Mildew needs moisture to grow. Possibly there's something inside the Aerobed causing it to bulge maybe a mildew environment, who knows. Toss everything else and see if Costco will take the Aerobed back.
1. Get a real bed and clean bedding that is up off the floor.
2. Toss anything that can feed off the mold that currently exists and start over.
3. Keep it clean and dry and stay in a clean/dry environment (out of basements, etc.)
My first thought is that it came from the Aerobed; but who knows. Once there's a mildew situation, best to just toss, clean and start over.

I've heard of this before. Moisture is trapped between the vinyl air mattress and the foam pad promoting the growth of mold and mildew. I don't know how to avoid it, particularly when you live in an environment that is damp like San Francisco. I'm guessing that you could take the foam pad off once per week when the sheets are washed and lay it upside down to air and dry out. At that time, I would wipe down the vinyl with alcohol or a weak ammonia solution to kill anything on the mattress.

I told him that he needs to air it out once a week, and maybe wipe it down with something like a weak bleach or hydrogen peroxide solution. We also thought it might be a good idea to put an inexpensive mattress pad between the mattress and the foam topper.

He doesn't want to get a real bed right now, because then he would have to hire a truck if he has to move. As it is, he can move all of his belongings in his car in a couple of trips.

My first reaction was to blame it on the egg crate foam. (Or at least it's aggravating the condition.) I wanted to add some extra padding to our dog's vinyl crate mat so I cut a piece of egg crate foam and slid it inside the mat. We primarily used the crate for travel. Dog's fur wasn't wet when in the crate, he didn't soil it. But eventually I started to notice an odor, thought it might be the vinyl till I unzipped it and wow, no mold but pungent odor from the egg crate. I pitched it. I just figured it was from body heat, not sure, but that kind of foam seems to not 'breathe' well.

I'd suggest swapping the egg crate and going with a poly filled mattress pad. Bed Bath Beyond has some really thick nice ones, encased in cotton sheeting. Some are more tightly quilted than others, some are really filled (a few inches thick). The thicker they are the pricier they get so it helps to hit a sale and/or have a coupon. The thicker ones (3") feel like a cloud and the one my mother used for several years retained it's loft really well and always smelled fresh when changing bedding.

It wasn't this brand but it looked very similar to this one.

Also agree with the weekly airing out. A dehumidifier is probably not an option but if the environment is damp maybe a few of those DampRid containers that absorb moisture?

Everyone sweats and releases moisture when they sleep. That's why you'll also notice yellowing on mattress pads. Air mattresses are not meant to be slept on indefinitely and using them as permanent beds does not give the mattress time to dry out, especially when there is some sort of additional cushioned topper being used as it's trapping even more moisture. Sweating is unavoidable, so the air mattress will need to be aired out fairly regularly.

Agree with the above -- cool air in the mattress, warm body, perspiration and condensation trapped between the vinyl mattressa and egge crate foam. CThey really aren't meant to be used long term, While at Costco, I'd look at one of the novaform mattresses -- a foam mattress that comes in a box he could move with him, sell it or donate it. Probably not much more in cost tan the air mattress and egg crate, but it will last a lot longer. And not mildew on him.

This is a 3 year old thread.