Bedroom cleaning is mostly about the surfaces people spend time close to — bedding, flooring, and the surfaces dust settles on in a quiet room.
01Mattress
A mattress should be vacuumed with an upholstery attachment monthly — the surface accumulates dust mites, dead skin, and dust regardless of how clean the bedding is above it. For stains, a solution of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and baking soda applied with a cloth, blotted (not rubbed), and dried with a fan addresses most biological stains. Rotate the mattress 180 degrees every 6 months. Flip if it's double-sided.
02Bedding
Sheets and pillowcases should be washed weekly in hot water. Pillows — the actual pillows, not the cases — should be washed every 3–6 months. Most synthetic and down pillows are machine washable on a gentle cycle. Dry thoroughly at low heat with dryer balls or tennis balls to prevent clumping. Comforters follow the same cycle, or take them to a laundromat with a large-capacity machine.
03Flooring
Bedroom flooring accumulates fine dust and allergens that aren't visible until the light catches them at an angle. Vacuum or mop weekly. Under the bed specifically — the area that gets vacuumed least often — accumulates dust in quantities that affect air quality in the room. Move the bed quarterly to clean the floor beneath.
04Window treatments
Curtains absorb dust, allergens, and odors. Machine-wash or have cleaned annually, or more frequently in rooms occupied by people with allergies. Blinds are cleaned with a damp microfiber cloth drawn along each slat. Vertical blinds can be unclipped and machine-washed on a gentle cycle.
Marcus Webb is a general contractor and home maintenance writer based in Columbus, Ohio. He writes about the repairs and installs that come up every year in every house — the practical, repeating work that keeps a home livable.