Your mattress is exposed to a lot: sweat, drool, shed skin flakes, hair and skin oil, and various bodily fluids. Add the allergens, dust, mites, indoor pollution, and pet dander found in most homes, and your mattress is ripe for a cleaning.

Not only is your mattress an expensive purchase, but it also plays an important role in keeping you healthy, both mentally and physically. Despite that, most people show their mattress little love, never giving it a proper cleaning. But just as you wash your sheets on a regular basis, you need to clean your mattress, although fortunately, not nearly as often.

When it is mattress-cleaning time, it's not necessary to rely on strong chemicals or expensive commercial cleaning products. While it is very important to keep the space where you spend a third of your life clean and fresh, you don't have to surround yourself with potentially irritating fragrances, cleaners, or other harsh chemicals. You can use natural methods and simple ingredients you probably already have around the house to freshen and clean your mattress, remove stains, and leave your sleeping space pleasantly scented and ready for dream time.