# Getting someone else's body odor out of a mattress **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578 "2008-04-01T20:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/1 "2008-04-01T20:28:38Z")
Our bed was thirty years old. The mattress was so bad that wires from the springs kept popping out and puncturing us. We could not afford to buy a new mattress, so we looked on CraigsList and found a used one that seemed to be in decent condition. Unfortunately, the new mattress is redolent of body odor. My husband doesn’t notice it, but I do, and it’s not easy to get to sleep while sniffing somebody else’s stale sweat. Hubby hates the rustling sound that vinyl mattress covers make, so that’s out. And I am allergic to dust and such, so I don’t want to shake a bunch of baking soda or other powdery substance onto the mattress. Any suggestions? Would a spray-on liquid such as Febreze be worth trying? Or should I just hope that my nose will get accustomed to the third person in the bedroom? ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/2 "2008-04-01T20:35:51Z")
Febreze is worth a try. Regarding the dust (mites, I assume) allergy, don’t you need to have some type of a mattress cover on the bed anyway? We have an egg-crate thing, a vinyl cover, and a mattress pad, in that order. I wouldn’t let a dust mite allergy dissuade you from trying baking soda. Dust mites have particular allergenic protein, baking soda is completely different. All that said, I’m not terribly optimistic. Once a scent has really gotten into a mattress I’d expect it would be hard to get it out. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/3 "2008-04-01T20:36:53Z")
Sunlight? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/4 "2008-04-01T20:40:05Z")
Febreeze might be worth a try, but it’ll take a \*lot \*of it, and Febreeze isn’t cheap. What we used to do in the costume shop in college was to keep a spray bottle full of really cheap vodka. What was explained to me (that is, I don’t know if this is true, so don’t ask for a cite!) was that the vodka gets into the fibers of the fabric and kills any bacteria living in there, and it’s generally bacteria causing the odor. Just like Febreeze, you spray liberally until the fabric is nice and wet, and your bedroom smells like the boudoir of a Russian whore. Then when the alcohol evaporates, there’s no odor left. I also really like this [Zero Odor](http://www.zeroodorstore.com/) stuff. It works better than my old Nature’s Miracle or any other enzymatic deodorizer I’ve tried. It makes the same exact bullshit claim that all deodorizers do (“Doesn’t just cover odors up! Our miracle phlebotenum molecules actually bond with odor molecules and neutralize them on contact!”) only…it seems to \*work \*this time. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/5 "2008-04-01T20:51:54Z")
I’ve heard of vacuuming the mattress (for dust mites), which would also work for getting excess baking soda out if you go ahead with that treatment. Febreeze (or similar) would work, it helped on one of mine. Vodka was tested on Mythbusters and was effective for breath freshening for the same reason \*\*WhyNot \*\* suggested. I think it would be like the white spirit originally used in drycleaning (or which cleaning properties led to the drycleaning industry). Sunlight is your cheapest option, and would probably work best in conjunction with vacuuming. Get as much dust and crap out as you can, then get the mattress outside for a good few hours bright sunshine on each side. Then a quick spray with whatever freshening product before it goes back on the bed. ---
**Author:** ![Bacillus\_Cereus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Bacillus\_Cereus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacillus_Cereus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/6 "2008-04-01T20:54:31Z")
I’d put a plastic cover on it, and then one of those comfy plush covers. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/7 "2008-04-01T21:00:56Z")
Fire. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/8 "2008-04-01T21:12:28Z")
Thanks, folks! The “Zero Odor” product looks interesting, but twenty bucks isn’t do-able right now. The sunlight fix might help, but it would involve an incredible amount of mattress-wrangling. Getting the king-sized mattress into the house and through the bedroom door was an ordeal, and I’d hate to put my poor old hubby through that again, especially since the odor is undetectable to him. I like the vodka suggestion. I have a bottle of Everclear grain alcohol, and I’m assuming that it would do just as well, if not better (it’s stronger). And if it doesn’t work, I can take a few swigs and forget about all my worries. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/9 "2008-04-01T21:17:08Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Fire. [/QUOTE] My thought. Nothing cures stink like fire. But then you’d have a smoky smell… ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/10 "2008-04-01T21:23:25Z")
Can you use a upholstery cleaner, like _Woolite_, or is that too harsh for a matress? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/11 "2008-04-01T21:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] \But then you’d have a smoky smell… [/QUOTE] That’s what the vodka is for. :smack: 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/12 "2008-04-01T22:18:50Z")
I tried sunlight for the dog’s bed, and it didn’t work. I’ll bet it had 30 hours of sunlight. I’d bring it in at night, take it out the next day. It still smelled like dog. If sunlight worked so well, my patio cushions wouldn’t smell like the neighbor’s cat. I think sunlight combined with fresh air gives **clean** fabrics a wonderful scent, but if something’s not clean to start with, it ain’t gonna work. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/13 "2008-04-01T22:54:51Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I tried sunlight for the dog’s bed, and it didn’t work. I’ll bet it had 30 hours of sunlight. I’d bring it in at night, take it out the next day. It still smelled like dog. If sunlight worked so well, my patio cushions wouldn’t smell like the neighbor’s cat. I think sunlight combined with fresh air gives **clean** fabrics a wonderful scent, but if something’s not clean to start with, it ain’t gonna work. [/QUOTE] Excellent point. We used to have an outdoor chaise longue that smelled like fermented mulberries, even after we cleaned it thoroughly and moved it far from the mulberry-intensive area. If sitting in the sun for years didn’t make the smell go away, that doesn’t speak well for the deodorizing properties of sunlight. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/14 "2008-04-02T22:41:16Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] I like the vodka suggestion. I have a bottle of Everclear grain alcohol, and I’m assuming that it would do just as well, if not better (it’s stronger). [/QUOTE] I don’t know if you were serious or not but you should really take the mattress outside if you intend to spray a lot of (very) high proof alcohol around. It could potentially become both intoxicating and explosive. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/15 "2008-04-02T23:05:13Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] …you spray liberally until the fabric is nice and wet, and your bedroom smells like the boudoir of a Russian whore… [/QUOTE] That’s one way to make housework more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/16 "2008-04-02T23:10:10Z")
My mother swears by ground coffee. No, really. Sprinkle a healthy amount all over the mattress and let it sit, then vacuum it off. It seemed to work on the old mattress we have, and I don’t remember it smelling of coffee afterward. It’s worth a try, and the particles wouldn’t be as fine as baking soda so it wouldn’t aggravate your allergies, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/17 "2008-04-02T23:14:58Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I tried sunlight for the dog’s bed, and it didn’t work. I’ll bet it had 30 hours of sunlight. I’d bring it in at night, take it out the next day. It still smelled like dog. [/QUOTE] Your problem is that it’s gotta be 30 hours _in a row_. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/18 "2008-04-02T23:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Your problem is that it’s gotta be 30 hours _in a row_. [/QUOTE] Smarty pants. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/19 "2008-04-03T06:10:30Z")
In all seriousness, why not buy a new mattress? They are expensive, but their are many benefits to sleeping on a good mattress. It is one of the few things in life that you should not ever skimp on. Most places offer financing options, and you can get something very reasonable for about $500. If your “used” mattress is in perfect condition except for the smell, then keeping it may be the best option. If it anything less then perfect, save yourself some trouble and enjoy the benefits of a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578/20 "2008-04-03T06:25:30Z")
[QUOTE=CoG888] In all seriousness, why not buy a new mattress? They are expensive, but their are many benefits to sleeping on a good mattress. It is one of the few things in life that you should not ever skimp on. Most places offer financing options, and you can get something very reasonable for about $500. [/QUOTE] I agree that a new mattress is the way to go, but the poor woman said that $20 was a hardship. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-someone-elses-body-odor-out-of-a-mattress/443578.md?page=2)