Most of us don’t think about cleaning our mattress, we wash our bedding weekly but often don’t pay attention to our mattress.

A mattress can harbor dead skin flakes, hair, dust, dust mites and pollen. Fungal spores can also collect on your mattress, sweat can seep into the mattress and fungal spores thrive on moisture, so a damp mattress is the ideal environment for them to grow.

If you have pets who sleep in your bed, they shed fur and dander which can collect on your mattress, if you eat in bed food particles can also accumulate.

According to data published by Ohio State University, a typical used mattress may have 100,000 to 10 million mites inside.

A study done by the Imperial College of London said that humans shed about 200 million skin cells an hour, or five billion a day. Much of that is shed in your bed.

Ideally your mattress should be covered with a protective mattress cover. This keeps the mattress clean.  A mattress is a big investment, and we want to keep it in tip top condition for as long as possible.

Each time you change your sheets and bedding use the attachments on your vacuum to sweep the mattress cover, then once a month remove the cover and launder it with your other bedding. When the cover has been removed vacuum the top, bottom, and all sides of the mattress. Pay special attention to folds and seams that can collect debris.

Just like the rest of your furniture, routine cleaning and maintenance can preserve and extend the life of your mattress.