Bed Hygiene - Making a clean bed

On average, you will spend roughly one-third of your life in your bed, rolling around in the linens, comforters, and pillows galore and sweating a remarkable half a pint of perspiration just about every night. And whether you realize it or not, you and/or your partner are not the only ones sharing that mattress. Dust mites and bacteria are cuddling down into the surfaces along with you to wish you a good night.

Now that you’re good and unnerved, let’s explore some tips to make sure you are as safe as possible when it’s time to count sheep.

 

Proper Mattress and Foundation Care

In the hustle and bustle of life, it can be easy to forget your mattress, foundation, and bed frame need maintenance and TLC as well. Protect your mattress from sweat and stains with a washable cover and ensure it is laundered every 30 to 40 days in at least 55 degree or hotter water. While the cover is rolling around in the washing machine, lightly dust the mattress itself with baking soda to lift odors and allow that to sit for around 20 minutes before vacuuming.

Vacuuming your mattress will penetrate the porous fibers to lift the dead skin cells and dust mites that are living on the surface. Rotate your mattresses while you’re at it and check for any evidence in the foundation or frame of insect activity. Bed bugs and mites feast on dead skin cells and fresh bites and will leave behind black fecal matter and blood smears. If you are looking for a solution to bed bugs that is food, pet, and child safe, explore Diatomaceous Earth (DE), a cheap and harmful chemical free powder that kills these pests by absorbing the oily layer on their exoskeletons, effectively dehydrating them with a few hours.

 

Pillow Maintenance

If you feel like your pillows have become heavier over time, it is because they absolutely have! Your pillow can increase its weight up to 10% just with the build-up of dead skin cells, dirt, oil, hair product, perspiration, and saliva. To combat this haven for all-things-horror-movie, you should wash the pillows once per month and replace them entirely at least once a year. When washing the pillows, please do not use bleach products as they have been proven to cause allergic and even asthmatic reactions. Instead, use an oxygenated cleanser, tea tree or eucalyptus oil products, or other gentler detergents. When it is time to dry the pillows, toss dryer or tennis balls into the machine to help restore their natural fluff and discourage uneven balling of the fibers inside. Dry on high, unless the care labels state otherwise, to ensure mites and bacteria have been eradicated.

 

How to Handle Bedding

While your linen routine is a matter of personal preference, it is recommended never to exceed two weeks before washing and changing your bedding. Sheets, duvets, and comforters need to be washed in 40 to 60 degree warm water to eliminate mites and bacteria while preserving fibers, coloration, and patterns. Oxy powders along with detergent will go a long way to removing stains and perspiration. Beyond that, we strongly suggest you run an iron over the bedding after it is clean and dry as the heat will kill off remaining bacteria and allow the linens to rest on the bed neat and even.

 

Here Comes the Sun!

When we wake up in the morning, it’s easy to dive right into making our bed. Believe it or not, this discipline is not recommended. In fact, one of the best ways to have a clean and healthy bed is to pull back the covers for at least 20 minutes to allow body moisture to evaporate and natural sunlight and air to hit the sheets and kill surface bacteria. Before jumping in the shower, yank back the bed covers and let the magic happen!

 

There may be others areas of your home that aren’t getting enough attention. Check out 6 Areas You Might Not Be Cleaning.

VINEGAR

Vinegar is by far one of the most versatile cleaning agents. Use it to remove soap scum from the shower. Mix it with borax to get rid of hard-water rings in the toilet. Tape a bag of vinegar to your shower head and leave it overnight for an easy, sparkly clean; or add a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar to your dish soap to eliminate grease in the kitchen.

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

You use your toothbrush to clean your teeth, but don’t forget about cleaning your toothbrush. Let it soak in hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes to get rid of any lingering germs. Hydrogen peroxide is also useful on many hard surfaces. Use it to scrub your toilet, trash cans, shower, mirrors and doorknob. You can even mix it with equal parts water for a safe and effective solution for mopping the bathroom and kitchen floors.

LEMONS

The acid in lemons makes them a great natural cleanser. The juice is great for disinfecting kitchen countertops and cutting boards. Cut a lemon in half and scrub your bath and shower to remove soap scum. And if your shaving cream has left a rusty ring in your bathtub, use your lemon half to scrub it away.

VODKA

Do you have a mold and mildew problem in the bathroom? Skip a trip to the store, and pull out some inexpensive vodka from the liquor cabinet. Spray it directly onto the mold and mildew, and wait 15 minutes. Then use a cloth or small scrubbing brush to wipe it clean. And don’t forget to save a little for an after-cleaning celebration!

TEA

More than a favorite beverage, brewed tea can be used to clean windows, mirrors and countertops. Spray on your bathroom surfaces just as you would any typical window or surface cleaner. Then, keep your bags to hide in the back of the fridge. They will actually work to deodorize it. And if you need to remove the scent of onion, garlic or fish from your hands, cut a bag open, and wash your hands with the leaves to remove the odor.

SALT

Remember that miracle lemon that cleaned the tub? If your dirt stains are particularly stubborn, add some salt to the lemon, and scrub the surface of your bathtub, sink or toilet. Once your salt solution has done the trick, just rinse off any pulp and leftover residue, leaving your bathroom perfectly clean with a lemon-fresh scent!

BAKING SODA

Perfect for cleaning counters, sinks, drains, the toilet bowl, soap scum, shower doors, shower heads, and well, pretty much anything in the kitchen and bathroom, baking soda is one cleaning agent you don’t want to be without. For most kitchen and bathroom surfaces, a simple paste made of baking soda and water will do the trick.

DRAIN CLEANER

Though it is not a natural cleaning solution, exactly, a drain snake is an eco-friendly way to clean out the main source of drain blockage: hair. And if you don’t have a drain snake, you can still avoid pouring harsh chemicals down the bathtub drain by unwinding a wire hanger, hooking the end, pushing it down the drain as far as it will go, and pulling up hair that is keeping the water from draining properly.

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