How to Remove Musty Smell from Organic Mattress

March 5, 2013, by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Mommy_of_Sebastian_and_Gabrielli

Hi Debra! I am wondering if there is a natural way to get a musty smell out of my older son's Naturepedic wool/cotton mattress. It was stored in a closet in our home for a year or so, and now it smells...I guess from lack of air circulation? my husband doesn't notice it, but I certainly do! It has a waterproof coating on it. It is only two and a half years old, was only used for a year, and cost $300, so I'd like to try to salvage it for my younger son if possible. Thank you for any suggestions you can offer! ~Melissa 

Debra's Answer

Musty odors are the result of moisture in the air, so if you had wrapped it in polyethylene plastic to be water and air tight, this might have been prevented. The odor is from a mold.

I would say try putting it in the sun or a heated room with nothing else in the room, vented to the outdoors.

My concern is that the mold causing the may have penetrated into the mattress. This would depend on the amount of moisture.

Breathing musty air can cause respiratory problems, so if you can't clean this up to the point where you can't smell it, it would be better and less expensive in the long run to get a new mattress.

You also might contact Naturepedic with this question.