Tips to protect your bed from bedwetting

Bedwetting. A typical event during parents and kids lives, it can mess with your family’s sleep. And sheets. To get ready for midnight accidents and dealing with a wet bed, we have prepared some quick tips from other mamas. These range from quick fixes to smart hacks that can help keep your mattress intact and minimize the fuss during those all important sleep hours. Check out our practical tips from experienced parents: 

Waterproof mattress cover: Mattresses can be expensive and tricky to clean once they have gotten wet. For this reason, it is smart to invest in a waterproof mattress protection cover. There are so many designs, from a basic plastic sheet, to elastics keeping the cover in place, to breathable designs, to disposable designs. They are easy to find, and usually inexpensive. In The Netherlands, good places to check are Ikea, Leen Bakker & Hema. 

Easy to wash fleece blanket: Have you ever wondered, how on earth your child got the bed sheets AND blanket AND pillowcases wet? In those cases, you find it is necessary to change all the bed sheets! Including the blanket. Make your life a bit easier by switching (for the time being) to a synthetic (fleece) blanket that washes easily in the washing machine and dries quickly. Feather duvets are lovely, but perhaps not as suitable for all that washing. You can find some really nice cosy synthetic blankets at Hema, Zara Home, Amazon, etc…

Flat sheet under blanket: This is the old fashioned way of making a bed. First a flat sheet, and then the blanket. Although you may this is more hard work, it could save you washing more bulky sheets, by only having to replace the flat sheet.

Towel hack: It’s the middle of the night. It is the second time your child has wet the bed that night. Maybe its time to try the ‘towel hack’. What this means is, take a towel (or two) and place it on the wet spot of the bed. Leave it on top, and let your child get back into bed on the newly dry spot. Its not ideal, but at least it saves you a lot of time at night changing the sheets and putting the light on. As it’s so simple, it could probably be done even in the dark, minimising the sleep disruption.

Disposable mattress overlay: Your going on holiday, and you are dreading night time accidents. Maybe it’s time to use a disposable mattress protector at Granny’s. It’s not ideal, but at least its something.

Turn the mattress over: Did the mattress get very wet? No problem. Just turn the mattress over and use the other side. Fresh start. 

Re-use waterproof covers: Here’s another trick from one mama. If you would like to re-use waterproof pads, lay them horizontally in the expected wet spot. Move them completely over to one side, and after an accident shift the waterproof layer to the right to use the other side. And Voila!

Sheet quantity: One of the big questions when tackling sheet quantities, is how many sheets to have in the cupboard? One advice is one on the bed, one in the laundry and one in the cupboard. So three in total is a good number.

Define a dirty laundry location: Sometimes you really don’t want wet dirty sheets on the ground, damaging wooden floors. Teach your kids the designated place for their wet sheets. This could be a room corner, the bathroom, an individual laundry basket or even the bathtub!

Extra pj’s and underwear: Have fresh pyjamas and underwear ready for a night time accident. Make it as easy as possible for your child to get back in bed and to sleep at night.

Forget about matching: Keep your life simple and forget the perfectly matching sheets. Who cares if the duvet cover is green with polka dots and the pillow case has stripes. Nobody will notice when they are sleeping, and kids don’t usually care that much about the bed linen fashion police.

Hotel holidays: Treat yourself to a hotel holiday, where if there is a bedwetting event no problem! When you are back from the swimming pool, your child’s sheets will be magically changed! The best thing ever.

Two layer sheets & waterproof protector: Last but not least, have you tried to double up on sheets & mattress protectors? This smart solution requires you to double make the bed. First with one sheet layer and matress protector, and then with another. This way, in the middle of the night, all you have to do, is peel back one set of sheets, to reveal a nice and dry set. Perfect!

We hope you got some ideas from these tips. What tricks do you use to clean the bed after a bedwetting event?