Your mattress is a lot dirtier than you think. In fact, let’s just call it what it is: nassssty! But you don’t have to live this way. You can keep your mattress clean (and stain-free) with some simple cleaning solutions and a little elbow grease.
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Why You Need to Keep Your Mattress Clean
Your mattress is exposed to a lot of different elements, including any or all of the following: urine, vomit, feces, blood, food, drinks, sweat, and “other fluids.” Just because it’s covered by a sheet doesn’t mean the nastiness isn’t there.

According to WebMD, the average adult sweats 26 gallons per year in bed. That’s disgusting! It means your mattress is a damp, warm home for bacteria, fungus, and other unwanted visitors.
Lab tests from seven-year-old mattresses show that more than 16 million bacteria units fill every square inch of the average mattress. If you share your bed with your pets, it’s even worse. Animal hair, dander, and even fleas and ticks can make their home on your bed.
The good news is that mattresses are sturdy and can be cleaned. With the proper cleaning and maintenance, there’s no reason you can’t get years of healthy use out of your bed.
However, mattresses don’t stay clean on their own.
Which brings us to our first point. Use a mattress protector. (USA) (Canada) It will protect your mattress from not only stains, but also from build-up of dust, body oils and all the above that we already mentioned. Give your mattress extra years of life by protecting it.
How to Clean Any Kind of Mattress Stain
Aside from general mattress cleaning and maintenance – which you can find in this blog post – you should also address stains right away.
While we highly recommend reading up on your specific mattress type and following any manufacturer’s recommendations that you can find, here are some general tips that we find effective for specific stain types:
Pro tip: Always test the following stain recipes in an inconspicuous spot first, as some can have mild bleaching qualities. But hey, sometimes you gotta pick between a puke stain and a bleach stain, and I’d choose bleach every time.
- Urine Stains
Use the GoCleanCo protein stain recipe of 1 teaspoon OxiClean® OR powdered Tide® with 1 tablespoon water. Dab the stain and let it dry. This should do the trick every time.

- Blood Stains
If it’s very fresh blood, blot as quickly as you can with cold water. Next, add hydrogen peroxide.
If the stain has been there a while and/or is stubborn, make a paste with hydrogen peroxide, blue Dawn® dish soap, and some baking soda. Spread it onto the stain and let it dry. Scrape the paste off the mattress and wipe with a clean rag.

Note: Be careful with hydrogen peroxide as it has mild bleaching qualities. Always test a small spot before using it on large or conspicuous areas.
- Poop Stains
Maybe it was your kids, maybe not. If you’ve got poop on a mattress, start by removing it with a clean damp cloth. The next step is to spray it with the GoCleanCo protein stain recipe (1 teaspoon OxiClean® OR powdered Tide® with 1 tablespoon water) and dab the stain until it’s gone. You may also want to put some baking soda on the stain and let it sit for several hours to help remove the odor and any remaining moisture.
- Puke Stains
Oh, the dreaded puke stain. Strip the bedding, toss the dirty sheets in the wash, and use the GoCleanCo protein stain recipe (1 teaspoon OxiClean® OR powdered Tide® with 1 tablespoon water).

Spray the stains and blot with a clean cloth until the stain is gone. Sprinkle baking soda over the stain and vacuum it up a couple of hours later. Let the mattress air dry with the windows open. Sunlight will help disinfect.
- Coffee Stains
If breakfast in bed suddenly turns into spilled coffee and a this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things moment, have no fear! You can tackle this stain with a couple of household ingredients and save the day.

Start by blotting with cold water to remove as much of the stain as possible. Then make a paste with hydrogen peroxide, blue Dawn® dish soap, and some baking soda. Spread it onto the stain, then carefully blot it with a light-colored cloth to extract as much moisture as possible. Keep doing this until the stain is gone. Work from the outside edge of the stain inward to the middle.
If the stain will not remove, spray it with some hydrogen peroxide and lay a clean, damp white cloth on top of the stain. Grab an iron and place it on the cloth (over the stain) for 20 to 30 seconds. (The steam from the iron should pull the stain out.) Repeat as necessary until the stain is gone.
- Red Wine Stains
Trying to have a romantic or relaxing evening in bed when someone spills the wine? Oh, yeah, and to make matters worse, it’s red wine!

Blot the stain with a towel. Try to get as much of the liquid up as possible. Mix 1 tsp of powdered Tide® in 1 cup of warm water. Wet a cloth in the mixture and dab the stain. You can pour a small amount of the mixture on the stain and blot it with a cloth. It will lift immediately. No need to rinse.

For tough stains that have been set for several days, weeks, or months, spray liberally with water followed by hydrogen peroxide.
Next, grab a damp white cloth and place it over the sprayed area. Place a hot iron on top of the cloth and let it sit stationary for 20 to 30 seconds. Continue this process until the stain lifts. (Note: All irons are different. Use caution and be careful not to burn or melt your mattress.)
Join the #GoCleanArmy
Stop sleeping on a nasty mattress and join 2.4M+ members of the #GoCleanArmy by following us on Instagram where we post daily updates, tips, and satisfying cleaning videos that make you say, “ohhhhh!”
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gocleanco
Mar 25
Spring cleaning isn’t over until we clean the windows. Sparkling windows make all the difference, you can actually see outside and let the sunshine in! I have a Spring Cleaning offer with @oceansalesltd up in my stories, it is a package deal with the AquaBLADE and the Carbon Tuff Cloths. Check it out! #sponsored
gocleanco
Mar 23
Carpet Cleaner Fight Club 👊🏻 coming at you 3.23.23 get your 🍿 and pull up a 🪑 *Carpets were harmed in the making of this video* #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 19
Remember to change your mop head every once in awhile 😎 @hairhouseyeg #shorthair
gocleanco
Mar 18
How am I related to these people… #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 17
Spring Cleaning all my @ruggable rugs today! I like to wash my @ruggable rugs in the spring and fall and also anytime someone spills something on them. You can also spot treat your Ruggable, they have a stain guard on them for fast emergency clean up! The Ruggable spring sale is running right now and you can use code SPRING23 for 15% off sitewide and up to 20% off the spring collection but it’s only for a limited time so don’t miss out! #sponsored #ruggablepartner
gocleanco
Mar 13
Are you ready for bathroom week? My tub is so gross I have been pleasure delaying cleaning it just for you. #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 10
Does your washing machine smell like a swamp? Well, we have a solution for that…..Plus, @target currently has a Circle offer for $2.00 Tide Washing Machine Cleaner in the Target App! Tide Washing Machine Cleaner should be used once a month to help maintain your machine from build up and odours, it works on both front and top loaders to help maintain your machine so you don’t have to pay someone else to. *Coupon expires April 3, 2023 #sponsored @tidewashingmachinecleaner Certain trademarks used under license from the Proctor & Gamble Company or its affiliates.
gocleanco
Mar 6
Spring Cleaning Challenge 2023 is live on the website! Download the challenge and that is your entry into the contest to win a free house clean from @gocleanco in Fall 2023! Plus we will have other amazing weekly prizes of all my favourite things. Stay Classy San Diego, we had so much fun✌🏻 Now let’s do this Cleaning Army, we only have 4 weeks so we have to stay focused and on task. Follow along with me and your house will sparkle ✨ Full rules listed on our website. #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 4
Good Morning San Diego! Well it’s nearly the afternoon and I have only cleaned half a fridge and sprayed an oven but all good things take time and patience. This place is gonna shine up like💎 #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 3
@drpimplepopper but for your fridge #springcleaningisherebabyanditsmytimetoshine
gocleanco
Mar 1
#ad Cleaning some stubborn carpet stains with the @bissellclean Little Green® ProHeat® Portable Carpet Cleaner and the amazing @febreze Spot & Stain Formula . It has Heatwave Technology® to help maintain water temperature as you clean, the tools are all included, My fav thing about is (besides it obvious cleaning power and compact design) is that it even has a handy dandy HydroRinse ™ Self Cleaning tool which rinse out the hose when you are done with your dirty work..…finally someone is thinking about cleaning the cleaning tools…my work here may officially be done. *Certain trademarks used under license from The Procter & Gamble Company @bissellcan @bissellclean @febreze #BISSELL
gocleanco
Feb 24
Spring Cleaning Pain Points: What can’t you get clean and you feel like you have tried *eVeRyTHinG* under the sun? Drop it in the comments and I will take ✍🏻 and try to help ya! #springcleaning
gocleanco
Feb 23
I am excited to be partnering on an IG live next week with P&G laundry scientist, Jennifer Ahoni, to discuss their newest laundry innovation, Downy Rinse & Refresh. It’s a fantastic solution to solve your stinkiest laundry issues and we’re going to deep dive into why this is the perfect complement to our favorite laundry detergent. #ad #downypartner #odorisnttheend @downy
gocleanco
Feb 17
What’s your least favourite chore? Mines the never ending cycle of laundry. Like even when it’s done…you still have the clothes you are wearing on while you do the laundry so it’s never actually over…I have been know to rip socks off people if I’m putting in a load of whites to *feel like* I am beating the system 😵💫 I actually don’t mind sorting it, washing it, putting it in the dryer but the party stops there. I hate folding and putting it away. I feel like there should be a robot for this by now—it’s 2023! Now this the AI I can get behind.
gocleanco
Feb 1
Dishwasher Filter 101 🤮 Whose ready for spring cleaning?! I’m gonna start psyching y’all up so you are READY FOR COMBAT. #springcleaning
gocleanco
Jan 19
How often to you mop your floors? Be honest cause I’ll come over and check if you are lying. #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Jan 18
Fancy New product Alert: Downy Rinse & Refresh is @downy ‘s biggest innovation in the last 30 years. Now, listen up because this isn’t like regular Downy, it is actually not a fabric softener, even though it goes in the fabric softener drawer! Rinse & Refresh helps with mega stubborn STINKY laundry by removing residue that traps in odour. It’s the perfect compliment to everyday smelly laundry like gym clothes, hockey clothes or that load of towels you left sitting in the washer overnight and actually removes odour three times better than laundry detergent alone. Come watch my stories today — I rounded up my teenage nephews hockey gear 😷and we will put it through the ringer. (Pun intended). What is your stinkiest laundry problem? Let me know in the comments and we can get researching 👩🏼🔬 #DownyPartner
gocleanco
Jan 12
Bleach, Pray, Love (and a little elbow grease) 💕 #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Dec 31
Wishing you a Tide-ey New Year. Fun fact about me: I live for Mondays. A fresh new week laid before me gives me motivation to get shit done. And January is the BIGGEST Monday of them all. Many people like to reflect on the last year but I like to look ahead and set some realistic and serious goals for myself. Take a deep breath and wake up from your Christmas haze and write down 5 things you want to get done in 2023…(or make a lock screen saver vision board like I do every year!) You don’t always have to join a gym you know. Maybe you want to clean your attic. Or take more naps. Be more present for your kids. Make your bed each morning. These goals can be small but impactful and have a domino effect throughout your life. Start small. The big stuff will follow. Thank you for sticking with me on this wild ride. We have so much in store for the #cleaningarmy in 2023 so buckle up! P.S. Lets pretend this photo was taken today cause I’m currently in my house coat cleaning everyone’s AirPods. 📸 cred @substanceyyc 💕
gocleanco
Dec 29
Are you team Boxing Day Christmas decor tear down or Team January tear down? I took mine down before we left and I’m currently feeling like it was hands down, my most genius idea of 2022. Now to tackle the worlds largest pile of laundry and prep my life for 2023 🎉 #christmascleanup