Have you bought a new mattress or just realized that the mattress you have slept on for a long time has started to smell like weed? So what do you do in such a case? What if you have a new mattress smelling like weed and don’t want to return it to the store where you bought it? How can you remove the weed smell from the mattress?
To remove the weed smell from the mattress, you can use enzyme-based spray, vinegar, activated charcoal, cornstarch, and baking soda. You can sprinkle baking soda, vinegar, cornstarch, and enzyme-based spray onto the mattress. The longer you leave the odor-absorbing products on the mattress, the better the chances of removing the smell.
In this article, we look at why a new mattress might smell like weed. We then discover different methods to eliminate the weed smell from the mattress. In addition, in the article, the duration it takes for a new mattress to stop smelling, whether a new mattress smell is harmful, and how to get cigarette smell out of the mattress are discussed.
Why Does My New Mattress Smell Like Weed?
A new mattress smells like a weed since many of the gases trapped in the mattress after it has been manufactured and packed in airtight packaging are released upon opening the new mattress.
Many people describe the smell of weed differently. Weed smell has been described as earthly, herbal, and wood by people who have come across the smell. While those who love weed might find the smell appealing, people who don’t use it find the smell irritating.
But what if you don’t use weed and your new mattress smells like weed. The fact that the mattress is new yet smells like weed implies that the smell is not caused by weed. The main reason your new mattress smells like weed is off-gassing.
Off-Gassing
Off-gassing can be explained as a reaction that involves releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the mattress into the air. When the mattress is manufactured in the factory, it is packed in airtight packaging as the mattress manufacturers want to ensure that the mattress smells new when you get home.
However, the fact that the gasses cannot escape in the airtight packaging implies that they accumulate until the mattress is bought and opened by its new owner.
Once the mattress is opened, the gasses held in the airtight packaging escape resulting in your new mattresses smelling like weed.
How To Remove Weed Smell Out Of Mattress – 7 Methods
The weed smell on a new mattress can be irritating. However, there are different ways that you can use to get the weed smell out of the new mattress. Since the weed smell in the new mattress is mainly caused by a lack of air, you can remove the odor by airing your mattress for an extended period.
1. Ventilate Your Home
If you have a new mattress, you can ensure that your home is well ventilated before you open the new mattress. However, you can also get rid of the smell from your mattress by ventilating the room you have kept the mattress. By ventilating the room, you ensure that the gasses produced during the off-gassing will quickly escape into the air as the ventilation will enhance air circulation.
To ensure that the off-gassing process is quickly completed, you can use a dehumidifier. The dehumidifier will increase the airflow and make the process swifter.
2. Use Enzyme-Based Spray
Even if enzyme-based sprays have been developed to remove organic odors such as urine and vomit smells, the spray can also be effective in eliminating off-gassing odors.
All you have to do is spray the mattress surface according to the instructions given by the spray manufacturer on the spray’s packaging. However, since there is a chance that the enzyme-based spray could stain your mattress, you should first spot test the spray and use it once you have confirmed that the spray will not ruin your mattress.
3. Baking Soda
Baking soda is very good in removing smells on mattresses since it brings both the acidic and basic odor molecules into a neutral more odor-free state. There are two different ways to use baking soda to remove odors from the new mattress.
The first method of using baking soda to remove the weed smell from your mattress entails sprinkling baking soda on the mattress. Leave the baking soda on the mattress for a few days and it will absorb all the scent. The more you leave baking soda on the mattress, the better it will absorb the scent.
Once the baking soda has sat in the mattress for a few days, you can use a vacuum cleaner to clean the baking soda from the mattress. You can also open the windows and door to make the process faster.
The second method to use baking soda to get rid of the weed smell on your mattress is to place bowls of water all around the room. Add baking soda to each bowl and stir to make good water and baking soda solution. Leave the bowls in the room for a few days and the baking soda will absorb the smell.
4. Open The Mattress And Leave It Outside For A Few Days
If you haven’t completely opened the new mattress, you can take the mattress outside, open it and leave it in the yard. Alternatively, you can also open the mattress in the garage and leave it there for a few days.
The off-gassing process will be quickly completed when the mattress is left in an open space or a location with a sufficient flow of fresh air.
5. Use Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal is one of the most effective odor-absorbing products. The charcoal has a large surface area with millions of micro pockets and pores. The micro pockets and pores on the activated charcoal ‘arrest’ the smell and retain it, similar to how a vacuum cleaner ‘arrests’ dust.
Since the activated charcoal can stain your mattress, you should place the charcoal in bowls spread all around the room to ensure that you don’t stain the mattress or carpet. Leave the activated charcoal in the bowls for a few days, and the smell in the mattress will disappear.
6. Vinegar
As a product containing acetic acid, vinegar effectively removes smells. The acid in the vinegar will neutralize the weed smell in your mattress and effectively get it out within 1 to 2 days.
However, it is important to use white distilled vinegar when using vinegar to remove the weed smell on your mattress. Apple cider vinegar, brown vinegar, or any other type of vinegar should not be used since they can stain your mattress.
To use vinegar to remove the weed odor on the mattress, mix vinegar with cold water. Spray the solution on your mattress and leave it to sit on the mattress for one or two days. If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can lightly sprinkle the solution on the mattress.
7. Cornstarch
Cornstarch is excellent in removing weed smell on a mattress since the fact that it is finely grounded implies that it is super absorbent. Thus, as a super-absorbent product, cornstarch can attack the unpleasant weed smell on the mattress and remove it from the mattress.
To remove the weed smell on the mattress using cornstarch, you need to sprinkle cornstarch on the mattress. Leave the cornstarch to sit on the mattress for a day or two – the longer the cornstarch stays on the mattress, the better the results. You can then use a vacuum cleaner to remove cornstarch from the mattress.
How Long Does It Take For A New Mattress To Stop Smelling?
It can take a few hours to a few days for a new mattress to stop smelling. The reason why the time it takes a new mattress to stop smelling varies is that it depends on the air circulation in the room.
If there is good air circulation in the room, the off-gassing process will be quicker, and it will take a few hours for the mattress to stop smelling. However, if there is limited air circulation in the room, the new mattress will take a few days to stop smelling.
If you want to make the off-gassing process quicker so that it takes a shorter period for the new mattress to stop smelling, you can use activated charcoal, baking soda, cornstarch, white vinegar, or enzyme-based spray, as has already been discussed in this article.
Is New Mattress Smell Harmful?
New mattresses have a foul smell due to the off-gassing process. The off-gassing process is caused by a lack of airflow in the new mattresses as the mattresses are packaged in airtight packaging.
Thus, as the mattress lack airflow, the new smell of the mattress becomes concentrated to the extent that when the mattress is opened, the smell that had been accumulated since the manufacturing of the mattress is released into the air, causing the smell.
Specifically, when you buy a mattress in air-tight packaging, chemicals known as Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) and are used in the mattress manufacturing process remain trapped in the mattress packing since the airtight packaging means they cannot go anywhere.
When you open the new mattress and lay it on your bed, the mattress foam starts to expand, and in this process, some elements used in the manufacturing of the mattress start to break apart. Gases are released in this process, making the new mattress smell. Some people claim that the smell of the new mattress is similar to that of the weed.
The smell of a new mattress can be harmful to some people and can even cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, nose and throat irritation, and even poor eye coordination. However, the symptoms will disappear once the new mattress has aired out and the smell is gone.
Can You Get Smoke Smell Out Of A Mattress?
You can get smoke and cigarette smell out of mattress by using various household products. Baking soda, activated charcoal, cornstarch, white vinegar, baby powder, and enzyme-based spray can all remove the smoke smell from the mattress.
However, before using any household products to remove smoke or cigarette smell from the mattress, you should first ensure that the mattress is placed in a well-ventilated area with good airflow.
Conclusions
To give you the much-needed comfort, mattresses need to smell fresh. You can use different smell-absorbing products if you have a new mattress that is smelling like weed or has other smells.
Some of the smell-absorbing products you already have in your house and can eliminate the smell from the new mattress or older mattresses are; baking soda, vinegar, cornstarch, activated charcoal, and enzyme-based spray. These products can also remove urine and other smells from clothes, stuffed animals, and carpets.
