Clean It Before Flipping
Another important thing that you need to do before you flip the mattress and start putting the sheets on it is grabbing a vacuum cleaner and getting busy cleaning out the surface. The downside of the mattress, which will now be on top, will be exposed to dust, dirt, mites, bacteria, and many other things that will come to the top unless you clean it really well. You can also use a brush for this purpose, but a vacuum cleaner will give you faster and more satisfactory results.
Is It Time You Bought A New Mattress
Three in 10 members expect a mattress to last between eight and 10 years, according to our latest survey. And a quarter of you expect it to last longer.
There are a few things you can do to maximise the lifespan of your mattress but it won’t last for ever. When you’re sleeping on it every night, it’s all too easy to convince yourself your mattress is as good as it was when new. But just because a mattress is comfortable, it doesn’t guarantee that it’s providing good support for your back.
We’ve tested mattresses that will remain supportive without sagging or softening for up to 10 years. But if you’ve had you mattress longer than that, you might want to consider buying a new one.
Take a look at our Best Buy mattresses if you’re due an upgrade.
Which? survey of 1,098 mattress owners in March 2021.
Last checked: April 2021.
Most Comfortable Memory Foam Mattress
A more obvious signal that now is the best time to buy a new mattress is back pain. If you do not wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy, you definitely do not have the right mattress for your body! It is true that different mattresses come with different advantages and fit different body types. The harder memory foam mattress gives support and lasts longer. But they may be more prone to causing pressure point pain and retaining too much heat. The softer memory foam mattress is stereotypically thought of as the best of the memory foam mattresses. Contrary to common belief, soft memory foam mattresses tend to cause more back pain because the mattress conforms to the body but does not deliver proper support.
That leaves medium-firm, the Beyonce of memory foam mattresses. Medium-firm memory foam mattresses are the best at conforming to your body while providing optimal support for your different pressure points. Medium-firm memory foam mattresses are also great for hot sleepers. All of this combined with Emma Mattress top cooling mattress layer creates a dream-like sleep! Please remember, give yourself some time to get used to your new mattress, typically 2 months. That is why, much like the Emma Mattress, many mattresses nowadays come with a 100 night trial.
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You Sleep Better On A Different Mattress
You might want to replace your mattress if you notice that you sleep much better on a different mattress. If you often wake up with a stuffed-up nose or joint pain, and then they sleep in a hotel and wake up with none of those problems, this could be a sign that your mattress is causing your sleep troubles.
If you think your mattress might be reaching the end of its lifespan, you should try sleeping on a newer mattress and compare your experience.
How To Tell When You Need A New Mattress
Do you check your mattress at regular intervals? If you do not, it may be high time you should pay attention to. There are a few tell-tale signs that would indicate that it is the time to change your mattress.
The age of your mattress is an important aspect you may need to check out if you want to know when you need to change your mattress. Generally, if it is more than 8 years old, it may be high time you should change it.
Of course, mattresses come with a warranty of 20 years, but it should not matter when your health is at stake. A saggy mattress is yet another sign to indicate it needs replacement. There may be dents in your mattress that indicates that your mattress is worn out.
You may be feeling you havent rested even after sleeping for eight hours or more. Then there are other issues like dust or allergic particles. Take note of all those aspects to decide when you should change your mattress.
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Density Thickness & Weight
I reckon that a mattress is there to support your body weight. All these mattresses by high-end brands have the ability to support it, but a mattress with less than 10-inch thickness can barely stand heavy weights. For instance, if two people share the same mattress, it can start sagging quicker.
Generally, it is said that a standard mattress can withstand weight up to 150 pounds easily as long as you dont roll around from one corner to the other.
In all these years, Ive seen several mattress companies and each of them is different than the other in terms of material quality, level of firmness, and manufacturing.
Most of the companies usually offer three levels of firmness, plush, medium and hard. In case youre shopping online, make sure to check the product reviews as you dont get to try the firmness level, so it is always a better idea to consider what others think of it.
Besides, I always take help from the firmness scale most companies use to advertise their mattresss firmness level. It is a scale that goes from one to ten, starting from very soft and plush to extremely hard and firm.
While visiting the markets, Ive seen most mattresses in a range of 3-8 as a mattress that is too firm or too soft wouldnt be comfortable enough to sleep. For anyone concerned about heavy body weight, a firm mattress would do the talking.
Is Your Mattress Old
Are you sleeping on the same bed you slept on in your college dorm room or maybe you inherited your mattress from a beloved aunts dusty guest room? Be honest. Do you even know how old it is?
Regardless of the warranty, a decent bed only lasts 7-8 years depending on its quality, what its made with, and how often it is used.
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How Often To Buy A New Mattress If You Have Pets
Sleeping with your pet every night is truly one of lifes greatest pleasures. However, sharing a bed with your pet can definitely reduce the lifespan of your mattress. Pets can scratch up the mattress, larger animals can weaken the support. When pets use the bathroom on your bed, their little accidents seep into your mattress and can be hard to remove.
After a while, youre going to have to decide whether you just need to clean your mattress again or buy a new one altogether.
Additionally, if you or your partner have pet allergies, those can affect the quality of your/their sleep. Pet hair and dander can both stick to the top of your sleeping surface and seep into your mattress, causing the party with allergies to spend the night in discomfort.
In cases like these, a mattress protector can be a lifesaver when it comes to keeping your mattress usable for a longer period of time. Simply slip your sheets over your protector and wash your sheets regularly. Now you and your pets can sleep happily.
How To Stop Your Mattress From Smelling
Regardless of how comfortable your mattress is, you’re unlikely to get a good night’s sleep if you’re unable to escape an unpleasant smell when you put your head down.
There are two reasons your mattress might smell. The first is because it’s new. It’s not uncommon for mattresses made with synthetic materials such as memory foam to have a strong chemical smell when you first unpack them. But even if your mattress isn’t synthetic, you might find it smells a bit when new as a result of the flame-retardant chemicals that manufacturers are required to apply by law.
The smell should disperse gradually, but you can speed up the process by leaving it near an open window to air. Find out more about how to improve your indoor air quality at home.
Or, if the smell is especially strong, you can try airing the mattress outside if you have a patio and the weather is good.
The second reason a mattress might smell is if something has soaked into the material. Bodily fluids are obvious examples, but drinks such as tea and coffee can easily be spilt if you’re enjoying breakfast in bed. Even spilt water can give the mattress a musty smell if the fabric hasn’t been properly dried out.
If the smell still hasn’t gone and you’ve had your mattress for a while, it might be time to replace it. See our round-up of the best mattress deals.
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Worsening Allergies Or Asthma
If its not allergy season and theres no alternate explanation for an uptick in allergy or asthma symptoms, your mattress might be the culprit. Slate interviewed an expert on dust mites that said your mattress is a crime scene in terms of how it gets inoculated with mites over time.
The protein in dust mite feces may cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks and so can the dust that accumulates in your mattress. Vacuuming, steaming, and flipping your mattress might reduce dust and mites to ease your symptoms. If these steps dont help, a new mattress might be the solution.
Do You Need A New Base
If youre investing in a mattress, you may also want to consider buying a new base or frame. While traditional innerspring beds often paired with box springs, many modern beds do not require much more than a platform or can even be placed on the floor, if you prefer.
Some brands, especially those that are all-foam, may make recommendations regarding wooden slats, central supports, or other features that can provide a more substantial base for the bed, so consult with customer service reps to see what will work best. Theres little point in investing your hard-earned money in a brand new mattress and using an out-of-date base that could, in some cases, void the warranty.
You may also want to consider an adjustable base, as newer models by far out-perform the clunky, noisy adjustable bases you may be more familiar with. Whisper quiet models are designed to fit seamlessly into existing bed frames so you do not need to sacrifice your decor, and split sided bases could allow you and your partner to sleep in your preferred position without compromise.
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Longevity: Considerations For Long
A good mattress can last you years if you choose correctly based on your long-term plans and life trajectory. Though budget or space constraints may factor into your choice, brands that can live with you will maximize your investment.
Size
Your choice of sides will depend on several factors, including how much space you have, your body size, growth expectations, and if you need to share it. Lets discuss each standard mattress size one at a time, but note that some companies may not offer every size. Height will also vary depending on which brand you choose.
Thickness
Mattress height varies depending on which brand you choose, and more entry-level choices tend to be much thinner and simpler in their design that taller luxury matress brands that have more complicated comfort layers and support systems. If you have trouble getting in and out of bed, a mattress that is exceptionally tall may prove to be a problem.
Durability
Beware that price is not always an indication of quality, and some materials will naturally wear out faster than others, depending on how they are formulated and placed. In general, latex tends to last longer than poly foams, and tufting tends to endure natural wear and tear longer than adhesives. The longevity of coils will depend on their gauge and how they are attached to one another.
Adaptability
Learn About Different Mattress Materials
Before you buy, familiarize yourself with the most common mattress types and how they are constructed.
- Innerspring mattresses use coils, which often provide a traditional bounce feel and strong support.
- Latex mattresses typically offer more bounce and responsiveness than innerspring mattresses, and they tend to sleep cooler.
- Memory foam mattresses are designed to contour to the body, which may lead to pressure relief. Some users of memory foam report that the material sleeps warm.
- Hybrid mattresses combine memory foam or latex layers atop an innerspring mattress, often with the goal of providing a mix of softness and support.
- Air mattresses use an air pump to inflate the mattress to the desired firmness level. Typically, each side of the bed uses a separate chamber of air to accommodate two sleepers with differing preferences.
Mattresses are also rated based on firmness. In general, a mattress that is too old or too soft may not support the spine well enough.
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What Happens To Your Mattress After 10 Years
Over time your mattress will begin to gain weight. For example, you purchase a new mattress that weighs 100 pounds, after 10 years, that mattress will double its weight to 200 pounds because over the years it collected all the body oil, dead skin, dirt, dust mites, and, yes, dust mite fecal matter. If those arent good enough reasons to buy a new mattress, then we dont know what would be.
Dont Go Broke Buying One
No matter who you are, mattress buying is an investment, but theres no reason to break your finances and gouge your savings to buy a new bed. There are fantastic sleep solutions out there that should match what you need, regardless of your budget, so sit down ahead of time and decide what money you are willing to spend before you begin looking.
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Why You Don’t Want To Sleep On A Super
First of all, using a worn-out mattress or pillow might inflame health conditions like allergies and asthma, Neomi Shah, M.D., associate professor of sleep medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells SELF.
This is because your mattress and pillow can harbor allergens like dust mites, which are microscopic creatures that feed off your dead skin, according to the Mayo Clinic. Dust mites can kick off the physiological processes behind allergy and asthma symptoms, and if these critters die in your mattress or pillow, they can build up over the course of years. This is especially true if youre not using allergen-proof pillow and mattress covers.
Then theres the way that having a super old mattress and pillow can screw with your neck and back, causing you pain when you wake up, Mona Zall, D.O., an interventional spine orthopedist at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, tells SELF. Some people even develop pain from this that rouses them at night, Dr. Shah says. This can disturb your sleep, as can tossing and turning because your mattress or pillow isnt doing its job.
How Often Should I Rotate Or Turn My Mattress
Your mattress should provide you with years of comfort and good support. To keep your mattress in great condition, we recommend that you rotate it at least once every three months. This means moving your mattress from the head of your bed to the foot – from top to bottom.
Rotating your mattress regularly is important, because it helps to keep the comfort fillings evenly distributed. It also means that you’ll use each side equally. It’s an easy way to improve its lifespan and it forms part of general mattress care.
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Read This If You Have Memory Foam
If your mattress is made with memory foam, it can sometimes be a little more difficult to tell if theres a problem .
Memory foam is, after all, meant to conform to your body, so its not unusual for you to see indents or feel yourself sinking.
The thing with memory foam, though, is it tends to get softer over time.
If you notice yourself sinking deeper than two inches into the foam, or if you notice the impression left by your body lasting long after youve gotten up, then you should know its time to move on to a better mattress.
Your Body Is Complaining
A good mattress means a happy body.
Ideally, if youre sleeping on the right material and getting the right amount of sleep, you should wake up every morning feeling well-rested and refreshed.
There shouldnt be any aches or pains, and you shouldnt be left tossing and turning every night in order to get to sleep.
If youve got a bad mattress, though, odds are thats just not going to happen.
Bad mattresses dont give us the kind of support we need.
They make our bodies work overtime during the night and as were falling asleep.
We want to get into a comfortable position, but thats not actually possible on a bad mattress.
Often, as the comfort layers of a mattress give out, your midsection will be left sagging.
This puts too much pressure on your neck, shoulders, and back, which can result in pain and soreness.
If youre consistently waking up with a morning neck pain that gets better throughout the day, its time to get a new mattress.
And if your body is making an impression of 1.5 inches or deeper, chances are good that youre either experiencing sleep pain now or youre about to at some point in the near future.
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