Mum and son become 'Mattress Heroes' with new business

Friday 13 October 2023

Working as a caretaker at St Brelade's Parish Hall, Hugo Rodrigues Silva couldn't have imagined that he would soon be starting a business with his mum.

But Maria Fernanda, who worked in Portugal as a mattress cleaner for 25 years, has been teaching him her unique and expert craft.

After Hugo's stepfather died and Maria joined her son in Jersey, the pair started cleaning friends' mattresses – and these friends, in turn, encouraged them to start their new mattress cleaning company, Mattress Heroes.

"They all said: 'It's amazing, you need to do something with this'," Hugo said.

Hugo had to start over and learn from his mother – but he says it's paying off and the business is getting good feedback from customers.

"My mum taught me everything," Hugo said, adding that learning was difficult, and that it's hard to explain to customers what they do.

The pair are based in St Brelade Parish Hall, where Hugo's partner is taking over his old role as caretaker next week.

 Watch: The duo also use their systems to wash carpets.

The system Maria developed in Portugal was unique there when it was introduced. The pair claim that having a clean mattress helps their customers with asthma and allergies.

Hugo and Maria have been in business for three months now, and "it has been really, really busy," Hugo said, estimating he had had around 30 customers so far.

They have now expanded their business to also cleaning carpets, while retaining their focus on health.

 

 

 

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"All the customers have amazing feedback for us," Hugo said.

"We text the customer the next day to see how it went and everybody is really happy."

Pictured - top: Mother-and-son duo Hugo and Maria Fernanda of Mattress Heroes. (Rob Currie)