Is Baking Soda Enough to Clean a Mattress?

Baking soda is among the most common do-it-yourself mattress cleaning remedies due to its low cost and ease of access and use. There are hundreds of online guides which advise people to sprinkle some baking soda on a mattress to get rid of odor and refresh it. Although such advice may be useful when it comes to basic care, many people ask themselves whether baking soda alone can really clean a mattress.

The simple answer is that it cannot. Baking soda may absorb some moisture and get rid of minor odors but cannot clean the dirt, germs, allergens, body oil, and dust mites that accumulate in a mattress over time.

Your mattress contains a lot of things that are invisible to an eye. Every day you sweat in your sleep, flake off your dead skin, and leave oils, hair, and other tiny particles behind in your bed, creating a layer which household cleaning cannot penetrate. Sprinkling some baking soda on the top may make the mattress smell better for some time, but that will not be a thorough cleaning.

Railway City Carpet Cleaning can help you get a cleaner mattress by using professional methods to clean it.

Why Do People Use Baking Soda on a Mattress?

Baking soda is suggested as an easy and cheap product that is able to absorb moisture and eliminate odours. In case it is applied to the surface of a mattress and kept there for a few hours, followed by vacuum cleaning, it will be able to improve its condition due to absorption of moisture and odour that are retained on its surface.

Thus, baking soda is suitable for routine maintenance of the mattress before its professional cleaning. However, it does not affect the deeper layers of the mattress in which bacteria, dust mites, body oils, and allergens retain their presence.

What Baking Soda Can Do

Baking soda is useful for simple maintenance around the house and provides multiple short-term advantages.

It can:

• Absorb light surface moisture.

• Neutralize minor surface odors.

• Freshen up the mattress temporarily.

• Help in removing dust when vacuumed.

• Be used for general mattress maintenance.

Baking soda can prove to be an effective tool for those who practice routine maintenance of their mattress.

What Baking Soda Cannot Do

Baking soda can be used to refresh a mattress but has certain drawbacks as well.

It cannot:

• Clean out stubbornly stained dirt.

• Get rid of germs that are stuck in the mattress.

• Get rid of dust mites.

• Take away body oil from the interior of the mattress.

• Get rid of old urine marks.

• Fix permanent stains.

• Clean out allergens from underneath the mattress.

• If there are such issues, all baking soda does is mask the symptoms.

Why Deep Mattress Contamination Requires Professional Cleaning

Contaminants such as sweat, oil, spills from animals, skin particles, and even small allergens tend to settle much deeper in a mattress than can be seen by the naked eye.

Since baking soda does not get deep down to these layers, the bad smell tends to come back within days or weeks after the cleaning process.

Professional mattress cleaning involves the use of special machinery that ensures the removal of contaminants from deep within the mattress as opposed to only making it look better.

At Railway City Carpet Cleaning, all mattresses undergo an inspection before cleaning to ensure that they get the best treatment for their materials.

Is Baking Soda Safe for Every Mattress?

In general, baking soda is safe to be applied once in a while on the top surface of your mattress. But too much baking soda or incorrect vacuuming may result in having fine dust inside some mattresses, especially memory foam mattresses.

Frequent application of an excess amount of baking soda will not be able to substitute professional maintenance either. If your mattress smells clean, this does not mean that dirt, allergens, bacteria, and body oils won't accumulate inside your mattress.

For expensive mattresses, it would be better to adhere to cleaning instructions by their manufacturer first.

When Does Baking Soda Actually Work?

The use of baking soda is most effective as part of the mattress care regime but not as a solution on its own. If the mattress has developed some unpleasant odour due to regular usage or you just want to give it a fresh start before cleaning it professionally, then baking soda could come in handy.

In this case, when changing bed linens, you can sprinkle some baking soda onto the mattress, leave it there for a few hours and then thoroughly vacuum it. It may be able to absorb the moisture and get rid of any slight odour.

But if your mattress has some stains, smells, or other problems such as pet accidents or years of collected dust – then baking soda won’t be sufficient to tackle it.

When Should You Call a Professional Mattress Cleaner?

While there is room for DIY maintenance, there will be times that calling for professionals would be worth the money.

This will be the case if:

• Your mattress still has odor after applying baking soda.

• Stains turn yellowish or brownish despite cleaning.

• Urinary stains from your pets or young kids are present.

• Worsening allergy symptoms during sleep hours.

• The mattress hasn’t had professional cleaning for many years.

• Home-made cleaning items do nothing to improve the condition of the mattress.

Professional mattress cleaners can get rid of contaminants that are buried deep into the mattress where home items cannot touch them.

DIY Cleaning vs Professional Mattress Cleaning

• Even though baking soda is affordable and effective to apply, it will not be able to clean like professional equipment.

• DIY cleaning should be used for regular maintenance whereas professional cleaning will help restore the mattress by getting rid of all the deep-seated dirt, bacteria, allergens, body oil, and other unpleasant substances that cause bad smells.

• Moreover, professional cleaning equipment is capable of extracting far more moisture than any ordinary technique used in homes can manage.

• The combination of home maintenance and professional cleaning is the best option for those who value their mattress investment.

How Often Should You Use Baking Soda?

It is not necessary to use baking soda on a weekly basis. Using baking soda every few months during regular maintenance is usually enough to refresh the mattress in between professional cleans.

However, professional deep cleaning of the mattress should be done once every 12 to 18 months, but in cases where children, pets, people suffering from allergies or frequent spills live at home, cleaning should be done every 6 to 12 months.

Why Homeowners in London and St. Thomas Choose Railway City Carpet Cleaning

People in both London and St. Thomas prefer to use the services of Railway City Carpet Cleaning because we know that all mattresses need a unique approach when being cleaned. Before the start of any cleaning procedure, our experts check your mattress in order to establish its state, stains, odors, and choose the best way to clean it.

Thanks to the professional equipment and proper cleaning procedures that we apply, all deeply seated allergens, bacteria, dirt, body oils and other residues can be removed from your mattress with ease.

Baking Soda Is Helpful—But It Isn't a Complete Cleaning Solution

Baking soda is an amazing product that comes in handy in many everyday chores, but it should never become a substitute for the services of mattress cleaning professionals. Although it may help to get rid of certain odours and absorb moisture on the mattress surface, it does not have enough cleaning power to take away all those hidden dirt and dust particles accumulated in the mattress during many years of usage.

Professional cleaning can do a lot more for you.

Final Thoughts

It is important to use baking soda to maintain freshness of your mattress from time to time, but this method is not enough to ensure the cleanliness of your mattress. This material is not capable of cleaning out the deeply embedded dust, bacteria, allergens, body oils, urine stain, or other elements which tend to gather on your mattress surface through time. In order to have a really clean and healthy mattress, there is no better way than getting a professional deep clean done.

Railway City Carpet Cleaning offers professional mattress cleaning services in London and St. Thomas. Our team of professionals will take care of all the deeply embedded dirt, persistent odours and will restore freshness of your mattress. Call Railway City Carpet Cleaning today at (519) 854-6913 or get your free quote.