Cleaning your mattress

The other day, I woke up and knew that my mattress needed a cleaning. It was just a feeling that I had. It wasn’t necessarily dirty, but it just felt thick and muddy — like the way a room feels after being closed up all winter.  I did a little research, and with inspiration from clutter clearing guru Karen Kingston, I decided to drag my mattress outside for a little DIY cleaning.

First, I wanted to give it a sunshine bath. I left it outside all day in the sun, along with my featherbed, pillows, and duvet. If you can’t get your mattress outside, you can still pull it off your bed and place it by an open window. This is a great start. Fresh air gets to circulate around it, and sunshine seems to have a magical quality to make things ultra fresh (think lined dried clothes in the sun).

However, there was one part that was much more satisfying than the others: taking a broomstick and beating the mattress down for about 30 minuets. Kingston coined the term “mattress thwacking,” and it fits. I was shocked at how much dust came out of my mattress with every hit, but knew that this was the muck that I wanted to get out.

What was coming out? Dust mites and leftovers like bits we slough off, from the people sleeping there (me and my fiancé.) Dust mites feed on dead skin cells and such, and some people have allergies to the dust mite waste. Mattress thwacking can help take down the levels of dust mites in the bed, and anyone with allergies may benefit from taking on this practice every few months.

There is a therapeutic aspect of this practice too — how often do we take the time to purely beat something clean? It seems very old fashioned, but is a fantastic way to work out stress or other issues, and get a bit of exercise. I particularly enjoyed this part.

The energetic benefit of mattress thwacking is that it breaks up the energy patterns of the people that sleep there. If you have started a new relationship on an old mattress, this is a great way to “beat” out your ex-lovers energy. Talk about therapy.

When are good times to do this excellent practice? After an illness, divorce, breakup, when starting new relationship, or a few times a year, especially if you are sensitive and just feel like things have gotten mucky.

One note about this — be sure to do the thwacking outside, or in a room with the windows open. You want the dust and energy to go outside, not just back into the mattress.
At the end of the day, when I put my bed and accessories back together, everything smelled fantastic, felt clean, and had a delicious light quality to it. So, cut down on your allergies, get some fresh air, let out some aggression, and enjoy a better night’s sleep!