How to Get Rid of Dust Mites in Your Mattress (NYC Apartment Guide)
29.07.2026
To reduce dust mites in a mattress, strip and hot-wash all bedding at 130°F or higher, vacuum the mattress surface and seams with a HEPA vacuum, then dry the mattress with heat and airflow. Encase it in a tightly woven zippered cover, and keep bedroom humidity low. Mites feed on skin flakes and thrive in moisture, so drying and washing are your real levers.
What you'll need
- A vacuum with a HEPA filter and an upholstery attachment
- A zippered, tightly woven (allergen-barrier) mattress encasement
- Bedding you can wash hot: sheets, pillowcases, mattress pad, duvet cover
- Access to a washer/dryer that reaches 130°F (a laundromat dryer usually does)
- Baking soda (optional, for surface deodorizing between deep cleans)
- A hygrometer or a thermostat with a humidity reading
- A fan, and a window or door you can open for airflow
Step by step
- Strip everything. Pull sheets, pillow protectors, the mattress pad, and any topper. Bag them loosely so flakes and debris don't scatter across your small bedroom.
- Hot-wash the washables. Run bedding at 130°F or higher. If your building's machine runs cold, a laundromat's high-heat cycle is worth the trip. Mites and their waste don't survive sustained high heat and a full dry cycle.
- Vacuum the mattress. Use the upholstery tool. Work slowly across the top, then get into the piping and seams where debris collects. Flip and do the other side if the mattress is double-sided. Empty the canister outside or into a sealed bag.
- Dry-heat and air it out. Mites hate dryness. Run a fan across the mattress, open the window if it opens, and let the surface fully dry after any cleaning. On a dry, sunny day, some renters lean the mattress near a sunny window for a few hours.
- Deodorize the surface (optional). Sift a thin layer of baking soda over the top, leave it 30 to 60 minutes, then vacuum it up. This freshens the surface; it does not treat anything below it.
- Encase it. Zip the dry mattress into a tightly woven allergen-barrier cover. This traps existing mites inside and blocks new skin flakes from feeding them. Wash the outer bedding regularly and re-vacuum the encasement surface every few weeks.
- Control humidity. Keep the bedroom under about 50% relative humidity. Steam radiators plus a closed non-opening window can spike moisture in winter, so crack a window when you can or run a small dehumidifier.
What NOT to do
- Don't soak the mattress. Foam and pillow-top layers hold water, dry slowly in a humid apartment, and can grow mildew inside the core. Water is your enemy here, not your tool.
- Don't steam a foam or memory-foam mattress. Trapped moisture and heat can break down the foam and leave dampness you can't reach or dry.
- Don't spray a disinfectant on the mattress and call it done. A wet surface without full drying invites the exact moisture mites and mold like, and you sleep against whatever you spray.
- Don't skip the dry cycle on bedding. A cold wash alone leaves the job half-finished; the sustained heat of a full dry is doing real work.
- Don't re-cover a damp mattress. Zipping moisture inside an encasement traps it against the foam.
When to call a pro
DIY handles surface mites, dust, and light freshening. It stops working once liquid has reached the core: a mattress that was deeply soaked, urine that soaked past the top layer, or a set-in odor you can smell across the room can't be dried out or vacuumed away in an apartment. Those need machine extraction that pulls moisture and residue back out of the layers, which a bag of baking soda and a box fan simply can't do. If you're at that point, or you just want the mattress and bedroom reset before a move-in, book a deep cleaning with CleanWhale.
FAQ
How often should I do this?
Wash bedding weekly, vacuum the mattress surface every few weeks, and do a full strip-and-dry session a few times a year. In a humid apartment with steam heat, lean toward the more frequent end.
Does baking soda kill dust mites?
No. Baking soda helps deodorize the surface and lifts loose debris when you vacuum it up, but it isn't a mite treatment. Hot washing bedding and drying the mattress are what actually reduce them.
Do I really need a mattress encasement?
It's the single most durable step. A tightly woven zippered cover traps existing mites and cuts off the skin flakes they feed on, so your washing and vacuuming keep paying off instead of resetting every week.
Can I just replace the mattress instead?
You can, but a new mattress in a humid, high-flake bedroom collects the same debris within months. If you replace it, still add an encasement and keep humidity down, or you'll be back where you started.
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