Mildew on my bed! Help!

[beansricerevolt]

Today while cleaning, I decided its time to turn my mattress. Our mattress is on the floor with no box spring. After turning it, I noticed a bunch of mildew. This had to of occurred while we were out of town for a weekend last week. It got really hot and muggy in our garden level apartment. So much so that our floors were sweating.
Im not sure what to do! I can not afford a new bed right now.
Is there a safe way to clean and keep sleeping on it until DH and I can save some $ for a new one? Im really concerned about the safety, as my almost 3yr. old DS still sleeps with us.

[JamieCatheryn]

Well bleach can kill it and remove the stains and it's better than leaving it. Anyone else have a less yucky solution that's effective? To help kill it and remove the stain you could take it outside in the sun for a day, and you can run a dehumidifier in your house in the future, and put plastic sheet under your mattress.

[alisonsage]

ughh, we had this same problem too. i went the bleach route cuz not much else ime is that effective against mold. well, bleach and sunlight. do you have an are ouside where you can sun the mattress?

this is what we did. we sleep on a futon mattress made from recycled coke bottles (actually really really comfy!) we put the mattress outside in full sun supported on saw horses and i dabbed the mildew aeas with bleach and let them sit. i did this 2ce. it seems to have worked though last time i flipped the mattress i noticed one area coming back so i dabbed it with bleach again and left the sheets off for a few days (we were going out of town for the weekend.)

i would highly recomend getting some type of bedframe (even just a hollywood frame) to put your mattress on so it can get some air flow from underneath.

good luck mama!

[elizawill]

lysol will kill mildew. i'd saturate my mattress in it if i were you & let it dry - then put a cheap plastic matress cover on the bottom.

[marimara]

If it has mildew underneath it, it prob has mildew 'in' it too. Mattresses are supposed to breathe, you should really really really try to get a futon frame or something to put it on. When you sleep on a mattress and sweat the moisture and body heat are supposed to pass thru the mattress. I would put it outside in the hot sun and spray lysol and vinegar on it. I would also cut a discrete hole in it and check the inside for mold, you don't want to be breathing that stuff. Maybe you could find a futon frame on freecycle or craigslist for cheap for free.