The area under your matres is easy to forget, but it is notorious for retaining moisture and growing mold. Breathing in dampness and mold is bad for your lungs, so you must identify the moisture issue and deal with it ASAP.
Not every home will have problems with mattress moisture, but if you are one of the unlucky ones, there are a few things you can do to keep dampness at bay.
Adding another element to the to-do list of cleaning tasks may seem frustrating, but it will pay off in the long run.
Mattresses are expensive, and if you leave yours to become damp and moldy, it may be impossible to recover.
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Being proactive is the best solution if you’re struggling with moisture levels underneath your mattress:
- Make sure your bed frame allows for adequate ventilation.
- Increase ventilation by opening windows or turning on fans.
- Purchase and use dehumidifiers in the space to remove excess moisture.
- Wipe and check the mattress regularly to ensure you successfully keep on top of the moisture levels.
Why is Moisture a Problem Under my Mattress?
Moisture accumulation under a mattress is a problem because it can lead to mold growth. Mold, as we all know, is never a good thing.
Mold releases allergens into the air and can cause serious health issues. Additionally, dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments and will breed if your mattress is moist.
It’s difficult to remove mold from a mattress; therefore, it’s much better to prevent it.
Why is the Underside of my Mattress Moist?
Different environments will breed different levels of moisture. For example, those that live in RVs or vans will experience more issues with damp mattresses.
Unlike standard beds at home with box springs underneath that provide ventilation, van conversions and RVs usually don’t have this.
Instead, the mattress may be on a flat surface with no ventilation, and dampness and mold may grow.
Whereas homes in humid environments are more likely to have issues with moisture. However, regardless of the causes, the steps to fix moisture on a mattress are similar.
How to Prevent Moisture Under Mattress
There are several ways to help reduce moisture accumulation on the underside of your mattress. The two main elements to remember are that you need to reduce the humidity and increase airflow to the mattress.
Try out these methods to reduce moisture under the mattress:
Reduce Humidity
Okay, we aren’t asking you to change the air composition; I know that is impossible. However, some of us live in humid climates, and this brings additional challenges.
Conversely, if you live in a small, less insulated home, RV, or van, the humidity may be disproportionately high inside your home.
A dehumidifier is an excellent way to reduce the moisture levels of a bedroom. Dehumidifiers work by sucking water from the air and collecting it inside their tank.
The moisture it collects would otherwise get trapped in areas in your room, such as the mattress.
The size of the dehumidifier will depend on the size of your room. If you’re only trying to reduce the moisture levels of a small bedroom, a smaller dehumidifier may be sufficient.
Whereas, if you’re trying to tackle the entire home, a larger and more expensive model may be required.
Follow this link to check out a small dehumidifier, 35 ounces:
Medium-sized homes can use a 95 ounce dehumidifier. Check out the link below:
Large homes could use this 50-pint or 950 ounce dehumidifier:
Increase airflow to the mattress
Airflow is essential in preventing mold growth in any damp area. Mold and condensation require heat and stagnant air to form; therefore, creating airflow will prevent this.
Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to add airflow into a bedroom. There are a few ways you can do this:
Increase natural airflow
This is the easier and cheapest option to add ventilation to the mattress. Open some windows and create a thorough draft into the bedroom to create air movement. Obviously, depending on the layout of your home, this may be a challenge.
Additionally, this may not be an option if you live on the ground floor and feel unsafe opening windows. Keep reading to find another solution.
Create artificial airflow
Turning on a fan can add just enough airflow to keep moisture accumulation at bay. Point the fan at the mattress, and even turn on the oscillating function.
You don’t need to keep the fans on all day, every day, but having them on for a couple of hours per day might do the trick.
Alternatively, if you have a built-in ceiling fan, this could work too.
Check out the link below to buy a large floor fan:
Ventilation space beneath the mattress
Depending on your bed frame, the mattress may have little ventilation space underneath it. For example, your bed is on a flat sheet of plywood instead of slats.
Placing your mattress on spaced-out slats will provide enough ventilation to keep mold at bay.
Many people undertaking a van conversion have faced this problem. However, it’s an easy fix. Screw down a few strong planks of wood with a few inches of space between them, and place the mattress on top.
Unfortunately, many people will place down an entire sheet of plywood for their mattress to sit on top of and need to consider the issue of moisture.
Place An Absorbent Sheet Under the Mattress
Adding an absorbent layer underneath your mattress is a nifty, cheap trick to avoid DIYing or buying a new slatted bed frame base.
You could use commercially produced sheets designed for this purpose or cotton flannels or towels.
However, one issue to consider with this solution is that it requires a change-over of the sheets.
Adding in sheets and leaving them there for extended periods will only worsen things if they are not regularly changed. So make sure to change the sheets every few days (depending on the dampness level).
Follow the link below to buy some absorbent mattress sheets:
Or check out this link for a washable underpad:
Keep the Area Dry
This advice is more relevant for those with plastic outer layer mattresses, such as air mattresses or water beds. These mattress types tend to collect more condensation than those made of foam or fabric.
It’s easy to solve this by simply lifting the mattress and wiping the base and the mattress with a clean, dry cloth.
If you have a water bed, you may struggle to lift the mattress to access it. You may be better off placing one of the larger, absorbent pads beneath it and changing it once a week.
Check it Regularly
Keeping on top of mattress moisture is easier than trying to remove mold from a neglected mattress.
So add mattress maintenance to your routine to figure out how often it needs to be wiped and flipped or how regularly you need to change the absorbent pads.
To Summarize
Condensation can build up beneath mattresses and cause expensive problems in the long run. Some people will have more issues with mattress moisture than others, depending on your bed frame, humidity levels, and the amount of air circulation in the space.
Fortunately, you can do a few things to reduce the moisture levels under the mattress and prevent mold growth. Encourage airflow with open windows or fans, wipe underneath the bed, use a dehumidifier, and increase ventilation in the area.
Last update on 2023-09-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
