Mattress care: the 10 habits that make a mattress last
A good mattress is an eight-to-ten-year purchase, and most of what decides whether yours gets there is habit, not luck. The ten habits below protect two things at once: the feel you chose in the showroom, and the warranty and comfort exchange that stand behind it. None of them takes more than a few minutes.
1. Put it on the right base
Every mattress needs a flat, supportive base, and many warranties require one. A mattress on a worn box spring, a frame with wide gaps between the slats, or the floor wears unevenly and can dip early, and a brand will not treat that dip as a defect if the support underneath was the cause. Your options are a foundation, a platform bed with closely spaced slats, or an adjustable base. If you plan to reuse an old box spring under a new mattress, press on it first. If it gives or creaks, replace it with the mattress.
Browse frames and foundations, or read our adjustable base guide if you want to raise your head or feet.
2. Use a protector from day one
A protector keeps sweat, spills and dust out of the fabric and foam, and it keeps the mattress clean and unstained, which is a condition of the 120-night comfort exchange and of most brand warranties. A stain can void a claim even when the mattress is otherwise fine. Put the protector on the day the mattress arrives, wash it on the schedule its maker gives, and put it straight back. Our mattress protector guide explains the types, or shop protectors directly.
3. Give it three to four weeks
A new mattress feels firmer at first. Its materials have not been slept on yet, and your body is used to the shape of the old bed, which was probably softer than you remember. Give it three to four weeks of normal use before you judge it. Sleeping on it every night is the only break-in it needs; you do not have to walk on it or knead it. If the feel is still wrong, you can exchange it once within 120 nights, for comfort only, as long as the law tags are attached and it is clean and unstained. Full terms are in our refund policy.
4. Rotate, do not flip
Most modern mattresses are one-sided and should not be flipped. The comfort layers are on top and the support layers are underneath, so turning it over puts you on the wrong side. What helps is rotating it head to foot every few months, especially in the first couple of years, so both ends wear at the same pace.
| One-sided mattress (most beds today) | Two-sided mattress | |
|---|---|---|
| Flip it? | No. Only one side is built to sleep on. | Yes, when the brand says both sides are sleep surfaces. |
| Rotate it? | Yes, head to foot. | Yes, and alternate rotating with flipping. |
| How often | Every three months for the first couple of years, then every six months, unless your brand's care instructions say otherwise. | Same schedule. |
| Not sure which you have? | Look at the law tag and your brand's care instructions. If only one side has a quilted sleep surface, it is one-sided. | |
To rotate with two people: strip the bed, stand one person at each side, lift the mattress a few inches and walk it a quarter turn at a time until the head end is at the foot. Keep it flat the whole way and lift with your legs. On many mattresses the side handles are for positioning, not for carrying the full weight, so lift from underneath. On an adjustable base, return the base to flat before you rotate, then check that the mattress sits square against the retainer bar at the foot when you are done.
5. Let it breathe
A mattress takes in moisture every night. Strip the bed for a morning now and then and leave the room to air so the surface can dry out. When you store or move one, do not wrap it tightly in plastic in a humid room; trapped moisture is how mildew starts, and mildew voids an exchange or warranty claim. A breathable mattress bag in a dry room is the better option.
6. Deal with spills right away
Pull the sheets and protector off as soon as it happens. Blot the spot with a clean, dry cloth; do not rub, which pushes liquid deeper. Dab with a little mild dish soap in cold water, blot again with plain water, and let the mattress dry fully before you make the bed, with a fan on it if you have one. Never soak foam, and never use a steam cleaner on memory foam. For an odor, sprinkle baking soda over the dry surface, leave it a few hours, then vacuum it off. Check your brand's care instructions before you try anything stronger.
7. Keep the law tag on
The white tag sewn to the mattress is the law tag. It identifies the mattress and what it is made of, and it is needed for warranty claims and for the comfort exchange. A mattress missing its law tag is excluded from warranty, return and exchange. The warning on the tag is aimed at sellers, not at you, but there is no reason to cut it off. Leave it on and tuck it under the fitted sheet if it bothers you.
8. No jumping, and vary where you sit
Jumping loads the foam and springs far harder than sleeping does and can break coils or tear foam, which a warranty treats as misuse. Sitting is subtler. If you sit on the same edge every morning to put on your shoes, that edge softens first. Move around, use a chair for shoes, and do not use the edge as a step.
9. Move it right
Keep the mattress flat when you can, or on its side briefly for a hallway or a stairwell. Never fold or bend a spring mattress; coils that bend do not recover. Some all-foam mattresses can be rolled for a move, but check your brand's care instructions first. Slide it into a mattress bag before it goes anywhere so it arrives as clean as it left, and carry it with two people. If it is going onto a new base, make sure the base is level before the mattress goes on.
10. Know the signs it is done
Even a well-kept mattress wears out. The signs: you wake up stiff, the edge has softened, you can feel a dip or a coil, you sleep better in a hotel, or the mattress is more than eight to ten years old. Any two of those and it is time to come lie on something new. When you replace it around Los Angeles, our delivery team takes the old one away, one for one with what you buy, on California orders. The other ways to get rid of it are in our guide to getting rid of an old mattress in Los Angeles, and the California mattress recycling fee page explains the per-piece fee that pays for recycling.
Come lie on one
Mattress Central is at 3319 Glendale Blvd in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, open daily 9 AM to 8 PM. Call (323) 522-3410 with a care question any time. Delivery is free, and around Los Angeles our own team sets the mattress up and takes the old one away on California orders. Every new mattress comes with a 120-night comfort exchange. The FAQ and the refund policy have the details.