A high-quality mattress normally comes with a 10-year warranty, but you can significantly exceed the lifespan of that mattress if you treat it with care. And one of the best ways to improve its lifespan is to flip it regularly. 

But how often should you flip your mattress to improve its lifespan? For a newly purchased mattress, you should flip it once every month for the first six months and then once every three months after that. 

To learn more about flipping your mattress, please read on to learn the answers to the following questions:

  • How often should I flip my mattress to improve its lifespan?
  • Why should I invest in a good mattress?
  • Why should I invest in a mattress protector?
  • How to keep the mattress clean?
  • How will I know when it’s time to replace the mattress?

How often should I flip my mattress to improve its lifespan?

Generally, it depends upon the quality and how old your mattress is. 

Ideally, the recommended time for a newly purchased mattress is once every month for six months, and then every three months after that. 

Most people don’t pay attention to the seriousness of sagging. The crumples that start to form on the mattress eventually become the reason for back pain. 

When we sleep in the same spot regularly, the mattress gets saggy, and indentations (the curve down silhouette on the mattress) begin to develop. This is the main reason you should flip the mattress: it makes the comfort last longer. 

Some mattresses are difficult to flip; if this is the case, you can rotate it instead. The process is necessary to maintain the lifespan of the mattress, especially when it’s new. 

So, remember, new mattresses are to be turned over once-a-month for the first six months. Once your mattress hits the six-month point, you should flip it every three months for the remainder f its lifespan. 

Each of us has different preferences when it comes to the choice of bed. In particular, a mattress that is comfortable for one person may be painful for another. Mattress comfort is, therefore, top of the list when choosing a new bed.

Why does flipping a mattress improve its lifespan?

Flipping is the most efficient process to maintain the quality of a mattress. You should flip it to keep the evenness in place. 

By rotating your mattress at 90 degrees angle from head to foot, and flipping it over at 180 degrees, you’ll improve evenness across the surface of the mattress. 

It will also help mattress foams break into the body. Over time, they’ll be compressed in all the places they need to be to last up to the duration of the warranty, which for a good mattress is normally ten years.

Should I also rotate the mattress?

Flipping the mattress (with a rotation) is more beneficial than merely rotating it. This happens because when you only rotate the mattress, you are using one of its surfaces. But when you flip the mattress, you use both sides, which makes it comfortable and evenly age. Hence, the mattress lifespan gets an increase. 

Flipping a mattress ensures that the pressure exerted through the human body is spread evenly over the mattress, and excessive wear is prevented.

What’s the correct way to flip a mattress? 

New mattresses usually come with specific instructions on how it should be flipped. However, the process is quite simple if your mattress doesn’t include the instructions. 

  1. Pick the mattress up off the frame.
  2. Place the mattress back on the frame with the opposite side facing up. 

If you don’t feel confident in your lifting abilities, you can call for help. No matter what you do, work gently and slowly to prevent any rips and tears on the bed. The last thing you want to do is decrease your mattress’s lifespan while actively trying to increase it!

Bonus hotel secret

You’re likely familiar with how consistently comfortable hotel mattresses are. 

Here’s their secret to ensure comfort: hotels keep track by writing months on each end of the mattress: “January” (right side up), “April” (upside down), “October” (right side up) and “July” (upside down). Whenever one of those months rolls around, they adjust the mattress so that the appropriate month’s name is right side up at the foot of the bed.

The rest of this article will cover the best ways to improve your mattress’ lifespan:

  • Why should I invest in a good mattress?
  • Why should I invest in a mattress protector?
  • How to keep the mattress clean?
  • How will I know when it’s time to replace the mattress?

Why should I invest in a good mattress?

Buying a new mattress can be a stressful and expensive experience, but it’s worth investing the time and expense in making the right choice. 

Everyone has a different budget and preference, so mattress shops provide a wide range of options. There are many points to be considered before buying a mattress, the most important of which is reliability.

The following mattresses are considered reliable:

  • Zenhaven: A dual comfort Talalay latex mattress. One side has a medium-soft (4) level of firmness, and the other provides a greater level of firm (7) support.
  • Sleep EZ Roma Latex Mattress: A comfortable mattress ideal for sleepers who find that their firmness preferences fluctuate nightly experience. Sleep EZ Roma Latex Mattress tend to be good for cool sleep and comfort, while also offering great movement isolation.
  • Layla Mattress: This memory foam mattress has been infused with copper.  A medium setting is aimed at relieving pressure and a firm setting offers a user support. Nolah Signature 12 Mattress: This mattress can be flipped. It offers users medium and a firm settings.
  • Plank mattress by Brooklyn Bedding: This is a firm mattress and targets customers that want maximum support. It is made up of two types of polyfoam material.
  • Latex for Less Mattress: You can flip this mattress as needed. A medium side spreads the pressure on the mattress will mold to your body shape. A firm side provides users that want maximum support. 

How long can my mattress last? 

When investing a significant amount of money in purchasing a mattress, we want to understand how long it is going to last. Generally, it’s like asking how long the comfort life of a mattress is expected to last based on the duration of the warranty.

If you keep flipping the mattress over time, flopping of mattress will be prevented. It will assure a long-lasting mattress; hence you’ll be able to enjoy the comfort for a longer time. 

The lifespan varies for various types of mattresses. For example, if you’re using a high-quality mattress made of memory foam or Tempur material, you can probably get at least ten years out of it with consistent flipping. 

But if you’re looking at a mattress with a lot of polyurethane layers, a coil system, no latex, and no memory foam, then you’re probably looking at five to six years instead. While this might not seem like a long time compared to the higher-quality mattresses that last ten years, this lifespan is still double the two to three these mattresses normally get.  

Should I invest in a mattress protector?

The answer is yes. A mattress protector is an essential item that sits on top of a mattress to protect it. The latest advanced mattress protectors also protect the mattress to the person sleeping from allergens and irritants like bed bugs, dust mites, mold, and gross dead skin (like dandruff).

Mattress protectors have several great features:

This article is owned by Sleeping Report and was first published on March 31, 2020

  1. Helps protect the warranty: They will keep your mattress warranty intact and valid. Some manufacturers don’t pay out if there’s a stain on the mattress, but if you purchase the mattress protector on the same receipt as the new mattress. You save yourself from this stress, so if you buy them on the same receipt, then you’ll be covered for your warranty in terms of any kind of stain damage.
  2. Increase longevity: mattress protectors help improve the longevity of your mattress.
  3. Healthy lifestyle: mattress protectors help prevent bacteria from getting inside the mattress, ensuring a healthy lifestyle. 

How to keep the mattress clean

Cleaning and maintaining your mattress are just as important as any other housekeeping task, if not more so. Don’t forget; we spend about a third of our life in bed. The following tasks are recommended to keep a healthy mattress:

  • Change your sheets more often.
  • Keep your mattress dry.
  • Remove stains.

Change your sheets more often

By changing your sheets more often, we don’t mean once a week; it should be at least four times a week, if not daily. 

Clean sheets are more comfortable to sleep on, smell fresh, and eventually lift your mood. It will prevent dead skin from piling up and settling into the mattress. Dead skin is a favorite meal for dust mites. So for people who are allergic to dust mites or have asthma, this can provide great health benefits.

To implement this tip, it’s best to have a few different sets of sheets on hand. Washing your sheets daily is impractical, so you should have at least three different sets so that you don’t have to run the wash every day. 

Keep your mattress dry

Always keep your mattress dry no matter what. Imagine spilling a glass of juice, and it seeping into the mattress. 

If you ignore it, you risk the threat of molds and mildews developing. The smell can become unbearable. Protect your mattress from moisture by covering it with a mattress cover before putting the sheets on. A mattress cover will protect it from stains. Make sure to wash the mattress cover every few weeks.

A practical tip from Dean Davis, is, “simply turn on a fan or leave the mattress nearby your AC.” Both are simple and practical solutions, but If you can put it out where sunlight can kiss your mattress, your job is done.” Now you know how to do it and how to do it right.

Remove stains

An accidental spillage can cause stains. Even a mattress protector can occasionally fail to prevent stains in every situation. 

Taking breakfast in bed, spilling a drink, or in worse cases, blood, urine, and other bodily fluids can saturate the mattress cover and seep into the mattress. Stain remover fluids should be used to remove as much of the stain as possible.

Over the lifetime of a mattress, it will accumulate several pounds of dead skin cells that attract bacteria and harm the healthy sleeping environment, which could end up causing you sickness in the long term. Vacuum your mattress every few weeks to help prevent this buildup of skin. 

This article is owned by Sleeping Report and was first published on March 31, 2020

How will I know when it’s time to say goodbye to the mattress?

There are two clear signs that you need to purchase a new mattress:

  • Back pain
  • Sagging mattress

Back pain

Back pain is a common indicator that your mattress needs to be replaced. If you’re waking up in the morning and feel like you haven’t slept well or if you wake up with pain in your lower back or your shoulders area, it’s time to replace your mattress.

However, back pain doesn’t always mean your mattress is to blame. While many instances of back pain can be traced to the mattress you’re using, there are also a variety of other reasons your back can hurt. 

If you’re experiencing any kind of chronic back pain, you should consult with a medical professional to determine its source. However, there are a few things that can tell you whether it’s likely that your mattress is causing your back pain or not:

  • Pain when you wake up that dissipates throughout the day. If your mattress is causing your back pain, it’s going to be most prominent when you wake up in the morning. If you notice your pain is most prominent after sleeping, then your mattress might be the culprit. 
  • You have a low-quality mattress. If you skimped on buying a good mattress, the lack of quality makes it more likely that your mattress is the source of your pain. 

Sagging mattress

Another way to tell if it’s time to change is by body indentations that are equal to or greater than an inch and a half. If you look at your mattress and the top has sagging or a body silhouette that is deep and uncomfortable, then your mattress probably needs to be replaced.

When checking for a sagging mattress, don’t check right after getting out of bed. All mattresses will sag a little right after you remove your weight from them. If you want an accurate indication of a mattress’s sagginess, you need to wait until it has reset after your rest. 

Summary

Ideally, the recommended time for a newly purchased mattress is once every month for six months, and then every three months after that. If your mattress is heavy to be flipped, rotate it. Pay attention to the sags, flops, and keep track of how often you perform flipping. 

The crumples that start to form on the mattress eventually become the cause of back pain. When we sleep in the same spot on a regular basis, the mattress gets saggy and can start to develop indentations (the curve down silhouette on the mattress). This is the main reason to Flip the mattress.

Flipping the mattress (with a rotation) is more beneficial than merely rotating it. This happens because when you only rotate the mattress, you are using one side of its surfaces. But when you flip the mattress, you use both sides, which makes it comfortable and evenly age. Hence, the mattress lifespan gets a hike.

Mattresses come with specific instructions on which could be flipped. However, the process is quite uncomplicated. First, you pick it, second, you put it back on the frame with the opposite side facing upwards.

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Finally, here are a few tips on how to maintain your mattress:

  • Change your sheets more often: Try to change at least four times a week, if not daily.
  • Keep your mattress dry: Protect your mattress from moisture by covering it with a mattress cover before putting the sheets on. A mattress cover will protect it from stains. Make sure to wash the mattress cover every few weeks.
  • Remove stains: A mattress protector might fail to prevent stains in every situation.
  • If you use a mattress protector, the durability of the mattress increases: You should always buy a mattress protector with the mattress. This serves the following values: first, Intact warranty even with stains, second, Increased longevity, and third, helping maintain a healthy lifestyle.