A soggy mattress soon takes about a musty odor, and within a day or two, may even begin to grow mold deep inside it. Needless to say, not each wet mattress is salvageable. If the bed was at a flood, the water likely was contaminated with biohazards and dangerous substances or fuel. In that case, even if you could sanitize the inside of the mattress sufficiently, mold from Persistent moisture could invade unseen. Mattresses that prevent complete saturation — such as the ones wet from spills, rainwater leaks, water used to put out a minor fire or similar origins — can be salvaged, as long as you operate fast and dry them thoroughly.
Blot the humidity up if the spill or wet area was minor and little. Use a clean, absorbent cloth or towel and then apply as much pressure as possible to force the moisture from the bed, to the drying pad. Follow using a hairdryer, set on high. Hold the hairdryer a few inches in the bed surface and then apply heat for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the area to cool down completely before deciding if it’s dry or not. After 30 minutes, then proceed to another drying method.
Sprinkle clean kitty litter over the mattress surface. Apply pressure on the litter to force moisture from the bed and in the absorbent littler. Put a cloth or towel over the litter before pressing, if you would like. Wait an hour or two and press again. Suck up the litter using a vacuum. Repeat with fresh litter if moisture remains, then vacuum. Follow with heat from a blow dryer or proceed to another drying method if moisture remains.
Flip up the bed, on its side, and securely prop it in position so there’s at least two feet of air space on both sides. Put a fan in the end, blowing down both sides, or utilize two fans to point straight at the bed on each side. Open windows in the room and flip on ceiling fans, as applicable, to make just as much air movement in the room as possible. Turning the heat up, with a space heater — set as a safe distance from the bed — or similar steps also help quicken drying.
Otherwise, take the bed outside. Establish a platform, if at all possible, such as concrete blocks or sawhorses, to break the bed on and allow maximum air movement. Otherwise, turn the bed on its side and securely prop it up. Allow the mattress to remain outside in the wind and sun until it’s dry. Speed the drying procedure using a couple fans, hooked to extension cords, pointed in the bed. Return the bed inside once it’s totally dry.