One of the best collaborations we’ve had to date has been with a company called Bed Bug Supply. They sell the best bed bug covers on the market, made by Safe Rest. Because we’ve recommended their mattress encasements for a while, many of our readers have bought their encasements (or similar bed-bug-proof encasements).
Now, a lot of you are asking questions regarding how to clean the Bed Bug Supply’s cover and other bedbug-proof mattress covers.
In this post, we’re going to answer all those questions! We’ll see what you can and can’t do, and how to clean bed bug covers the right way.
TL;DR
Yes, all bed bug mattress covers can be washed in cold or lukewarm water, and only some can be washed at high heat. None of them can be washed with bleach or fabric softener. And they can’t be dry cleaned ore to ironed.
This is what we mean with “Bed Bug Mattress cover”
Before we answer all the questions you might have, let me specify what I mean when I say “Bed bug mattress cover” (or encasement). The reason why I have to do this is that many of our readers don’t know the difference between a mattress protector and a mattress cover (or encasement).
And it’s quite important!
Mattress covers are completely sealed, whereas mattress protectors aren’t. In most cases, it’s easy to spot the difference because mattress protectors are just like a sheet that you put on top of the mattress. They’re easy to take on and off. Mattress covers, on the other hand, cover the mattress from top to bottom and so they’re harder to put on and take off.
But this isn’t always the case! There’re other mattress protectors that look like a mattress cover because they cover the mattress completely (top and bottom). But that doesn’t make them bed bug covers, either because they aren’t completely sealed, or because bed bugs can bite through the fabric. Yes… they really do that! Creepy!
Mattress bed bug covers are completely sealed and bed bugs can’t bite through their fabric. That’s why knowing how to clean bed bug mattress covers is important. You don’t want it to lose those qualities!
If you want to know if you have a bed bug mattress cover simply look for the “bed bug proof” sign on the label. Bed bug covers are more expensive, but their quality is also a lot better.
Bed bug Mattress Cover Questions
Let’s get started with the most common questions we get!
– Can you wash a bed bug mattress cover?
Yes! But you need to do it right.
There are many mattress encasements that can only be washed on cold or lukewarm water. The reason is that if the encasement reaches a certain temperature, the seal could potentially break.
The Bed Bug Supply’s mattress covers are an exception to this rule. These covers can be washed like the rest of your bedding at 200º Fahrenheit (95º Celsius). Check your washing machine settings, but that’s usually reached by the medium or high heat setting on most machines.
The reason why some encasements can handle higher temperatures is that the seal is protected in a way that other encasements aren’t. Bed Bug Supply‘s mattress covers achieve this by sewing very solid seams and a secure zipper system:
Check Price on Bed Bug Supply
– Can you iron a bed bug mattress cover?
No! Never. And there’s no exception to this rule that I’m aware of.
Ironing a bed bug mattress cover could potentially melt the waterproof membrane layer. And it loses a lot of the purpose if they aren’t waterproof.
– Can you dry clean a bed bug-mattress-cover?
No! Never. For the same reasons we just mentioned. Dry Cleaning uses temperatures that are so high that not even Bed Bug Supply‘s covers can stand that heat.
– How often should you clean your bed bug mattress cover?
A lot of people think that they don’t need to clean their mattress cover. But it really does get dirty and body fluids could go straight through your sheets to the cover.
That’s why I recommend cleaning the mattress cover once a month. Unless you suffer from allergies (dust, pollen, pet, etc), in which case I would recommend you clean it every other week so you can breathe more comfortably. That is exactly what I do because I suffer from allergies myself.
Mattress Cover
Step 1. Take the cover off
The first step is to remove the cover. In order to do that you might need some help. Follow the following instructions and you should be able to do it in less than 2 minutes:
Step 2. Set your washer
Read the cover’s manual to see what temperature it should be cleaned at. It’s advisable not to clean the cover with anything else, but the cover (or covers, if you have more than one) by themselves.
CAUTION!
Do not use bleach, detergents that contain bleach or fabric softener. It could (and probably will) ruin the cover.
Step 3. Dry it off
I would advise you to let the cover dry by itself. If you use any sort of heat, you could melt the vinyl backing.
Best Bed bug Mattress Cover
There are many products in the market that are supposed to help against bed bugs. Some of them do, but many don’t. And buying the right product can be the difference between being bitten and not being bitten. And that goes for your loved ones and pets too.
As we’ve mentioned before, Bed Bug Supply sells a fantastic Mattress Encasement that’s specifically designed to prevent bed bugs. If you’re going to buy a mattress encasement, that’s the one I would go for. It offers a full 10-year warranty, so you simply can’t go wrong with it:
However, buying a bed bug cover isn’t enough to stop being bitten. It will help protect your mattress (if it’s new) or prevent the bed bugs from coming out to bite you. But if you have bed bugs living in your mattress, chances are, you have bed bugs hiding many other places too: furniture, on corner walls, inside walls, closet, etc.
In order to prevent being bitten by those bed bugs that aren’t living inside your mattress, I would recommend that you clean your sheets with a Bed Bug Detergent. There aren’t many bed bug detergents out there, and this one is by far the best we’ve ever tested:
It’s made by a company called My Cleaning products, and this is actually one of their all-time best-sellers.
If you protect your bed with the cover and wash your sheets with the bed bug repellent detergent, you’ll see a huge difference!
Conclusion
And that’s it! I hope you found this post useful.
And here are a couple of posts that you might find useful too!
What does Bed Bug Poop look like? and How to Clean it?
Having bed bugs is very annoying for many reasons! And their poop is one of them. Learn what it looks like, how to clean it and how to prevent it from appearing again!
Is that Bed Bug Smell? This is What You Have to do.
Does it smell weird and you don’t know what it might be? It could be bed bugs! Learn what these tiny creatures smell like and how to get rid of them.
Are These Carpet Beetles or Bed Bugs? 5 Main Differences
Did you find a bug in your house and don’t know what it is? This guide (with pictures!) will help you identify if it’s a bed bug or a carpet beetle. Easy! And what to do next to get rid of them!