Should I remove my mattress cover to wash it?

Check the label first. On many mattresses the cover sits directly against a woven fibreglass fire barrier, and removing it releases fibres that are extremely difficult to clean up. Where the manufacturer warns against removal, they mean it literally.

Why it happens

Flammability regulations require a fire barrier between the cover and the foam. The cheapest way to meet that requirement is woven fibreglass or a rayon-silica blend sewn immediately beneath the cover. It works well and is completely safe while it stays sealed.

Unzipping the cover can drag against that barrier and shed glass fibres into the room. They are fine, itchy, spread through the air, and embed in carpet and soft furnishings. Households have had to discard bedding and furniture after this.

A zip on the cover does not indicate it is safe to remove — many mattresses have one purely for manufacturing assembly. The label is the authority, not the presence of a zip.

What to do about it

1. 1Read the law label before unzipping anything. Warnings against removal are explicit where they apply.
2. 2Use a washable mattress protector over the top instead. It is the intended solution and avoids the question entirely.
3. 3For surface cleaning, vacuum and spot-clean in place rather than removing the cover.