Getting your bedroom ready for winter: a mattress-first checklist

First published Oct 22

• Mattress maintenance
• Sleep

Once the heat comes on and the windows stay shut, a bedroom changes. The air gets drier, dust has fewer ways out, and the bed gets more use on long, dark evenings. A few small jobs in late fall keep your mattress fresh and your bed comfortable until spring.

Turn the mattress head to foot

Most of us sleep in the same spot every night, so a mattress wears unevenly. Turning it head to foot shares that wear around and slows down dips. Check the label first: many newer mattresses are one-sided, so you turn them around but never flip them over. The weekend the clocks go back is an easy day to remember it.

Strip the bed and let it air

Before the heavy bedding comes out, take everything off the bed for a few hours. Open the curtains, crack a window if the day is mild, and go over the top and sides of the mattress with the vacuum’s upholstery tool. It costs nothing, and the bed feels fresher for it.

Wash the winter bedding first

Flannel sheets, duvets and spare blankets often spend the summer in a closet. Wash them before they go on the bed, and let them dry completely. Bedding that is folded away even a little damp can come out with spots on it.

Put a washable layer on top

A mattress protector is the simplest way to keep a mattress clean. Sweat, a spilled drink or a child’s late-night accident lands on something that goes in the washer, not on the mattress itself. In winter, when the bed is busier, wash it every week or two along with your sheets.

Keep the room comfortable, not damp

Heating dries the air, so many people run a humidifier through the winter. Go easy with it: water on the inside of the windows in the morning means the room is getting too damp. Damp air and a cold outside wall are hard on a mattress, so leave a small gap between the bed and that wall.

Don’t forget the rug by the bed

The rug beside the bed catches dust from the bedding, and in winter it also picks up salt and grit carried in from the hall. Vacuum it as often as the rest of the floor. When it needs more than a vacuum, our area rug team at Vivid Cleaning can give it a proper wash.

Deal with old marks before the duvet goes on

If the mattress has sweat marks or a spill that got past the protector, fall is a good time to sort it out. Once the duvet and extra blankets go on, it is easy to forget about it until spring. When you book, we come to you, and we tell you honestly what will lift.