This is the filthiest spot in your bedroom — and you don’t even notice: ‘Breeding ground’

It’s where you get down and dirty.

A bedroom might be a sanctuary from the outside world, but it’s also a cesspool for germs — even when it’s seemingly scrubbed spotless.

Professional cleaners are now claiming that a person’s mattress is the filthiest item they own.

“Most people wouldn’t think about this, but the dirtiest spot in a bedroom can often be the mattress,” Kathy Turley from cleaning service Home Clean Heroes told lifestyle blog Apartment Therapy. “It’s a breeding ground for dust mites, bacteria, and dead skin cells. Over time, these can cause allergies, asthma, and other health problems.”

Cleaners are claiming that a person’s mattress is the filthiest item they own. fizkes – stock.adobe.com

Turley was one of three pros interviewed by Apartment Therapy who deemed mattresses a veritable bacterial bouillabaisse.

In fact, a recent study by Ohio State University found that up to a million dust mites, known for causing pesky respiratory issues and unsightly skin conditions, can move around a mattress at any given time.

While regularly washing sheets and pillowcases can help people feel their sleep space is clean, it’s not necessarily foolproof.

Fortunately, Turley outlined simple ways to maintain a mattress so it’s not such a magnet for microbes.

The first step, per the mopping maven, is to strip off all the sheets, skirts, and mattress protectors, and then move it off the wall for a thorough cleaning. This will grant the homeowner “full access to areas not just around the bed” but also the “part of the mattress that is closest to the wall,” she explained

With the preliminary steps out of the way, the homeowner can then clean the mattress — even if it doesn’t feature any visible stains

If your mattress does feature some unsightly splotches, some more heavy-duty chemicals may be required. Getty Images

“You can sprinkle baking soda all over your mattress and let it sit for up to 30 minutes to absorb odors and moisture before vacuuming it,” she said.

But if your mattress does feature some unsightly splotches, some more heavy-duty chemicals may be required.

Taylor Riley, cofounder of Impact Cleaning Professionals, recommends using tools like the Bissell Little Green ProHeat to scour away any hard-to-get-out stains.

Of course, prevention is the best defense, per Riley, who advises using a mattress protector and rotating your mattress every three to six months to help “ensure even wear and reduce dirt accumulation in specific areas.”

In general, experts recommend cleaning one’s mattress at least once a month.

Cleaning other parts of the bedroom also helps maintain one’s bed pad.

Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO of AspenClean, claimed that one culprit behind the mattress grime is the oft-neglected baseboard.

“Regularly dusting your baseboards, ideally on a weekly basis, is crucial to keeping your bed clean,” she said. “To enhance your baseboard cleaning, you can use an all-purpose cleaner and microfiber cloth. For hard-to-reach areas, you can use a dry brush with stiff bristles first to dislodge the dust before wiping it away.”

Meanwhile, Turley advised washing bedding in hot water, dusting night stands and sweeping and mopping under the bed to mitigate mattress-infiltrating dust.