It's well documented on this forum that I am devoid of any real intelligence and common sense.

It is also well documented that I am not the most domesticated human being in the world.

I recently noticed some staining on my relatively new Ikea mattress from some "sleep sweat". Gross I know.

To clean it I put some clothes laundry cleaner with some hot water and gave it a scrub.

Now I have an even bigger patch that is light blue.

What do I do now???? I'm hoping those of you who've had kids wet the bed or something have some kind of secret formula to restore my beautiful mattress to it's former glory.

Please advise and in simple edible steps that would be used for a 5 year old.

Two suggestions.

First, to clean the immediate problem, I just did a quick google and found this site, which looks simple enough - you can get hydrogen peroxide at any drug store (shoppers or the drug section of any grocery store, etc), and a spray bottle should be easy enough to acquire. (since you're only using the bottle briefly you could just decant the contents of something you already have and fill it back up after you're done, washing thoroughly in between!)

Rudy Family Rukus~Parenting tips and humor meet in one big "rukus": How to get Urine/Sweat stains out of your Mattress

Second suggestion is to invest in a mattress pad or mattress protector. Something like this: Mattress Pad | Hudson's Bay (I've linked to one on The Bay because it's convenient, but any home shop will sell these... Sears as a "we pay the tax" event on right now, just watch for sales at any place that has home stuff). It goes under your fitted sheet. You don't have to get a super expensive one, as long as it's got a little bit of thickness to it so that any body fluid doesn't seep through to the actual mattress. Just chuck it in the laundry when it needs to be clean, and you're sorted.

Hope that helps!

Wash the laundry soap blue??
Try blotting it with towels etc and then use warm water with a dash of white vinegar. Don't add much water and keep dabbing. In future never use a mattress without a mattress protector.

Just for the record the bizzare thing was I have a mattress protector.

Yes the soap was blue.

Sounds like you need a thicker one then if you are sweating through the protector and onto the mattress. Might be time for an upgrade!

Yes. I've got to get the damned thing clean first.

I'd say try the method posted above. Might also be worth going over the blue area with just some warm water as bats suggested... the blue might just be left from the soap you used in the first place.

Also something like Oxy Clean may also work wonders, I use it on Husband's shirts to get pit discolouration out. oxiclean - » OxiClean® Multi-Purpose Stain Remover

Why not just carry on as you started, then you'll have a light blue IKEA Sultan mattress.

Much classier.

Is this query actually for yourself, or given the key absence on Friday night, are you asking on behalf of Sharkus?

Enquiring minds and all that.

The reason I need to clean it is I plan to sell it after sleeping on a much more comfortable mattress at the Hyatt in Chicago.

I have my heart set on a "Sealy" but want to get a few dollars.

Ah, you only need it to look clean until you flog it. That changes things. A pot of Tipp-Ex ought to see you right...

That's the problem with forums.

You go on asking for innocent advise and then negative trolls come along and shoot you down.

I want to clean it properly because it is a nice mattress. Only two years old and would be better served if someone else used it and it was not thrown in a skip.

HOpefully the advice you got from me and bats helps you out, you have a few options there for how to go about cleaning it - two different DIY cocktails and one store-bought solution! Fingers crossed one of the three works out.