Stains can be a real annoyance to deal with, especially if they’re created by very pigmented materials. You also might find that stains appear in some unexpected places, such as on mattresses, even though your sheets may be clean.
Home and lifestyle blogger and star of BBC’s Sort Your Life Out Iwan Carrington shared a helpful tip for amateur cleaners when dealing with unwanted stains. Fortunately you won’t have to fork out for any chemical products and instead use items you already have at home. Iwan said: “I’ve seen a hack online which I am desperate to try, and this is to remove stains from mattresses.”
In a recent video shared to TikTok, Iwan explained that the hack uses three products you’ll probably already have lying around the house. So rummage through your cupboards to find some toothpaste, baking soda, and a laundry detergent pod.
Start by making a paste with one tablespoon of toothpaste, half a cup of laundry detergent pod, and one tablespoon of baking soda, as well as some warm water in a bowl. Follow by soaking a cloth in the paste, making sure it’s saturated enough.
You can also use a flannel or an old t-shirt, too. Wrap the cloth around the base of an iron, which will need to be turned out.
Iwan then irons the mattress stain, making sure the cloth is sturdy and in place. Iron the stain and watch the stain melt away.
Iwan said: “Look at that! It is just disappearing before our eyes. Can you believe what you are seeing?”
The hack will leave the mattress looking brand new. The homemade paste works to remove stains by combining a stain-lifting detergent from the laundry detergent pod, an abrasive texture from the toothpaste and baking soda, and the steam from the iron.
The heat and steam from the helps to work the cleaning agents into the mattress’ fibres. As the laundry detergent helps clean the stain, the abrasive texture will help light it, while the baking soda absorbs any moisture.
Baking soda is a useful ingredient to use as it works as a natural deodoriser, meaning it will help remove any unwanted and lingering smells left by sweat, body oils, as well as dust which has built up on the mattress. Its neutralising and absorbent properties help to draw out moisture and other odour-causing particles from the mattress fibres.
This is the process which helps to loosen and lift stains. The Sleep Foundation also explained how you can use a baking soda paste solution to tackle urine stains on mattresses.
Daniel Noyed, Senior Product Editor for The Sleep Foundation, said: “Baking soda paste is an old go-to stain and odour fighter, and many people have the ingredients lying around. My grandmother taught me about it ages ago when my younger cousins were wetting the bed, and I still use it today for all kinds of stains. It’s that good.”
