# Landlord looking for mattress cleaning advice.



## Draigean (16 Aug 2012)

I'm about to rent out my house.  The mattress of the master bedroom is a 5  year old Sealy, so it's got a good few years left in it.
However, the surface has stains.
(If this sounds disgusting to you, I advise that you never go on holidays, and if you do, don't look under the bedsheets.  Compare two people in five years with five people in two weeks...).

Have any posters/readers successfully removed such stains?  If so, what product did you use?
I've googled it, but there is more opinion than advice, and no actual products mentioned, just 'detergent', etc.  I'm thinking mild Domestos?

Thanks.


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## Bronte (16 Aug 2012)

I don't know how you can clean it, but I supply mattress covers for my rented properties.


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## Marigold77 (16 Aug 2012)

Draigean said:


> I'm about to rent out my house. The mattress of the master bedroom is a 5 year old Sealy, so it's got a good few years left in it.
> However, the surface has stains, mainly urine I assume.
> (If this sounds disgusting to you, I advise that you never go on holidays, and if you do, don't look under the bedsheets. Compare two people in five years with five people in two weeks...).
> 
> ...


 

May not be urine; mine is stained as I have twice spilled  coffee in bed.. looks much the same.

Bleach will help but there will usually be a mark still, so covers are the real answer.


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## sulo (16 Aug 2012)

Keeping your Sealy bedding clean is simple with the use of a protective mattress pad. Vacuuming is the only recommended cleaning method. If you must clean a stain, use mild soap with cold water and apply lightly! Don’t ever soak a mattress or foundation, and don't use dry cleaning fluid of any type on your mattress—these chemicals could damage some of the comfort and upholstery materials.


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## Draigean (16 Aug 2012)

Bronte said:


> I don't know how you can clean it, but I supply mattress covers for my rented properties.



I've had a mattress cover on it since I've had the mattress, and any tenant can easily look under any new one.


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## Draigean (16 Aug 2012)

sulo said:


> Keeping your Sealy bedding clean is simple with the use of a protective mattress pad.



I've had a mattress cover on it since I've had the mattress.  I've never heard of a "protective mattress pad" but this sounds like a case of shwhch?


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## truthseeker (16 Aug 2012)

A new mattress?

If I were a prospective tenant and I viewed a place with a mattress that was stained with urine or smelled of household bleach, you can be sure Id get out of there and never look back. Its pretty disgusting to suggest that its acceptable to rent a property with a urine stained mattress.

If you use bleach on it it could easily damage someones skin too.

I see youve posted this over on boards.ie as well where people are being a bit more vocal about how gross it is to knowingly provide a urine stained mattress in a rental.


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## delgirl (16 Aug 2012)

truthseeker said:


> A new mattress?
> 
> If I were a prospective tenant and I viewed a place with a mattress that was stained with urine or smelled of household bleach, you can be sure Id get out of there and never look back. Its pretty disgusting to suggest that its acceptable to rent a property with a urine stained mattress.


I'd have to agree with you and I'm a Landlord.

I would never leave a stained mattress for new tenants. I cover my mattresses with a waterproof protector and a soft protection on top of it so it's doesn't rustle when you move in bed.

When tenants move in, I tell them they can remove the soft cover to wash it and I provide a second one to facilitate this, but I specifically tell them not to remove the waterproof cover.

If they do, and the matress is stained when they leave, the cost of a new mattress will be deducted from their deposit.

Change the matress and do the above.


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## TreeTiger (17 Aug 2012)

Oh yuck!  Have to say I'd far prefer a new cheap mattress than a more expensive one containing the previous occupant's waste bodily fluids!

A young relative is currently looking to rent, I must tell him to check the mattress in case he's unfortunate enough to find the OP's property or that of a similiar-minded landlord.


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## Marigold77 (17 Aug 2012)

Easy solution.

Take the stained mattress home with you to sleep on and put your ( presumably clean) mattress in the rental.

After all, you surely should not be accepting money for a place or furniture you would not live in yourself. 

Although from some of the places we have rented or rejected one would wonder.


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## truthseeker (17 Aug 2012)

Marigold77 said:


> Take the stained mattress home with you to sleep on and put your ( presumably clean) mattress in the rental.



It IS the OPs mattress, the original post says that the OP is about to rent out their own house. Presumably thats how he/she knows its urine.



Draigean said:


> I'm about to rent out my house.  The mattress of the master bedroom is a 5  year old Sealy, so it's got a good few years left in it.
> However, the surface has stains, mainly urine I assume.


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## Bronte (17 Aug 2012)

Further to this thread, what do the parents of children who have urinated on the mattress do with the mattress?


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## Marigold77 (17 Aug 2012)

truthseeker said:


> It IS the OPs mattress, the original post says that the OP is about to rent out their own house. Presumably thats how he/she knows its urine.


 
Oh yukk.. that changes everything!  REALLY! 

Thank you; I had not read it properly. 

New mattress needed for tenants and yes, still take the dirty one to wherever you are living!


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## hfp (17 Aug 2012)

Have you investigated getting the mattress steam cleaned?  I'm also confused as to why you would assume the mattress is urine stained?  If you were aware of any 'accidents' I would like to think these would have been dealt with at the time?!!  It seem much more likely that the stains are due to sweat, given adults are rumored to shed a litre a night and without a mattress protector your mattress wouldn't stand a chance!! still very unpleasant for any prospective tenant though and would definitely recommend changing it, but if you're determined not to change the mattress have you tried flipping it over?


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## Spear (17 Aug 2012)

It has always amazed me that only in Ireland houses come fully furnished including mattress. Tenants really should provide their own or landlord should provide a new one with each change of tenancy.


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## Marigold77 (18 Aug 2012)

A clever needlewoman could of course sew a top onto any mattress.

Any germs etc will be dead after all by now.

But it is tacky, very tacky indeed.

I have to say I did not check too closely when I came here. After 18 hours on the road I just covered the mattress, made the bed and crashed.

Since then there is certainly a stain from my coffee dropping episode.


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## Draigean (18 Aug 2012)

You know what... I was doing some ironing the other night and I noticed similar stains on the ironing board.  And I've never slept on the ironing board!!!

So, I guess my presumption was wrong, those stains could be anything at all.

So, any other posters able to stay on-topic and answer my question, i.e. "...what product did you use?"


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## Draigean (18 Aug 2012)

To throw a bit of reality into this situation...

If you _Bing_ "how to remove stains from a ", mattress is the third predictive fill... after toilet and bathtub.


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## serotoninsid (18 Aug 2012)

Draigean said:


> To throw a bit of reality into this situation...
> 
> If you _Bing_ "how to remove stains from a ", mattress is the third predictive fill... after toilet and bathtub.


No.1 on google if that helps your situation ;-)


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## JohnJay (18 Aug 2012)

surely a 5 year old mattress in a rental property is now "end of life"

Jeez - I have the creeps now, just thinking of all the dodgy places I rented over 15 years in Dublin. I'm NEVER gonna rent again!


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## Knuttell (18 Aug 2012)

JohnJay said:


> Jeez - I have the creeps now, just thinking of all the dodgy places I rented over 15 years in Dublin. I'm NEVER gonna rent again!



If you have ever stayed in a Hotel I can guarantee you the mattress in most of they could tell you a few stories...Horror stories!!

The first thing I do on checking in is removing the bedspread and put it to one side,I remember seeing a programme where they ran a UV light over one of them,it was covered in ahem bodily fluids not discernible to the eye...

I would not be replacing mattresses after each tenancy.


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## JohnJay (18 Aug 2012)

Knuttell said:


> If you have ever stayed in a Hotel I can guarantee you the mattress in most of they could tell you a few stories...Horror stories!!



Oh, I know. I have seen a few dodgy things in hotels I have stayed in too, and not all cheap hotels either.

Still though, at least in a hotel its only for a night or two, and you know to have a good wash the next morning! 

As for the bed-spread in hotels - I always move it to the corner, far, far away from the bed!


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## truthseeker (19 Aug 2012)

Knuttell said:


> I would not be replacing mattresses after each tenancy.



No, but I wouldnt be starting life as a landlord, renting out my own house, with a 5 year old urine stained mattress.

If someone cant even get the basics in place starting out as a landlord, what are they going to be like later on when they need to replace things, maintain the property?

Im finding it difficult to believe that this thread isnt a troll tbh.


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## Knuttell (19 Aug 2012)

truthseeker said:


> No, but I wouldnt be starting life as a landlord, renting out my own house, with a 5 year old urine stained mattress.
> 
> If someone cant even get the basics in place starting out as a landlord, what are they going to be like later on when they need to replace things, maintain the property?



Point well made.


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## Marigold77 (19 Aug 2012)

truthseeker said:


> No, but I wouldnt be starting life as a landlord, renting out my own house, with a 5 year old urine stained mattress.
> 
> If someone cant even get the basics in place starting out as a landlord, what are they going to be like later on when they need to replace things, maintain the property?
> 
> Im finding it difficult to believe that this thread isnt a troll tbh.


 
This being Ireland; what do you expect...

 One rental we realised pretty soon that the toilet  was not attached to the floor.. flood thus... ll brought in a plumber who said the floor was too wet for him to fix it and we never saw him again.. hovered the rest of the time there..


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## norejon (19 Aug 2012)

Are waterproof matress protectors easy to buy ,, have never seen them


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## Alexmartin (19 Aug 2012)

If a landlord supplies a mattress in perfect condition without stains, then it should be returned in good condition with no stains.  Sweat and **** in a bed are not normal wear and tear.  They are avoidable.
If there is no mattress protector on the mattress buy one yourself and put it on.  If not, dont sweat.


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## terrysgirl33 (20 Aug 2012)

norejon said:


> Are waterproof matress protectors easy to buy ,, have never seen them




They are available in Dunnes Stores at least.  I bought them when the kids were toilet training, have them on all the beds in the house now.  They are probably available elsewhere, but I didn't look once I found what I needed.

ETA, I think we had one when renting too.


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## delgirl (20 Aug 2012)

norejon said:


> Are waterproof matress protectors easy to buy ,, have never seen them


Yes, available in Dunnes.

They're a little bit 'noisy' so it's best to put a quilted matress protector on top then you can't hear the waterproof one rustling as you move.


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