Use an eco-friendly laundry detergent when washing your Organic Mattress Pad Protector. Water is not harmful to natural materials, but strong solvents are not recommended. Do not use bleach. Your mattress pad protector should be line-dried thoroughly before putting it on your mattress.
Line Dry — Do Not Tumble Dry
This product should be hung to dry. Do not tumble dry, which may cause excessive wool shrinkage inside. Once it fully dries, you can put your mattress pad protector back on your mattress. Give it a good shake before you put it on to help fluff it back up.
Tough Stains
Pre-treat tough stains before laundering. For challenging stains, we highly recommend natural cleaning options. Here are a few ways to treat your Mattress Pad Protector without harsh commercial cleaners or stain treatments.
Use your eco-friendly laundry detergent to pre-treat most stains. Alternatively, eco-friendly dish soap works great to pre-treat greasy stains.
Combine baking soda with a bit of water (1 part baking soda, ½ part water) to create a paste to scrub out stains. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to this paste if you like a little fragrance. An old toothbrush works great to scrub the stain lightly.
Hydrogen peroxide is a great option to remove blood. Pour as little as you can to get the bubbling action.
If you are spot-treating only and do not plan to wash it in the washing machine, be sure to dry the area thoroughly (a hair dryer on low works great).
Mold
When subjected to prolonged moisture, any natural fiber is a candidate for mold. High humidity, temperatures, darkness, and stagnant air can all contribute. Should this occur, here's how to treat it. Washing your Mattress Pad Protector in hot water (for mold only) is generally best. Hot water kills mold more effectively than cold water and better removes mold spores and allergens, too.
When washing your mattress pad protector with a mold-killing solution, it's best to wash it in your machine for at least two complete cycles. We recommend using borax or vinegar to help kill the mold. Borax is a natural mold killer that does not emit toxic fumes. To kill mold on borax fabrics, you can purchase borax laundry detergent or add borax powder to your washing machine. Mix the borax with hot water before adding it to your washing machine to ensure it is completely dissolved.
Add your linens and laundry detergent to the washing machine.
Dissolve half a cup of borax in hot water.
Once the washing machine has filled up, add the borax that you dissolved in hot water.
Let the washing machine run through like normal.
Vinegar is another option. It kills 82% of mold species and can usually kill the mold growing on fabrics. Vinegar will also remove the moldy smell from fabrics. You can soak your Mattress Pad Protector in a vinegar solution and/or add vinegar to your washing machine.
To soak, put your Mattress Pad Protector in a bucket, add 1-2 cups of vinegar, and fill it with water; soak for about an hour.
Then put your Mattress Pad Protector in the washing machine along with detergent and let the machine fill with water.
Add about a cup or two of vinegar to your washing machine.
Let the washing machine run through its cycle as usual.
After washing it, hang it on a clothesline in the sun—the heat from the sun and the sun's ultraviolet light help to kill mold. The sun has a natural bleaching effect that can also help to fade mold stains.