Can you steam-clean a memory foam mattress?

No. Steam cleaning is the worst thing you can do to memory foam, because the heat and moisture are driven deep into the absorbent foam, where they break down its structure and grow mould inside the mattress that you cannot see or reach. Memory foam must be cleaned with minimal moisture and no added heat.

How do you get a stain or smell out of memory foam?

For stains, dab with a wrung-out cloth and a mild solution (or an enzyme cleaner for sweat and urine, which breaks the residue down), working from the outside in, then blot dry, never pour or soak. For odour, sift a light layer of bicarbonate of soda over the surface, leave it several hours, and vacuum it up. Always dry the mattress fully with a fan afterwards.

How do you dry a memory foam mattress after cleaning?

Maximise airflow: open the windows, run a fan across the surface, and use a dehumidifier if the room is humid, propping the mattress up so air reaches both faces. Never use direct heat like a hairdryer or heater, which damages the foam, and never remake the bed while it is still damp. Because foam dries slowly, only ever use the small amount of moisture you can fully dry out.

How to Clean a Memory Foam Mattress (Never Soak or Steam It)

Q: How do you clean a memory foam mattress?

Use a strictly low-moisture method: strip and wash the bedding, vacuum the whole surface and seams, spot-clean marks with a barely damp (wrung-out) cloth and a mild solution, deodorise with bicarbonate of soda left on for a few hours then vacuumed up, and dry the mattress thoroughly with airflow before remaking the bed. Never soak it or steam-clean it.

Clean a memory foam mattress with a strictly low-moisture approach: vacuum it, spot-clean marks with a barely damp cloth and a mild solution, deodorise with bicarbonate of soda, and dry it thoroughly with airflow before remaking the bed. The one rule that matters above all others is never to soak or steam-clean memory foam. The foam is highly absorbent, it holds water deep inside where it cannot dry, and trapped moisture breaks the foam down and grows mould inside the mattress where you can neither see nor reach it. Everything below follows from keeping moisture to a minimum.

Why memory foam is different from a spring mattress

A memory foam mattress is a solid, dense block of absorbent foam rather than an open structure of springs, so any liquid that reaches it is drawn deep into the core and dries extremely slowly. Heat makes it worse, since high temperatures also damage the foam's cell structure and change how it responds. That rules out the two things people reach for most: soaking a stain and steam cleaning. It does not mean memory foam cannot be cleaned, it means it must be cleaned with controlled, minimal moisture and dried properly.

The safe home method

Strip and wash all bedding first, ideally on a warm wash, so the mattress itself is the only thing left to clean.
Vacuum the whole surface with the upholstery attachment, including the sides and the seams where dust, skin cells and dust-mite matter collect. This is the single most useful step and it involves no moisture at all.
Spot-clean marks with minimal moisture. Wet a clean white cloth with a mild solution (a little clear dishwashing liquid in cool water), wring it out hard so it is only damp, and dab the stain from the outside in. Do not pour, spray or soak, and do not scrub. Blot with a second clean damp cloth to lift the solution, then blot dry.
For biological stains and odours (sweat, urine), an enzyme-based cleaner works better than soap because it breaks down the residue rather than masking it, but apply it the same way, on a wrung-out cloth, never poured on. Blot, then blot dry.
Deodorise with bicarbonate of soda. Sift a light, even layer over the surface, leave it for several hours (longer for stubborn odour), then vacuum it up thoroughly. This is a dry step and it is the safest way to freshen a foam mattress.

Drying, the step that protects the mattress

After any damp treatment, dry the mattress completely before you put bedding back on it. Maximise airflow: open the windows, stand a fan blowing across the surface, and run a dehumidifier if you have one and the room is humid. Stand or prop the mattress up if you can so air reaches both faces. Do not use direct heat, no hairdryer on a warm setting, no heater held close, and no hot sun for long, because heat damages the foam. Because memory foam dries slowly, only ever introduce the small amount of moisture you can fully dry out. Damp left inside the foam is exactly what causes mould and a broken-down, sagging mattress.

What never to do to memory foam

Never steam-clean it. The combination of heat and moisture driven into the foam is the worst thing you can do, damaging the structure and seeding internal mould.
Never soak a stain or use a lot of water, however tempting on a bad mark. The water goes in and does not come out.
Never use bleach or harsh chemicals, which degrade the foam and are unsafe to sleep on.
Never remake the bed while the mattress is still damp, which traps the moisture and guarantees mould.

Prevention and when a professional clean helps

A washable, breathable mattress protector is the best investment you can make, it takes the sweat, spills and dust-mite load that would otherwise reach the foam, and it goes in the wash. Air the mattress regularly by folding the duvet back each morning, and vacuum it every few months. For a deep sanitising clean, heavy dust-mite or allergen load, set-in biological stains or lingering odours, professional low-moisture extraction does what home methods cannot: it lifts the embedded soil and treats the mattress with controlled moisture that is immediately extracted, so the foam is left only lightly damp and dries fast. This is very different from the over-wetting and steam that damage memory foam. For the general method and frequency, see how to clean a mattress and how often to deep-clean a mattress, and for allergy households, how to get rid of dust mites in a mattress.

To have a memory foam mattress professionally cleaned and sanitised with a safe low-moisture method, see our mattress cleaning service or request a quote.