Hi, and thank you so much for reading - all replies very much appreciated!
TL:DR: I really need advice on how to use washing up liquid, white vinegar and baking soda to clean chocolate soya milk stains from a cream memory foam mattress, covering is 80% viscose, 20% cotton. Am looking into waterproof mattress protectors and encasements to stop this happening in future, but will be moving out relatively soon and need as much of my deposit back as possible. Spill happened when extremely ill/debilitated, liquid seeped through sheet and mattress protector, which didn't get cleaned until I got back from ITU over a week later.
Questions: in what order/combination should/can I use washing up liquid (or washing machine liquid if that can be used on a mattress), white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to clean the stain? How should I use them - what temperature of water, how much water, should I scrub or blot, should I leave anything to soak in or dry on, ? Any recommendations for professional stain removal products which won't damage/bleach the mattress?
Thank you SO much again, any advice on cleaning appreciated.
Longer story: moved into a shared house from my parents' abusive home back in July, almost immediately had a cycling accident and smashed up my dominant arm, among other injuries. Have been very unwell, unable to function properly or at all, and have had multiple emergency hospital admissions. On long term sick leave from my job, so money is extremely tight. Landlady is also tight (with money) and obsessed with cleanliness to the extent of insisting that people wear plastic spats to look around the house. She will take any opportunity to keep my deposit and might try to charge me on top of that if she can - I don't think she can, legally, but she's well-known to snoop in the rooms while we're out and if she sees damage she could also evict me/try to bill me for professional cleaning or a new mattress while I'm still here.
Stain is light brown, no solid or opaque patches, looks exactly as you'd expect chocolate soya milk leaching through sheet and mattress protector to look by the time it reached the mattress; very faint water marks as well. No smell. CSM contains some fat, protein, sugars and it's brown. Mattress protector is nearly good as new after two washes with Persil 3 in 1 biological capsules and one round of Pink Spray; pillowcases and an NHS blanket had some small marks which came off with one was (Persil and pink spray).
Professional cleaning is very expensive. One firm told me cleaning would not remove stains and might bring up new ones(!), another that they almost always see improvement but often not perfection. I've been looking up what I can do myself - advice is pretty evenly divided between peroxide, which I don't want to try in case it damages or bleaches the fabric and possibly the foam beneath (or hurt myself) and washing up liquid, white vinegar and baking soda in various combinations using various techniques. I have all of these and can buy biological washing machine liquid as well. If the mattress needs to dry for 24 hours, I'll pull an all-nighter or sleep on the floor. If nothing works, I'll get it cleaned professional, buy a mattress encasement and keep the cleaning receipt to show the landlady I've done everything possible.
Thank you SO much for reading if you've got this far. If anyone has any tips about the substances I've just mentioned or any recommendations for professional stain removal products which are safe but might make a difference, I would be extremely grateful. Sorry this is so long!