, you can alleviate the degree of the stain by using citrus cleaner and/or vinegar to lessen it.
  2. Many drink stains are soluble in isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Alcohol will also carry the stain further, so blot with a clean absorbent cloth soaked in isopropyl alcohol, rather than pouring it on the stain.
  3. Mattress manufacturers and dry cleaners will also have information on removing stains, or provide a service for a fee.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Sleep Experts Mattress Stores Rank 28th on The Dallas Morning News Top 100 Places to Work 2009 list

Fri Nov 13, 10:00 am ET
Dallas/Fort Worth mattress retailer Sleep Experts is the only company in the mattress industry to make the The Dallas Morning News' inaugural list of the Top 100 Places to Work 2009. Sleep Experts ranks 28th on the overall list and 11th among midsize companies with 100 to 499 employees.
Carrollton, Texas (PRWEB) November 13, 2009 -- Dallas/Fort Worth mattress retailer Sleep Experts has been recognized by The Dallas Morning News as one of D/FW’s Top 100 Places to Work 2009. In a special publication in the newspaper’s November 8th edition, the company ranks 28th on the overall list and 11th among midsize companies with 100 to 499 employees. Sleep Experts is the only company in the mattress industry to make the list.
The Top 100 Places to Work was determined through surveys of employees of approximately 1,000 companies, conducted by The Dallas Morning News and its research partner Workplace Dynamics. The companies that made the list excelled in areas including leadership, company direction, opportunities for career advancement, physical conditions of the workplace, and fair pay and benefits.
Cheryl Hall, business columnist for The Dallas Morning News, wrote about the survey results in the Top 100 Places to Work publication, saying: “These D-FW companies – large, medium and small – are as good as it gets when it comes to creating workplace environments that nurture and respect employees, and in the process, make those employees proud to be there.”
“We are honored to be included on the inaugural Top 100 Places to Work 2009 list,” said Chris Cook, CEO of Sleep Experts. “We believe that exceptional customer service comes from happy employees, so part of our corporate purpose is to create a positive work environment where our people can develop their skills and grow both professionally and personally.”
About Sleep Experts
Sleep Experts, a mattress retailer with 34 locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, offers a broad selection of innerspring mattresses, foam mattresses and air mattresses, with brands including Simmons, Beautyrest, Aireloom, Tempur-Pedic, ComforPedic, Laura Ashley, King Koil, Sleep Designs and Air Number. Sleep Experts has recently been honored with the 2009 Dallas Business Ethics Award and the Consumers' Choice Award® for business excellence, and has been voted a Dallas Business Journal Best Place to Work in D/FW. Through its Rest Assured community program, Sleep Experts recycles customers' old mattresses for donation to local shelters and also donates a portion of proceeds from every mattress sale to help families in crisis. For more information, visit www.sleepexperts.com or call (888) 55-SLEEP.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Looking for a greener sleep solution? Latex mattresses last longer and can go in the compost bin at the end of their lives.

By JOHN EWOLDT, Star Tribune
Last update: November 10, 2009 - 9:03 AM

Michael Murad of St. Louis Park is not your typical mattress buyer. If he were, he'd spend about 30 minutes selecting an $800 queen-size bed. But Murad is trying to create a greener home, including where we spend one-third of our lives -- in bed.

Murad, a software developer who tries to live green, buying at thrift shops and following reduce/re-use/recycle, is concerned about indoor air pollution and the environment. He researched mattresses on the Internet and went to Sears, Original Mattress Factory, Select Comfort and Twin Cities Green in search of a product that is compostable at the end its life -- no steel coils or oil-based polyester fabric or foam. By the time his new green mattress was delivered (by mail, in fact), he had spent $1,800 and nearly 15 hours of searching.

Shoppers might consider a green sleep for many reasons. The greenest mattress material is coil-free and 100 percent natural latex, which is resistant to dust mites, mold, mildew and fungus. But some latex mattresses are made of synthetic, oil-based materials that precipitate allergic reactions in some people with chemical sensitivities. (Unfortunately, bed bugs like all foam equally, real or fake.)

Other hybrid beds have a natural latex "core" mixed with oil-based foam. Buyers might recognize the difference on the price tag. All-natural latex is expensive. The sap is tapped from rubber trees in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Africa, Indonesia and Brazil, then baked in forms. Although latex mattresses have been around for more than 50 years, they lost favor when cheaper oil-based synthetics came on the market. (The popular memory foam is also synthetic.)

Most queen-size mattresses made from 100 percent natural latex cost about $2,000. Making matters worse, the price is not expected to fall, said Mike Daum, general manager at Restwell Mattress Factory in St. Louis Park.