Top 4 Ways To Successfully Dry A Mattress

A wet mattress leads to all sorts of problems. Avoid an early death for your bed or raging allergies by drying your mattress like an expert.

Drying a mattress successfully requires immediate action after the spill and subsequent treatment to ensure mould does not get a foothold. You can dry a mattress outside, use fans, a hairdryer, and even combine them for the best results.

Moisture and mattresses are not friends! Learn why this combination is so dangerous and how you can rescue your bed.

The 4 Most Popular Methods To Dry A Mattress

What happens when a mattress is wet? A lot of bad stuff. The most immediate thing is that you cannot use the bed without feeling an annoying wet spot. Needless to say, you won’t get much sleep. But when moisture is allowed to stay, things go really wrong. Your mattress can mould and even rot inside. During this downward spiral, your allergies will get worse (this is not good news if you suffer from serious conditions like asthma).

Here are the top 4 ways to dry your mattress after an oopsy.

Immediate spot treatment.
Air-dry the mattress (indoor or outdoors).
Use fans.
Use a hairdryer.

The Importance Of Immediate Spot Treatment

Let’s say there is a spill. Maybe the dog peed on your bed. Maybe you tipped over a cup of coffee. The source is not really important. What is essential is how quickly you react and dry the worst moisture.

The good news is that most will probably get soaked up by the bedding (if your bed is made). If your bed is made you can just quickly rip off the duvet and pat at the wetness that reached the mattress. You can use a tissue or a dry towel.

Immediate spot treatment is also important to neutralize odours and prevent ugly stains.

You can also grab our free guide on how to clean a mattress for more tips and tricks.

How Do I Treat Stains?

You can treat almost any fresh stain with the baking soda method. The chances are that you already have a box of this miracle powder in your home. Baking soda is known for its cleaning powers but also as a highly effective deodorizer!

First, pat the stain with a tissue or cloth to remove as much moisture as you can. Remember to never scrub at the stain, it could actually make things worse. Next, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda over the moist fabric. Let it sit for at least an hour. If the stain has a bad smell, you might want to consider leaving it overnight.

After enough time has passed, use the vacuum cleaner to suck away the baking soda. The next step is to air dry the mattress.

These are the top 2 ways to dry a mattress protector.

How To Air Dry A Mattress

You can use this option after treating stains with baking soda or when your spill is small and needs no real pre-cleaning. However, it’s essential to air dry your mattress if a large amount of moisture soaked the mattress.

There are two ways to air dry a mattress but by far, the most refreshing and power-saving is the outdoors. If you are lucky, the weather is good on the day of the spill (fingers crossed). If the sun is shining and there is hopefully some wind too, then remove the mattress to a safe place outside. The idea is to get sunlight on the affected area and the wind’s ability to circulate air around the bed will also help to dry it.

At the point where you no longer want a mattress? This is how to dispose of a mattress safely and without harming the planet.

Tips To Keep Your Mattress Safe Outdoors

Don’t place the bed outside if the weather looks rainy or overcast.
Place it where your dogs cannot snooze on the bed.
Do not leave the bed alone outdoors – plenty of thieves will happily carry it off when they realize that no one is home.

What Is The Second Method Of Air Drying My Mattress?

Is the weather too grouchy on the day of the spill? No worries. You can also airdry the mattress indoors.

Noticed a yellow stain? No worries. We have all the information you need on what causes them and how to remove a yellow stain from your mattress protector.

How To Use Fans To Dry A Mattress

You can also use this method to dry your mattress if you live in an apartment building and there is no way to air dry your bed outdoors. But let’s get into it.

You will need a couple of ground fans. If you only have one, that will also do. However, the trick of dealing with fans is that you must check on the progress of the drying. Using fans will take a couple of hours and even after the spot feels dry, you need to keep the fans blowing air on the affected area. This is to get rid of the moisture inside the mattress.

You can also use a ceiling fan to add more wind and more power to the air-drying method indoors. Just be aware that using only a ceiling fan might take longer to dry the bed and it might also not get rid of all the moisture that had reached deep inside the mattress. A ceiling fan is best used with ground fans that are positioned close to the wet spot.

Help things along by opening a window or two. Creating extra airflow in the room will hasten the drying process.

The Magic Of A Hairdryer

That is right. Hairdryers are not just for your top mop. They come in pretty handy when you need to dry other stuff besides your hair. Like spilt tea or puppy pee. After blotting the wet area to clean away most of the moisture, you simply aim the hairdryer at the affected fabric and switch it on.

Be careful with all that firepower though! You do not want to damage the fabric. Keep a good distance between the nozzle of the hairdryer and the surface of the mattress. The fabric should never feel scorching hot. Just warm enough to evaporate the moisture.

Make Sure The Mattress Is Dry

It doesn’t matter which method you choose. At the end of the day, they all must lead to the same thing – a completely dry mattress. If any moisture remains, mould and rot could potentially destroy the mattress a few months down the line. Once mould develops inside a mattress, you can kiss that bed goodbye.

Do not hurry with the drying process. Rather take your time and make sure that the moisture is well and truly gone!

A Quick Summary On How To Dry A Mattress

Moisture spills are a major cause of ruined mattresses.
Quick action after a spill will remove most of the moisture.
The mattress can then be air-dried indoors or outdoors.
You can also dry a mattress with a hairdryer.
The most important thing is to make sure that the mattress is completely dry before you use it again.