Knowing how to extend the life of your mattress can give you an extra couple of years—good as new even after its warranty period.
RELATED: How Does a Virosafe Mattress Protector Work?
Average Mattress Life—What Is the Average Lifespan of a Mattress?
On average, the lifespan of a mattress ranges anywhere between seven to ten years. But this number could dwindle or extend depending on how well you care for your mattress.
Liquid spills can cut short the life of your mattress. Even latex mattresses, the most durable of mattress types, can expire quickly without proper care.
Tips to Extend the Life of Your Mattress
1. Rotate or Flip Your Mattress Regularly
We all have our favorite part of the bed. But unfortunately, using just one or two spots each night can wear out your mattress much faster than if you distributed your weight equally across other parts of the bed. You might also find a permanent dent on your bed that looks strikingly similar to the shape of your body.
The load can stress your spring coils and lead to a creaky bed over time—especially for poor-quality mattresses. And focusing too much weight and pressure on one area can cause sagging in your mattress. In addition to damaging your mattress, a sagging mattress can also cause body pains.
And if you’re a heavier sleeper, your mattress may be more prone to sagging. Side sleepers with especially prominent pressure points—hips and shoulders—might also find that their mattresses sag more quickly.
Rotate your mattress every six months to extend the life of your mattress. If your foam mattress is flippable, flip it as well.
If you notice some sagging or signs of a bad mattress, make a trip to your nearest Serta store.
2. Use a Good Bed Foundation
Or use a foundation at all.
There are many sleepers that place their mattress on the floor. While the floor makes a sturdy support for your mattress, it also leaves your mattress prone to dust and other potential allergens.
The construction and materials of your bed base will also impact the performance of your bed.
Make sure to buy a bed that can bear both your and your partner’s weight and the weight of your mattress, especially if you have a weighty innerspring mattress. Check if your bed foundation has additional support slats and the durability of the materials they use. A crack in your bed frame can create a weakness in your mattress over time.
What Mattress Can Be Used With an Adjustable Bed Base?
Hybrid mattresses are typically compatible with adjustable beds as they are flexible and aren’t damaged by constant bending. Soft, flexible mattresses, like memory foam or latex foam, are also usually compatible with adjustable bed bases. On the other hand, not all spring mattresses are made to withstand any bending.
Consult with a sales agent before using your mattress on an adjustable bed base.
3. Wrap Your Mattress in a Mattress Protector or Encasement
The moment you take it out of the box, encase your mattress in an allergen-free and waterproof mattress protector. A mattress protector is your bed’s first line of defense against accidental coffee spills, dust mites, and pet dander from letting Fido sleep on your bed. On the other hand, a mattress encasement is a more secure and heavy-duty protector, which completely wraps around and zips shut to protect every inch of your mattress—even the bottom. However, this is hard to find in mattress and bedding stores.
A mattress protector and encasement act as barriers against:
- spills
- stains
- dust mites
- bed bugs
- pet dander
- pollen
- dead skin cells
- bodily fluids (e.g. sweat, drool, etc.)
Hypoallergenic bedding and pillow protectors are essential accessories, especially for those prone to allergies. What most sleepers don’t know is that upholstered furniture like your bed are dust collectors.
Bed bugs also feast on dead skin cells, which can also quickly gather in your mattress. By the time you spot early signs of bed bugs, you may already have an infestation in your home. They’re excellent at keeping out of sight, so cleaning regularly guarantees they have no safe hiding spots.
Fluids that seep into your mattress can develop into mold and mildew and can create a breeding ground for bacteria. Keep in mind that not all protectors are able to shield against bed bugs or spills.
Choose a mattress protector that tightly wraps around all corners of your mattress. Carefully read the labels to make sure your mattress protector can safeguard against everything on the list above. You may even find a mattress protector that goes as far as stopping bacterial and viral activities, like the Serta Virosafe Mattress Protector.
4. Clean Your Mattress—ASAP and Regularly
Cleaning your mattress means: cleaning up messes as soon as it happens and proactively cleaning it regularly.
You can find cleaning instructions on the tag of your mattress. Most mattresses can only be spot cleaned with mild soap and a damp rag. You can also dust your mattress with a vacuum cleaner that can suck up dust through fabrics. Vacuuming, alongside regularly cleaning your bed linens, can make sure your bed stays free of bed bugs and dust mites.
Avoid Harsh Ingredients
The best mattress cleaning materials include:
- vinegar
- hydrogen peroxide
- baking soda
These household materials are very effective in cleaning your mattress. Lift persistent stains off of your mattress and deodorize them with a few sprinkles. These stain-busting ingredients are also much gentler than dry cleaning materials. Steam your mattress and bedding afterward for good measure. The steam can straighten out wrinkles and spruce them up!
Before deep-washing your bed, check the care label for cleaning must-dos and must-never! Too tedious? Have it done professionally!
RELATED: How To Clean And Disinfect Your Mattress
5. Air Out Your Bed in the Summer
On your bedding wash day, air out your mattress while your bed linens are in the laundry.
Air circulation is important for mattresses. By allowing air to flow freely through its internal structure, you prevent moisture build-up, keeping it fresh and sanitary.
Let it breathe for an hour before your place your bed linens back on.
6. Avoid Breakfast in Bed
If you want to extend the life of your mattress, you might need to sacrifice one of your favorite morning rituals.
As relaxing and cozy as it is to enjoy a hearty breakfast in bed, crumbs and spills can quickly dirty your bedding and shorten the lifespan of your mattress. And if you wait to clean it up until after breakfast, liquids can seep into the layers of your mattress. These might draw creepy crawlies to your bed too!
7. Remember—Beds Are Not Trampolines
Bouncing on the bend causes unnecessary wear and tear on the bed frame, spring coils, and other mattress layers.
As tempting as it is to jump on the springy coils—or to test the motion isolation of your Serta mattress extremely—jumping on the bed is a quick ticket to the mattress store. Sleeping on just one spot without rotating your bed can lead to heavy damage. Just imagine what jumping on it can do.
As the children’s rhyme goes—no more jumping on the bed. Sorry, little ones!
Do you know how to extend the lifespan of your mattress now? Have you bought a mattress protector yet? Share your mattress care tips and tricks in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you.
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