I got home from a trip to discover a ceiling leak that had deeply soaked my latex mattress. It had been dripping on a bottom corner of it so much that the lower ~30% of it was completely soaked through, as was the bedframe and rug below it because it had soaked through & down so much.
I put it outside in southern California dry air for 48 hours and it seemed dry, so I brought it back inā¦ but after a night discovered it was still damp on the bottom. So I put it up on its side in a room with all windows open and fans blowing for a week. It now seems completely dry, and has not been visibly damp on any side since.
But most of my friends and family insist that it must surely have mold in it, and need to be thrown out. So I have two questions:
Is there any way to thoroughly clean a latex mattress? Iām finding a lot of info about spot cleaning, but it sounds like steam cleaning or any sort of more intensive care isnāt good for latex
Any chance that it might not have molded? Or that we can tell if it is moldy? Perhaps by unzipping and reaching into the inner āfleshā of the latex?
I love this mattress and hope it hasnāt reached its end!
Welcome back to our Mattress Forum all the way from 2013!
[quote] 1. Is there any way to thoroughly clean a latex mattress? Iām finding a lot of info about spot cleaning, but it sounds like steam cleaning or any sort of more intensive care isnāt good for latex
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As latex is an open-cell foam, when it is submerged or exposed to water, the fluid (along with some particles and dirt residue) can penetrate more deeply into the layers and be trapped there for a while before it has a chance to evaporate. I recently had my mattresses partially submerged in water during a flood. In my case, I chose to dispose of the latex layers rather than attempt to squeeze and dry them. In your case, Iād consider unzipping the cover and inspecting each layer.
Washing the cover would be the first step, but youād want to follow the manufacturersā instructions for cleaning it. I am not sure if itās worth going as far as washing each individual latex slab in a tub under running water as they do in a manufacturing plant to sanitize and remove any residues. Some people used a very mild detergent but Iād be concerned about embedding any chemicals contained in the detergent within the foam cells. Then once again youād need to dry the layers very well to avoid any mold and bacterial growth. As youāve experienced, it is quite difficult to dry out all the small inaccessible areas and if any amount of moisture remains lingering inside the cavities, some mold may start developing before all latex dries up. Especially in more humid environments, Iād use a dehumidifier to dry the latex and to extract the āhiddenā pockets of water.
Iāve heard of people treating the latex with baking soda for half an hour or so and then vacuuming it with care to avoid tearing the latex. It would be better to use the less invasive methods of cleaning (airing out outside, baking soda, washing the cover) before attempting washing and drying.
Ventilating the mattress in a dry room for a week with circulating the air was a good call. If you chose to take the latex layers out and ventilate them individually, the only caution Iād have is to avoid exposing the layers to direct sunlight, fluorescent lighting, and ozone which will oxidize and damage the latex.
No one can tell this for sure but here are some things that can help you with your decision:
In the latex production process for either Dunlop or Talalay, one of the final steps after vulcanizing the foam is to wash the latex slab and then dry it. Latex is an open-cell foam, the most breathable of all types of foams, and naturally mold resistant. If the latex was dried soon and thoroughly enough after the water soaking through, the chances are that fungi wonāt have the right conditions to grow. Mold takes some organic residues and humidity to develop. To be on the safe side you may consider buying a kit to test for any level of mold development. See this other post that talks about mold growth and latex cleaning
Phoenix
Thank you for the (as always) valuable info, Phoenix! Iāve slept so soundly on this mattress for almost 9 years now thanks to the extensive information on this site that proved extremely useful! Iāve always pointed others here when theyāre in search of mattress knowledge too, and I was glad to see that when I needed help it was still right here. Truly a rare & precious thing on the internet!
I was afraid to wash the cover because Iāve had bad experiences machine washing covers for foam couches, but maybe Iāll give it a gentle run through & air dry. Unfortunately I havenāt been able to find any manufacturer instructions.
When you describe slats of latex, I think that mine must be a different design. From underneath it looks like itās only shredded latex, tightly packed, in sort of a camouflage pattern. I donāt think I would be able to remove these to clean them and ever get them back into the correct packed shape of the mattress. So I think Iāll try to find a mold test, and I guess pull out a few bits of latex to try and test? Unfortunately itās all very colorful so itād probably be impossible to visually identify one way or the other.
I suppose I mainly have to hope that the dry California air and latexā natural properties fought off any growth. But the fact that parts were certainly damp for a week+, and it being filthy rain water that filtered through my ceilingā¦ maybe I should just say goodbye & find a replacement. Tough decision!
Tough decision indeed! A mold kit would be the best way to make sure that no growth took over the insides of your mattress. Youād need to close the doors and windows when you test and place weight and lift it several times in the affected area to get the air moving in and out like from an accordion to make sure you have a good āairā sample for testing
What you may be seeing underneath is probably a stabilization layer of some sort. Especially if the mattress layers are glued I would not consider a running water treatment. Iāve never tried to wash latex so itās hard for me to guess what other snags you may run into. The general consensus is that it is quite involved and risky if any moisture is trapped in the open cell cavities.
Iād be curious to learn about any follow-ups that you may have.
Phoenix