The One Germy Item You're Forgetting To Clean In Your Bedroom

A headboard supports your head, protects the walls, keeps your pillows in place throughout the night to ensure you get a good night's sleep, and, if chosen right, can be the perfect accent piece for your bedroom. However, headboards are also one of the most overlooked pieces of furniture in a bedroom. Upholstered headboards will get dirty over time as they attract dust in the room. Moreover, contact with your body oils, sweat, and loose strands of hair or pet fur make for a delicious cocktail that invites bacteria and other germs to become permanent houseguests.

Further, if left untreated for long, your beloved bedhead might also develop stains. So just like you clean your mattress and mattress topper regularly, you must clean your headboard, too. Make it a habit to clean this furniture piece once a week to keep it looking like new. But if that's not possible, cleaning your fabric headboard once a month can help you get rid of germs and other buildup, too.

Before you don your cleaning gear and play your cleaning playlist to clean this previously forgotten germy item in your bedroom, it's important to read the label attached to your headboard. This will ensure you clean the piece in the way best possible without damaging and ruining its look and, by extension, your bedroom's style. So you want to look for the wash care symbol(s) or cleaning code on your bedhead and decode them. If the label is marked "W," your headboard can be cleaned with water. Alternatively, "S" or "P" means that the upholstery fabric must be cleaned using a cleaning solvent or dry cleaned only, preferably by a professional.

In case the label is marked "F," that means the bedhead must be foam cleaned. "X" and "X/S," meanwhile, mean you can only clean your bedstead using a vacuum cleaner. If you can't find the cleaning code, look up the code for the particular fabric or spot-test a small, hidden area using a water and detergent solution.

If your headboard is marked W, arm yourself with a vacuum cleaner with a brush or upholstery attachment, mild cleaning solution, clean microfiber cloth or sponges, and some warm water.

To begin cleaning the headboard in your bedroom, bring your vacuum cleaner with the attachment to life and use it to remove accumulated dust, dirt, hair, pet fur, and other debris. Ensure you're getting into the nooks and crannies, as you don't want to clean your headboard halfway through.

Now, determine if there are any stains on the headboard. If there are, dampen a cloth or sponge in a mild cleaning solution and gently blot the stain to eliminate it. You can buy a cleaning solution from the store or create your own using lukewarm water and mild detergent. Once done, dampen another cloth or sponge and dip it in clean water to remove excess liquid, which could lead to mold and mildew if left alone.

After you're done, it's time to tackle the entire thing. Dip a cloth or sponge in the cleaning solution and wring it out before gently scrubbing the headboard. Once it's clean, dampen another clean cloth or sponge with water and use it to wipe off the leftover cleaning solution and grime. Finally, let your headboard air dry, or you can employ a fan to speed up the drying process.