How to care for a mattress

How to prolong the life of your mattress

No matter how much you paid for the mattress on your bed, you want it to last for a long time. Even though it is covered with bedding and the only time you see it is when you launder the bedding and replace it with clean sheets, it still needs to be cared for.

By paying attention to the mattress on your bed, it will last for at least ten years. It needs to be cleaned from time to time and inspected for wear and tear. This is where you spend at least one-third of your day and you should give it the same care as you do with your clothing and the furniture in your home.

Instructions

Step 1

Place a covering on the mattress

A cotton mattress pad will give the mattress the protection that it needs from becoming discolored. As you sleep, your body prespires and this soaks through the sheet on the bed to the mattress below. Over time, you will notice discoloration of areas of the mattress when you don’t use a suitable mattress cover.

Step 2

Rotate the mattress

To keep the mattress firm and level, you should rotate the mattress several times a year. Mattresses that don’t have a pillow top should be flipped over completely at least once every six months. In this way you are not just sleeping on one side of the mattress.

Even with the pillowtop mattresses you should switch them around once or twice a year so that the same part of the mattress is not always at the top or the bottom of the bed.

Step 3

Air out the mattress

The mattress is a haven for bedbugs — everyone has them. Even though it may be your practice to make the bed as soon as you get up each morning, you should pull down all the bedding from the mattress and let it air out for about an hour before you make it up. When the weather is suitable, you should open the windows so that fresh air can get at the mattress.

Step 4

Sit in different places on the mattress

If you tend to sit on the edge of the bed to get dressed, try to sit in different places. Sitting in the same spot day after day can cause this part of the mattress to sag over time.

Things Needed

• mattress cover

• mattress

• fresh air

• help in moving the mattress

Tips & Warnings

• There are handles on the sides of the mattress. These are only to be used when you are getting the mattress into the right position on the bed frame. You can damage the mattress if you use these handles to lift it or move it from one place to another.

• Mattresses come with a warranty. There is a tag on every mattress that says «Do not remove». If you take it off, then you do void the warranty.

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