Can You Use a Carpet Cleaner on a Mattress?

Indeed, the unavoidable occurs; our mattress acquires a stain we’d rather not see. 

Having young kids jump into bed with you in the morning is something that most parents enjoy and relish. However, the inevitable accident happens, and if the accident is severe enough, we can end up with a urine-soaked mattress.

Apart from the odd accident with the children, the mattress can become grubby over time from general wear and tear. It’s normal to wake up in a sweat sometimes, but that sweat has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is usually the mattress as it acts as a wick.

How do you clean a mattress with carpet cleaner?

This is a tricky one to answer, and in the first instance, I would refer to the manufacturers care manual. Your mattress will have cleaning instructions.

Let us assume your mattress is a few years old and you no longer have the cleaning instructions. We will also assume you feel that your mattress needs to be deep cleaned.

If you feel your mattress is beyond regular vacuum and light steam cleaning, we need to take drastic action.

Using a Hot Water Extraction Carpet Cleaner

This task is best tackled early in the day, allowing for hours of drying time. Make sure the room is ventilated, and sufficient heating is in the room to dry the mattress.

First, you should know that hot water extraction carpet cleaners can leave a lot of water behind, which may leave your mattress sodden, so be aware, this may lead you to buy a new mattress

To get the most out of your carpet cleaning hot water extraction machine, you must choose the correct cleaning solution following the manufacturer’s dilution guidelines. For organic stains, you may wish to choose a chemical with an enzyme detergent for effective cleaning.

You may need a stiff hand brush at hand.

Pre-wet the stains with the chemical diluted, not the whole mattress, agitate the stained areas with the bristles of the hand brush.

Proceed with the hot water extraction machine trying not to wet the mattress excessively., once the stain is removed, run multiple passes over the pre-soaked areas to remove as much moisture as possible.

Stubborn stains like milk may need to be sprayed again with the detergent, and bloodstains may not be removed with this treatment. If that is the case, just move on and clean the rest of the mattress.

Final thoughts

A carpet cleaner is not the ideal way to clean a mattress. Carpet cleaning chemicals can be harsh as they are designed for foot traffic and all the grime foot traffic brings.

However, the reality of life sometimes needs an aggressive solution, and a carpet cleaner can rejuvenate the appearance of a stained mattress.

The key to deep cleaning a mattress is to keep it as dry as possible and always work in a well-ventilated room.