When it comes to your shelter’s top priority, the health and safety of your guests is at the top - ensuring guests feel warm and welcome is of the utmost importance. At a shelter where guests are rotating in and out, it can be difficult to maintain a cleaning routine for your shelter’s mattresses. You are most likely busy with many responsibilities and maintaining mattress cleanliness can seem overwhelming. In order to keep shelter mattresses clean between guests, implement these three tips into your cleaning routine to keep your mattresses spotless for each guest.
1. Use Slower Months to Deep Clean Mattresses
For most homeless shelters across the country, the busiest time of year is the winter season when temperatures begin to drop and people are looking for a warm place to stay. Therefore, in the “off-season” when shelters may be less crowded and some beds aren’t being used, implement a routine to maintain mattress cleanliness.
Even if mattresses are not getting slept on, germs and bacteria can still grow. If left untouched, not only can bacteria take over, but bed bugs can also wreak havoc. Consistently checking the mattress for wet spots, pests and mold is crucial to ensuring the durability of your shelter mattresses. Wiping down and sanitizing all mattresses regularly helps prevent the spread of germs and ensure the longest possible lifetime for your shelter’s bedding.
2. Slow Down Wear & Tear by Flipping Mattresses
Although the mattresses in your facility won’t be used 24/7, flipping them often will help the mattress wear more evenly. Mold, stains, and bed bugs won’t be able to make a home out of your beds if the mattresses are turned over and cleaned on a routine basis. In doing this, you can also check for rips or tears in the vinyl that could be fixed rather than getting worse over time hiding underneath. Rips and tears that go unnoticed would lead to you having to dispose of the mattress quicker than average. Therefore, slowing down wear and tear is essential to keep your shelter running efficiently and not having to continuously buy new mattresses.
3. Use Replaceable Mattress Covers
For shelters specifically, having replaceable mattress covers will ensure your mattresses last longer. Covering your mattress with a Bed-Bug Proof cover makes it bug-free and water-resistant. To keep your mattress cover in great shape, make sure you regularly wipe it down to keep it clean.
However, even with a rigorous cleaning schedule, mattress covers will not last forever. An important part of health and safety when talking about shelter mattress care is knowing when to replace the cover. If the mattress cover looks visibly worn and used, it may be time to replace it. Externally cleaning the mattress cover will extend the life of the mattress but it too only lasts so long. With a mattress cover from American Bedding, you can simply replace the old one with a new one and the mattress is good as new. This flexible and adaptable design for your mattresses will aid in the quick process that comes with caring for people in your facility.
Overall, ensuring your shelter mattresses stay clean will allow for more residents to feel comfortable and safe. Flipping your mattresses routinely to check for wear and tear as well as using replaceable mattress covers to fight off bed bugs will make your shelter beds stand out for being helpful, healthy, and keep residents happy.
