Best Mattress protector to keep your mattress clean
I’m currently in the process of potty training a 3 year old, so I can tell you that my mattress protectors have saved my mattresses countless times. Therefore, I have compiled a list of the best mattress protectors we have tested to help you choose. Did you know that the human body sweats up to 26 gallons of water per year? How much sweat and other fluid do you want getting into your mattress?
Mattress Protector Tests & Review
Here is a video where I put 6 mattress protectors to the test. Find out if the Purple, Casper, Nectar, Saferest, Nest Bedding and Brooklyn Bedding mattress protectors kept my mattresses clean. I cut a lot of the set up parts of the video that I originally released. So it is now under 11 minutes vs. 23 minutes.
I’m still doing some cleaning, what a mess! The DreamCloud and Douglas made it through without a scratch. The poor Sapira was damaged by juice and wine, not because the mattress protector failed, but because I rolled it up wrong and the liquids spilled onto the mattress. Next step is to wash all of the mattress protectors so that I can see if they still hold their protecting qualities. I’ll get you some after photos once they are clean.
Best Mattress Protector Comparisons & Price Table
The prices listed are before discounts on a queen size mattress protector. Thinking about buying the items we have reviewed? Help Non-Biased Reviews out if you do. Just click on any of the seller links above and the seller will contribute a portion of the sale to help support this site. It won’t cost you anything extra and is a simple way to help us fund more items to review. Thank You!
| Brand | Type | Price | Coupons |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Waterproof & Cooling | $129 | Shop Nest Bedding |
 |
Waterproof | $59 | Shop Purple |
 |
Waterproof | $85 | Shop Tomorrow Sleep |
 |
Waterproof | $39 | Shop Brooklyn Bedding |
| Saferest | Waterproof | $27 | Shop Saferest at Amazon |
 |
Waterproof & Cooling | $85 | Shop Nectar |
| Casper | Waterproof | $85 | Shop Casper at Target |
| Lucid | Waterproof | $20 | Shop Lucid at Amazon |
Is a Mattress Protector Necessary?
Most mattress retailers have warranties up to 10 years, but if you read the fine print there are many things that can void their warranties. Here is an excerpt of the Purple mattress warranty, note I have highlighted the things that could be prevented by a mattress protector:
“This warranty shall not apply if Purple determines in its reasonable discretion that the mattress or foundation has been damaged, abused, or neglected; it shall be reasonable without limitation to make such determination if the following are present: Tears, stains, odors, unsanitary conditions, folds, footprints, burns, cuts, or signs of jumping on the bed, rodents, insect damage or other infestation, damage from liquids or gels or blood or bodily fluids or other fluids, or damage from weather or sun exposure. Purple highly recommends the use of a very stretchy, breathable mattress protector because without such protection your mattress may not be clean enough or undamaged enough to have this warranty apply. Please note that a non-stretchy or non-breathable mattress protector (or non-stretchy tight sheets) will negate much of the benefit of The Purple® Bed.”
As you can see from my video above, all of the mattress protectors that were tested kept liquids off of the mattresses that I used for testing. In the first 30 seconds of the video you can see the wine and juice pooling in the tufted sections of the mattress closest to the camera (DreamCloud). The Purple mattress protector that was on that mattress collected all of the liquid and after a few minutes not a drop went through.
I don’t have any rodents or “other infestation” to test on, so I’ll just take the manufacturers’ word that they prevent it. This is a case where I’ll trust the FTC to regulate for false advertising. There is no way I’m going to acquire an infestation just to see if my mattress protectors can keep them away from my mattresses.
Will a Mattress Protector Keep my Mattress Clean?
I can’t tell you how often I catch my little ones wiping their hands off on a couch or a mattress after they have a bag of cheetos or doritos… So that’s why Cheetos made an appearance in the second test of the video above (about 15 minutes into it). So ice cream, oreos, chocolate syrup, and cheetos were no match for the protection of the 3 mattress protectors that were tested.
How to Care for and clean a Mattress Protector
They are all washing machine safe. I have been using a Tomorrow Sleep mattress protector on my daughter’s bed for about 6 months now. I wash it frequently, although she is getting better at the night time bed-wetting thing, and it still maintains the protective qualities that I’m looking for.
The day after this test, I used a garden hose to rinse off the ice cream and other stuff from all of the protectors that were in my video. I then let them dry off and put them into the washing machine. Why this extra step? Well, the spills that I usually get aren’t nearly as bad as a full ice cream sundae.
Top 7 Mattress Protector Reviews
Nest Bedding Mattress Protector
Mine somehow shipped to my next door neighbor, so I think it took 5 days to get here, but it could have been at her house for some of that time.
Nest Bedding’s cooling mattress protector is my personal favorite as it incorporates cooling tech into the waterproof material. It is a bit more expensive than many of the competing products, but that cooling effect is well worth it (especially if you live somewhere warm, like I do).
The cover is cool to the touch and is quite breathable. You will notice that my daughter said, “Brrr” in the video as she was sitting on it. Trust me that wasn’t scripted. The Nest Bedding protector was in the second test on the mattress in front. None of the food, or liquid penetrated the protector.
- Cooling
- Passed the Test
- Feels Good
- Doesn’t Crinkle
- Expensive
Purple Mattress Protector
I just love their advertising campaigns, and the one that they do for the mattress protector stars Sasquatch. The purple mattress protector is also breathable so it is cool over night, it’s just not “cool to the touch”. It’s also stretchy so it has a great feel. It ships in a smaller package than all of the other mattress protectors, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I paid $59 plus tax and it arrived in 5 days.
Stretching the Purple Sample, per the instructions to Stretch me!
- Stretchy (It fit over a 15″ thick hybrid mattress)
- Thin/Hard to Notice
- Doesn’t have a “plastic” feel
- Passed the Test
- Affordable
- Not Crinkly
- I’m afraid that Sasquatch may come visit me
You saw how dirty it got with the red juice and wine on it. I then let it sit out overnight, and washed it per the instructions on the tag. Here are the results
No wine stains here!
Tomorrow Sleep Mattress Protector
I chose to not feature the Tomorrow Sleep mattress protector in the video as I have already been testing it for about 6 months. It has already been through the most rigorous test possible, the potty training process of a 3 year old. Nothing has gotten through this protector and it has probably been in the wash over 30 times.
I considered showing it in the video, but then it would have been an odd number. In addition, it has already been through some rough testing and I’m not sure it is in the 100% out of the box condition that the others in the video were. So, to the folks at Tomorrow sleep, I didn’t forget about your product, it just didn’t make the video.
- Over 6 Months of potty training and sleep testing
- Has passed all of the tests that a 3 year old can attempt
- Priced higher than many of the others that we tested
- I don’t love the feel, but I know it is getting the job done.
Brooklyn Bedding Mattress Protector
The Brooklyn Bedding mattress protector is an easy add on when you are doing your one stop shopping on their online store. It is an affordable option and it passed the test in the video.
- Attractive Price
- Passed the Test
- Stretchy
- Doesn’t Crinkle
- It doesn’t have the same feel as some of the more expensive options
Saferest Mattress Protector
This is Amazon’s top selling mattress protector. It passed the test and sells at a lower price than most of the others that I tested.
- Attractive Price
- Passed the Test
- Amazon sells a ton of these
- It doesn’t have the same feel as some of the more expensive options
Nectar Mattress Protector
I paid $85 for it and it shipped to me in 4 days.
The Nectar protector adds an element of softness to the protection that you need. For those of you who feel that their Nectar mattress may be a bit too firm, this will add some fluff to the feeling.
- Passed the Test
- It is soft
- Doesn’t Crinkle
- Priced higher than many of the others that we tested
- My preference is for a thinner cover (yours may differ)
Casper Mattress Protector
I paid $90.99 after taxes for it, and it shipped to me in 4 days. Here are a couple of pictures of the Casper mattress protector:
One of the best features of Casper mattress protector is that you can feel it through the box at your local Target. This is a huge advantage, as Target has other mattress protectors to choose from. Right before I shot the best mattress protector video, I considered buying another one from Target. However, when I went up to the Casper display:
you can feel the pillow before buying it.
I had the opportunity to feel it before I made the purchase (although I ultimately ordered it online so I could test the shipping time). That was the deciding feature for me when I opted to include it and not the target brand.
- You can feel it at Target (You can buy it while you are there also)
- Passed the Test
- Doesn’t Crinkle
- Priced higher than many of the others that we tested
- I didn’t love the feel of it when compared to the others
Best Material and Type
The two main things that you have to look for in a mattress protector are:
- Waterproof
- Breathable
If it’s not waterproof all of the sweat will work into your mattress. Oh, waterproofing your mattress is also an important thing to have when you are potty training your little ones. I’m SOOO embarrassed by the video below. My daughter took a nap on my Sapira and it didn’t have a mattress protector. Don’t be like me! I was lucky that the Sapira had a removable cover. You can see the results on my YouTube video.
It’s also important to get a breathable mattress protector so that your sweat doesn’t just pool on you.
- Cool
- Feel
The feel of a mattress protector is what makes it so hard for me to commit to one. New mattresses show up at my door step often, so when I’m testing them I really want to feel the mattress. There is no getting around this; a mattress protector will take away some of that awesome feel of a new mattress. This means that you have to do your own cost vs benefit analysis. Does the better feel without a protector outweigh the damage that you do to your mattress every night? You have to decide for yourself!
Bed Size
Mattress protectors fit over standard sized mattresses. Here are the sizes for American beds.
- Twin: A twin will measure 39″X 75″. Your basic set up for children and a spare bedroom with limited space
- Full: 54″ X 75″, which is a good size for teenagers as long as you don’t expect them to grow to six feet tall.
- Queen: 60″ X 80″. It fits two adults, but you had really better like each other as you will be very close.
- King: 76″ X 80″. This gives two adults more space, but has the same amount of leg room (height) as a queen.
- California King: 72″ X 84″. This will give plenty of room to two adults and allow people in the 6’6″ range the ability to sleep on a bed without dangling their feet off the end.
Our Rating Criteria
We use 5 categories to rate the mattress protectors we sleep test. Each category is scored 1-10. We use a 10 point must system, so when we are confident that a mattress protector is the best for one of the categories it will receive a 10. All other protectors will be held against that standard.
Sleep Quality
If I’m not able to sleep on a mattress protector, then it’s possible that you may have the same issues. This is really the most important category that a buyer should be focused on. It is nice when a bed is well constructed or made by a reputable company. However, if you can’t sleep on it, you are going to find yourself shopping for a new bed sooner than planned.
Stays Cool
I live in Scottsdale, Arizona and I’ll tell you a little secret about the weather here… It gets hot in the summer. Having a breathable mattress protector is a must here. There aren’t a ton of things worse than having extra heat rising up from your mattress protector making your back or side sweat. Therefore, a breathable protector is a must and if they throw in cooling tech, even better!
Feel
Feel is important, the closer you can get to not noticing the mattress protector the better. You just invested into a mattress, so hopefully you get to feel how great it is.
Waterproof
This is the most important category. In addition to risking it with my 3 year-old daughter. We enjoy spilling all kinds of liquids and rubbing various substances on the protectors to see how they hold up. This is by far the most important category that we test for.
Value
You really have to look at the prices of the mattress protector vs. the competition. Since I live in a hot climate, I place a little bit more value on cooling and breathable protectors.
Why Buy a Mattress protector Online?
- It will ship directly to you, most of the time for free
- Do you really enjoy having a mattress protector salesman follow you around and check you out as you try out all of the mattress protectors? The answer is NO
- Most online retailers offer a trial period of 100 days or more to test out your new mattress protector.
- You have more time to comparison shop from your home.
Why did I pick those mattresses for the Best Mattress Protector Video?
I have had a few people ask me why I risked those particular mattresses when I tested these protectors. Well, let me give you the back story on how I selected them:
The DreamCloud mattress (the big one, closest to the camera) has a one time cleaning service. So, I figured if it got really messed up, then DreamCloud would come to the rescue.
The Douglas mattress (the one on the right of the video) isn’t sold in the US, so I’m not allowed to keep it. Before it gets shipped off to be recycled, I figured it wouldn’t hurt if it were damaged.
The Sapira mattress (in the back left of the video) has already been damaged by my daughter… The cover is removable and I have washed it, but I can see the pee stains that have seeped into the foam, so the Sapira has been scheduled for a trip to the recycle station as well. Side note, that is what started me on this quest to find the best mattress protector. I couldn’t believe that I was dumb enough to allow my three year old to nap on it without one.
