A man has uncovered the filth hiding in his bed in plain sight after he vacuumed his mattress.
Dave Chen shared a now-viral video showing a huge layer of dirt and dust he collected after running his Dyson vacuum cleaner over his mattress.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Why you should vacuum your mattress.
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He decided to deep clean his bed after seeing a video of a woman suggesting we should all be vacuuming our mattresses — as well as washing the sheets — once a week.
“So I’ve got my Dyson here, you can see it’s empty,” the American man said.
“I’m going to vacuum my bed so you can see how much dust goes into the vacuum cleaner.”
Chen showed viewers the bin filled a third way up with dirt and dust — as he pointed out he actually vacuumed his mattress two weeks prior to the clean.
“This whole layer of dust is just from the mattress and nothing else,” he said.
His video has been viewed more than 5.4 million times, with many suggesting the “dust” he vacuumed was actually dead skin cells — leaving many disgusted.
“It’s mainly a mix of dead skin, dust mites, and dust mite excrement. The more you know,” one said, to which a woman replied: “If you ever wonder if a brain can cry… well mine just did. I don’t want to know this information anymore.”
Another shared: “I wish I knew less now.”
Many said they had no idea they were supposed to vacuum their mattresses.
“That’s crazy. I need to do this,” one said.
Another shared: “I’m gonna throw up! Gonna do this today”.
Mattress attachment
Others revealed Dyson comes with a special attachment so you don’t need to use the everyday floor-cleaning vacuum head on your mattress.
“There’s a proper mattress attachment that comes with the Dyson to do just that. Don’t use the floor vacuum next time — just a heads up,” one shared.
Meanwhile, many suggested using a mattress protector.
“Coming from someone that works in the bedding industry, get a mattress protector,” one said.
However, not everyone agreed.
One said: “To everyone saying to get a mattress protector — yes as much as that does help there will still be dust and dead skin cells getting through onto your actual mattress.
“You should always regularly clean your sheets and vacuum your mattress no matter what you use on your bed.”
‘Can’t un-see it’
Australian professional cleaner Kacie Stephens has previously urged everyone to always deep clean their mattresses.
“Warning! Once you see this, you can’t un-see it,” she said.
“I’m going to show you how to test how clean your mattress is. Get a black piece of material and wrap it at the end of your vacuum — that is going to act as your filter for the dust and skin cells.”
The video shows her vacuuming a two-year-old mattress before unravelling the black material to reveal the filthy find.
Stephens, who runs a cleaning business called The Big Clean Co in Melbourne, reminded everyone to vacuum their mattress in between changing sheets.
“Vacuum each time you change your sheets, steam clean when you can — once per year is good, but I know not realistic for everyone,” she said.
Many asked whether using a mattress protector or fitted bed sheet was enough to keep the mattress free from dust and dead skin cells.
But Stephens said you’d be surprised with what you find after vacuuming.
“This mattress had a mattress protector on it… So yep you’ll still get dirt and skin cells,” she said.
Changing sheets
In 2023, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki offered a simple guide explaining exactly how often you should change your main bed linen.
“How often are you washing your sheets? Science says probably not enough,” Dr Karl said.
The Australian scientist suggested people should change their sheets once every two weeks — but, if you’re in a sweaty environment, he recommended twice a week.
“Why do you have to change your sheets? Well, every day you generate from your skin about one-and-a-half grams of dead skin cells which both attract and are enough food for a million dust mites,” Dr Karl said.
“On top of that, your skin exudes oils and sweat and then, on the other hand while you’re lying in bed, you might have a little f-a-r-t.”
Dr Karl recommended washing sheets more often in the warmer months as you’ll likely get more sweat on your bedding.
“If you’re in a very sweaty environment and you sweat during the day and then you come home all sweaty — and then you don’t shower before you go to bed and you don’t wear pyjamas — (change sheets) twice a week,” he said.
But in cooler times, and with other circumstances, Dr Karl recommended washing sheets at least once a fortnight.
“At the other extreme — cold environment, you don’t sweat, wear pyjamas and have a shower before you go to bed — maybe every couple of weeks. The average is every two weeks,” he said.
Dirty laundry habits
Dr Karl referenced a UK study that exposed people’s dirty habits.
“According to one survey in England, four per cent of Britons wash their bed sheets once a year,” he said.
“Men who are in relationships wash their sheets once a month and men who are not in relationships, wash once every six weeks, which might explain why they’re not in a relationship.”
According to the Sleep Foundation, dust mites can lead to skin rashes and irritation, and may worsen allergy symptoms for many people.
“Having dust mites can sometimes cause health problems,” Dr Karl said.
If you have pets, and particularly if you let them sleep in your bed, a wash every three to four days is recommended.
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