How to clean a mattress?

[Very Snoofly]

My daughter had an explodo-diarrhea diaper while sleeping in our bed. It soaked through the sheet, through the mattress pad, and onto the mattress. I wasn't home at the time; all my husband did was clean up the child and flee the scene. So the yuck sat on the bed for about eight hours.

I sprayed the mattress with some Nature's Miracle enzyme stuff (which I use for pet accidents), and then tried to "vacuum" with my hand-held Bissell spot-lifter (it sucks up wet stuff as well as dry...also used for pet accidents). Most of the smell is gone from the spot but there is still a very visible stain on the mattress.

It grosses me out to be sleeping on a poop stain, even though it's been treated. Is there anything else I can do? Should I just flip the mattress over and try to forget about it? (And, obviously, get some kind of waterproof pad to prevent future accidents like this!)

By the way, this is a plain-jane conventional mattress.

Any suggestions appreciated!

[NoHiddenFees]

When the weather's amenable, I'd sun it. It's a good practice to sun mattresses once or twice a year anyway. Same principle as diapers: UV rays kill bacteria and the sun helps get rid of stains.

[Very Snoofly]

Thanks! Now I'll just have to convince my husband that we need to drag the mattress down the stairs and into the yard...

[AahRee]

My DD just had a violent puking episode in our bed, which (of course) was sans mattress pad at the time. So, thank you both for the tips. I was frantically looking around the house for something to clean it up with, and never even considered the carpet stuff that we use when the dog has an accident. I'll give that a try. Does it matter, though, that the mattress is a pillow-top? I am worried that the stink is going to soak into the soft stuff and stay there forever...

[rainsmom]

Sunning is definetly the way to go.

Also, BAc Out is amazing at getting out stains and odors. I use it on my covers and you can literally see the stain disappear. Its great on any kind of natural stain......body emissions being a natural stain. I had to use this recently when dd peed on the couch. Left NO stains or even a ring!

You can put it in a spray bottle and spray before setting out in the sun. Also, baking powder soaks up stains and odors too, for next time. You can vacuum up when it dries.......