Can you use a dirty mattress if you put a mattress pad/sheet on top?

[Shannon631]

I stayed in a home that had clean bedsheets, but the mattress itself was completely stained full of yellow and black and brown spots. I would not have known, except for the fact that the host requested that I clean the linens.  Needless to say it was disgusting. Is this Just a case of having different standards or would you say it is unacceptable?

[Mark1357]

Unacceptable...Replace it ASAP. Those stains were there and ignored then covered up? I'm guessing that these standards is why a guest asked for a change? 

[Bob297]

@Mark1357 
I think @Shannon631 was the guest 🙂

She does not have to replace the mattress
A stained mattress is unacceptable

[Sarah977]

@Shannon631  A host can't be expected to go buy a new mattress just because it has some small stain on it, but if it looks gross and dirty, no that's certainly not acceptable.

[Lorna170]

@Shannon631 Totally unacceptable,  the host should be told to replace the mattress immediately.  

[Anonymous]

@Shannon631  It sounds like your host's biggest mistake was asking you to clean the linens.

Actually even if you were staying at the Four Seasons or the Ritz, if you pulled up all the bedsheets you would find a really nasty looking mattress underneath. Overnight accommodation would not be a viable business model if mattresses had to be replaced as soon as they were discolored.  But you should have a couple layers of defense. As long as there's a water-resistant mattress protector and a fitted sheet between your body and the stained object, how are those ugly stains going to affect your quality of life? 

[Robbie54]

@Anonymous  

"Actually even if you were staying at the Four Seasons or the Ritz, if you pulled up all the bedsheets you would find a really nasty looking mattress underneath"

Then their standards have dropped somewhat. 

[Shannon631]

 I know that hotel mattresses can be dirty, but I highly doubt they look like this. I also believe that hotels have a much better quality mattress pad, whereas this was a very thin fitted pad and did not look waterproof. 

[Anonymous]

@Shannon631  That is one ugly mattress! And if the host had been using a better mattress protector, it might have been spared the worst of the discolorations. 

But unsightly stains are not necessarily an indication of a risk to your health and safety. Practically speaking, all it seems to amount to is that you've seen something that you wish you hadn't.

Are you asking whether it's "unacceptable" because you're in the middle of your stay and considering cutting your booking short? Or have you already finished your stay and wondering whether you're entitled to a refund?

[Emilia42]

I have a zippered waterproof mattress encasement, then a quilted matress pad, then a fitted sheet. Even still, I'm sure the mattresses are stained and discolored in spots (and I bought them brand new.) But there is no way I am going to buy brand new mattresses now as these mattresses are only 2-3 years old. We would all be just as mortified if we peeled back some tiles in the shower or some floorboards under the kitchen sink. 

[Robbie54]

@Emilia42 Very true. I've had countless guests spill liquids on the bed that have filtered through to the mattress and they've left it. Stains can appear very quickly if not removed at the point of spillage. However, a stain doesn't mean a mattress is dirty, it's just stained. Unless the mattress is literally covered in stains I would never change it. 

[Shannon631]

  Here it is

[Lorna170]

Gross.

[Lorna170]

When setting up a property as a rental, certain considerations should be made about protecting mattresses.  I never want my guests to remove the linens and find a stained mattress.  That is why I have a waterproof cover that zippers around the entire mattress, top and bottom.  That is covered by the bedbug  encasement, which again zippers around the entire mattress.  2 layers of protection.  Then there is a plush mattress pad (layer 3) that is washed or swapped out for later washing with each linen change.   I have only had to replace one mattress due to staining in 15 years of hosting.  

[Shannon631]

Kudos to you! What an amazing host!