Camping - Cleaning couch and mattress in camper?

Once the foam padding has become "soiled" it' is darn near impossible to clean it out completely. Remove them from the trailer, remove the covers (if your lucky they are the zipped kind) and wash the covers in cold water with bleach. As for the foam pads now you can see what condition they are in. Here you take them out on a driveway hose them down and do a salsa dance on them adding some detergent (all temperature cheer works best) to your dance. After 30 minutes of dancing and hosing with water you have done just about all you can do hang them up to drip dry in the shade(sun is bad for foam padding). If they still smell bad and look nasty it's time to replace. Better yet the cost to replace is not that bad and when you consider your time is money, it's something you have to consider. Sooo welcome to the world of rv living and remember this,

An RV is a hole in the ground that you sink money into and the two best days of owning one are the day that you bought it and the day that you sell it!

Camper Mattress

RE:

Camping - Cleaning couch and mattress in camper?

We just got a small used pop up. It is in great shape but due to some neglect from the other owner mice moved in for a bit. I vacuumed up all I could, but what is the best way to truly clean and disinfect the cushions and mattresses? They are in fine shape, other then they had some droppings on...

The covers can usually be removed from the foam. Look for a zipper on one of the edges and peel the cover off the foam. If the foam disintegrates while trying to get it out, it was time to replace it anyway.

The covers are usually synthetic and can be washed in cold or warm water with laundry detergent. A very small amount of bleach (1 teaspoon or so) can be added as a disinfectant. Then either hang to dry or tumble at very low heat.

The foam is more difficult and far more messy to clean. You can setup a heavy-duty rope between two strong objects and then hang one cushion or mattress at a time so you can rinse with clean water, then spray on a disinfectant/cleaner and rinse again, then allow it to air-dry in the sun.

If there are mouse droppings than there was also mouse urine. There is a risk of serious illness, even death, associated with Hantavirus, a virus transferred to humans through contact with infected rodents, their droppings or their urine, (see http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus ). The problem with urine in a foam mattress is there really is no way to positively determine whether your cleaning and disinfection took care of all the urine (and possible viruses). Although the risk of infection might be small, it is not something I'd be comfortable ignoring.

Replacement foam can be obtained from a local furniture upholsterer and some boat/vehicle restorers and customizers. Alternately, you could put a plastic barrier between the old foam and the cover, after ensuring the foam is completely dry.

@MM: There have been documented cases of HPS as far NE as NY and ME, NW as far as WA. While more common in SW states, it is not limited to that region. 33 states have reported Hantaviris infections.

Camping Couch

Isopropyl alcohol is the effective ingredient in "Lysol." When you use an aerosol, you are not really killing all of the pathogens on an object, since you are only hitting a limited surface and not soaking the lifeforms in a toxic solution for very long. You can waste a huge amount of money on disinfectants if you do not understand the active ingredients used by manufacturers. Ammonia, chlorine, and alcohol are effective for many pathogens. Unless you live in the Southwest with deer mice, hanta virus is not a hazard. Even then, hanta virus is extremely rare, like boubonic plague. You are more likely to die from mold spores in your camper. Clean your gear with any detergent. Sterilize with weakened solutions of the disinfectants that you can buy in bulk and follow directions on the label for various tasks or study related web-sites. If you are going to invest time into disinfecting the mattresses, be sure that you do not neglect all of the other materials within the camper. You really need to base your decision whether to keep the old mattresses on your own tastes and judgment. Old foam deteriorates. Old cloth batting also grows old, may foster mold and mildew, and retains odors.

Bleach and Ammonia Solutions

The cheapest and most readily available sanitizing solution is made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water (4 ml per liter). Let the items soak for 20 minutes, and then drain. A stronger solution recommendation: Bleach should be used at the rate of 4 ounces per gallon of water, ammonia at 3.5 ounces per gallon.

"droppings" of what?

Steam clean everything

Lysol - good idea

Wash all coverings

Spray fa breeze by the gallon.

I'd replace the used, poo covered mattress. Or, go do some real camping.

ADDED: Your a real drama queen aren't you. No wonder your husband wants a seperate camper. I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings. I figured if you could afford a camper, then you weren't too cheap to buy a new mattress. Go do your own research and stop looking for others to solve your problems.