How To Clean Your Bedding

You spend around a third of your life in your bed. It goes without saying that this amount of time can make for a pretty grubby place to sleep. Here are ten things to keep in mind when it comes to cleaning your bedding.

1. Whatever you do, don’t wash your mattress!

You can sponge it down with a damp cloth to get off spills and stains, but don’t soak any part of your mattress. Traditional innerspring mattresses have layers of different materials inside them, some of which will retain the water, leaving a superb breeding ground for bacteria. Check your mattress carefully for care instructions before you consider washing it.

2. Surprisingly, electric blankets are often machine washable.

Make sure to read the washing instructions before you throw your electric blanket in the wash though, as it may have instructions specific to your blanket. Keep in mind that the control box and cord will most likely not be washable, and if these are not removable, it may be necessary to hand wash your electric blanket. If you live in a cold climate and rely on an electric blanket on a more permanent basis, consider spending a bit more on a blanket that is able to be regularly machine washed.

3. When you’re cleaning your sheets and pillowcases, wash them by themselves.

With more space in the washing machine, they have more room to get agitated, and therefore wash more thoroughly. It’s a great idea to use fabric softener on your sheets, for that soft, huggable feel when they’re on the bed. If at all possible, dry your sheets on the clothesline, as opposed to the dryer, as the sunlight is antibacterial, and will make your sheets smell nice too.

4. Check your pillow!

If you are at the point where you feel like it’s time to wash your pillow, it’s probably actually time to invest in a new one. New pillows on a semi-regular basis will help with your posture, as well as reducing the build-up of oils that your pillow endures over time. If you have feather pillows, you can get the feathers cleaned, and a new cover put on, to make your pillow just like new.

5. Use tennis balls!

When drying your bulkier items, like blankets, doonas, and sheets, put a couple of old tennis balls in the dryer with them, to fluff them up, help dry them quicker, and stop them clumping. To prevent the dye transferring from the balls, put each one in a clean white sock, as this will help reduce any marks caused by this process.

6. Get your feather and down doonas and pillows professionally cleaned and covered.

There are service people who can come around to your house to do this for you. They reuse your feathers, but clean them thoroughly, and will put them in a fresh, new cover. You should get this done every couple of years, especially if you use these covers year-round, in order to keep them as clean, fluffy, and healthy as possible.

7. Watch what you put in the washing machine.

We have all opened the washing machine after putting the doona cover in, only to find that it has eaten all of the other clothes. To stop this happening, or at least to reduce the number of things that get lost, zip up, button, or otherwise close your doona cover in the wash to stop things getting caught in it.

8. Know your bedding.

By this, I mean that not all bedding is created equally, and different materials need to be laundered differently. If you use only cotton sheets, learn how to wash those sheets specifically, and make it your sacred duty to look after them. After all, you spend a third of your life in your bed, and the better care you take of your bedding, the better your bedding will take care of you.

9. If you want to get your white sheets extra white, bypass the bleach, and head for the pantry.

If you dilute 1 cup of white vinegar in a large pot of water and then soak your whites in it overnight, they will wash out extra white. Just throw them in the washing machine on your normal wash cycle after the vinegar treatment, and you will notice a huge difference afterwards.

10. How to clean stains

There are heaps of stains that you will get on your bedding, especially if you’re lucky enough to get breakfast in bed, but one of the most stubborn stains to get out of your bedding is blood. The kids, thanks to their gung-ho approach to life, are the biggest inspiration for this tip. If the blood is still fresh, rinsing it out with cold water is the best way to clean it. Keep the blood away from any heat when cleaning it, and definitely don’t put it in the dryer, as any heat will make the blood set, effectively cooking it into your sheets. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most effective ways to treat dried in stains. Once your blood stains are washed out, hang the sheets on the line, as the sunlight will help break the stains down.

And there we have it! Those are our ten tips on making sure that your bedroom is as clean as possible! If you have any questions about cleaning your bedroom or want any more information on this topic, don't hesitate to reach out to us! We have a team of experts ready to help you create your dream bedroom and keep it clean at the same time. You can contact us via email or you can give us a call. Simply get our contact details.