Can Your Mattress Make You Sick?

Can Your Mattress Make You Sick?

Have you ever awakened with sneezing episodes, itchy, swollen skin, a stuffy nose, or difficulty in breathing? You may be wondering why you’re sleeping poorly and are stuck with allergy symptoms—it may be lurking right under your nose on your mattress.

Over a decade, a normal adult spends almost 30,000 hours asleep in bed. Those copious amounts of sweat, dead skin cells, saliva — and sometimes pet dander — make an ideal place for dust mites, molds and bacteria to flourish.

So this blog will provide you factual information about health dangers hiding in foam and innerspring mattresses. You’ll also find simple tips for safely cleaning bedding and signs that it’s time to consider swapping out your mattress.

Key Takeaways

• Your mattress may contain about 10 million dust mites — microscopic bugs that feast on your dead skin and cause allergies.
• Adults perspire an estimated 26 gallons a year while sleeping, so our mattresses are a cozy home for mold and bacteria.
• One square inch of an old mattress may hold more than 16 million colonies of bacteria — including, yuck, E. coli and Staph.
• To maintain well, deep clean your mattress a couple of times each year, and get a waterproof cover to reduce allergens and increase your mattress’ lifespan.
• If you’ve had your mattress for 7 to 10 years, it’s time to get a new one — it can keep allergies, skin problems and breathing problems at bay.

What’s Hidden in Your Mattress?

There’s a dark side to your mattress that most people never see. Microbes, dust mites and toxic chemicals lurk in the fibers of where you lay your head every night.

Dust Mites

Your mattress is home to millions of dust mites that quietly feast on the dead skin you flake off each night. A single mattress can house anywhere from 100,000 to a staggering 10 million of these microscopic pests — so small that you can’t even see them unless you look at them under a microscope.

Dust mites flourish in warm and humid places…exactly like your cozy bed. Pet hair and dander contribute to the problem, especially if your pets cuddle up with you at night.

The shoes contribute to the issue as well. Simply walking into the house with shoes is how approximately 1 in every 3 persons deposits bacteria indoors. These germs can potentially facilitate the reproduction of dust mites. Regularly vacuum your mattress to keep these little critters at bay.

This clears away mites, their droppings and the dead skin cells that they love to dine on. And consider using a mattress cover—as if that’s a barrier keeping mites out and your bed cleaner.

Bedbugs

Bedbugs are tiny pests, hiding primarily in mattress seams and bedding. They crawl out at night and suck on your blood, and leave tiny, itchy little bites on your skin. If you see tiny blood stains on sheets — it’s a surefire indication that the bedbugs are upon you.

Typically, people unwittingly introduce them to residential life after sleeping in hotels or living in a dorm room. Bedbugs catch rides in suitcases, backpacks and even clothing. Once they enter your home, bedbugs are difficult to get rid of.

The thing to do — is haul in a pest control company that uses EPA-approved products. These pests may irritate the skin, leading to sleep issues and affecting other aspects of your physical health.

Fungus and Bacteria

Your mattress could have millions of microscopic bugs crawling all over it ones that are not even visible to the naked eye. As much as one square inch can have more than 16 million colonies of bacteria, including nasty germs such as E.coli and Staph.

On average, your body sweats around 26 gallons a year, producing the humid conditions that mold and bacteria love to thrive in. The moisture makes your bed a nice place for these little organisms to live.

Mold spores and bacteria aren’t sitting up in their little corner — they’re impacting your indoor air, even your health. To make matters worse, if you already suffer from allergies or asthma, a dirty mattress could exacerbate your symptoms.

To combat this problem, vacuum your mattress often and work on stains immediately. Invest in a good mattress protector, as well—it keeps moisture out and helps keep things cleaner and healthier.

Pet Dander

Pet dander can accumulate quickly in mattresses — particularly in households where pets sleep on beds. More than half of all pet owners allow their furry companions to sleep next to them, shedding millions of microscopic skin flakes in the process.

And these tiny particles, though invisible, don’t just send us into sneezing fits — they also attract insects like dust mites and fleas. Dust mites devour dead skin shed by you and your pets, making it a perfect breeding ground for allergy flare-ups.

Frequent bathing and grooming of pets greatly decreases the dander issue. Regular deep cleaning of the mattress also removes any allergens before they lead to breathing problems or itchy skin.

Unfortunately, many people aren’t seeing that the chronic stuffy noses and itchy puffy eyes are actually caused by pet proteins embedded and stored in everything — including the mattress — (not the pets themselves).

Health Risks of Using an Old or Dirty Mattress

Yes, your old mattress can be filled with allergens, chemicals, and pests that develop over time deathly impact on your health system - stay with us and read how it can destroy your body and how you can save yourself.

Allergies & Respiratory Problems

Old mattresses can become allergy central — bad news for the breathers. Dead skin cells accumulate, providing habitation for the microscopic bugs we know as dust mites.

These 10 million hidden devils can be in your bed! You breathe in these allergens with every night’s sleep…triggering morning symptoms such as stuffed noses, itchy eyes or even breathing problems.

In addition, damp mattresses welcome mold and bacteria — even germs such as E. coli. Inhaling these can degrade bedroom air quality and aggravate asthma. Pet parents have added hurdles — dog and cat dander readily attaches to mattress fibers.

That adds a new level of peril for people with allergies. And indoor pollution from these mattress problems can lead to lingering health conditions if mattresses are not cleaned or replaced every few years.

Skin Irritations

Having a dirty mattress can lead to various skin problems. Your bed silently collects sweat, saliva, and dead skin cells each night — all of which can lead to rashes and bumps. Tiny dust mites feast on these flakes and produce waste in return, causing skin irritation that can make it itchy or red.

If bedbugs take over your mattress, you’ll likely wake up with itchy welts and discover small blood stains on your sheets.

New foam mattresses aren’t necessarily healthier options, either. Some emit VOCs —volatile compounds that evaporate as your mattress warms up from body heat. These chemicals may cause redness or rashes, particularly for children who are particularly sensitive.

Even very old mattresses can pose risks, since bacteria can grow inside and lead to skin infections. A good waterproof cover and washing bedding once a week keep these problems at bay.

Exposure to Harsh Chemicals

Your mattress could actually be giving you skin problems — and you don’t even realize. Mattresses contain toxic chemicals that silently leach into the air in your room. Many common bedding materials, such as polyurethane foam and flame retardants, emit volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, while you sleep.

Children are particularly sensitive to those substances, versus adults.

Many memory foam products have been found to emit formaldehyde and benzene — pollutants in your indoor air. These chemicals occasionally cause allergies or asthma attacks in sensitive individuals.

Several types of flame retardants in mattress fabric are also linked to serious health problems. A good mattress protector can reduce your contact with those harmful substances, and help you sleep better, healthier and safer.

How to Clean and Protect Your Mattress

Even mattresses require routine care to remain sleep-safe. A clean mattress helps you steer clear of health determinants and enjoy a good night’s sleep.

Deep Cleaning Methods

A deep mattress cleaning every six months helps to get rid of the nasty stuff — dust mites, bed bugs, and other unpleasantries. 

While there are DIY methods to clean your mattress, it is best to get professional mattress cleaners because they have specialized commercial-grade equipment and eco-friendly chemicals or use the hot-water cleaning method. 

Either method helps loosen dirt, sweat, and oil stuck deep in the fibers. Cleaning teams apply sprays evenly, giving extra attention to stained spots. It is during this step that dust mites, bacteria, and allergens get eliminated, too.

Because these professional cleaners use commercial equipment, the cleaning goes deeper.

Using Mattress Protectors

After deep-cleaning your mattress, a mattress protector is your best protection against future problems. These provide a barrier against stains, dirt, dust mites, and annoying bed bugs.

A good washable and waterproof protector keeps mattresses fresher longer and adds a few extra years to their lifespan.

Most people don’t know — one mattress can harbor millions of dust mites. These tiny critters feast on flakes of dead skin and can cause allergies for many people trying to sleep. Mattress protectors capture sweat, saliva and skin flakes before they reach your mattress, simplifying cleanup.

They also capture pet dander and allergens that can disrupt indoor air quality and your sleep.

For best results, simply wash your protector frequently and replace your mattress every 7–10 years. Even a simple act like this reduces VOC emissions from memory foam mattresses.

Your bedroom should be clean and restful — not a disease hazard.

Routine Replacement of Old Mattresses

Mattress protectors help — but they won’t keep your bed alive forever. Typical mattresses last about 8 to 10 years at most. Your body has clear signals that the time has come: sagging spots, springs sticking out or pain every morning.

Plus, old mattresses get to be a pretty gnarly place. Adults perspire around 26 gallons a year while sleeping in mattress, which is a landscape associated with a whole lot of moisture.

That dampness induces the growth of germs. Older mattresses harbor upwards of 16 million bacteria colonies per square inch, according to tests. These microscopic critters can trigger allergies and skin irritation. Your bedroom furniture should facilitate your sleep health, not destroy it.

A new mattress can improve sleep quality, decrease indoor pollution and help sleep cycles become seamless. It’s easier to sleep pleasantly on a clean, flat surface with no microscopic dust mites or mold.

Deep Clean Your Mattress with Professional Cleaners

Your very bed could be making you sick — if you don’t use it right. Dust mites, bed bugs, even mold — they all love hiding out in old mattresses. They create things like allergies, sneezing, and itchy skin.

Twice a year, you need to clean your mattress thoroughly, to avoid the health hazards of a dirty mattress. Not to mention, mattresses don’t last forever—having a new one every 7-10 years does wonders for your health.

Check out the professional cleaners in your area.

FAQs

1. Can a mattress really make you sick?

Old mattresses can harbor bed bugs, dust mites, mold, and sometimes even dried urine, yikes! These may cause allergies and difficulty breathing.

2. How do you know if bed bugs are on a mattress?

Tiny blood splatters on your sheets, small black dots (bug poop), and itchy red bites on your skin. Check mattress seams — they love to hide there and make your sleep a misery with constant itching.

3. What are the dangers of flame-retardants and VOCs in mattresses?

There are flame-retardants in many mattresses, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are chemicals that enter the air you breathe inside. These chemicals — in fabrics and vinyl covers — can cause respiratory problems and, rarely, serious diseases like leukemia.

4. Is mattress mold dangerous?

Yes, mold on a mattress can be really detrimental to your health. It grows in moist locations and can cause serious respiratory problems, skin rashes and long-term illness, especially if you are allergic to it.

5. What should you look for in a healthy mattress?

Seek out “nontoxic” ones made of natural materials and low VOCs. A good-quality mattress safely occupies each stage of your sleep cycle (without the presence of potentially hazardous chemicals), so it’s easier to get better sleep—and good health.