How to Fix a Mattress That Sinks in the Middle

Let’s just get right to the point, most of us cannot fix a sagging, wearing mattress. It’s simple if you happen to have expensive mattress manufacturing equipment lying around your house and the knowledge and expertise of mattress assembly at your fingertips.  For the rest of us, the fact is when the padding materials used on the inside of a mattress dents in and breaks down, there really is only one way to repair it since they are sealed products that are sewn shut. The most effective way to fix that big dip is to open it up and replace all of the worn upholster layers and sew it back up.

Thinking of trying to repair it yourself? Here is a list of the 10 most popular tricks and advice that is suggested to increase the support under a mattress, make it more comfortable, and raise the places where the mattress is sagging.

Bed Frame Center Support

If you recently purchased your new mattress set and find it is drooping where you lay, it’s likely due to a lack of proper center support. Purchasing steel slats with center legs that touch the ground can shore up the middle and give your set the added base support required under warranty.

Rely on Your Warranty

Sounds like a great idea doesn’t it? After all, when you purchased it new it’s reasonable to assume the expensive bed includes the important perks you paid for, right? Wrong, do not assume warranty will cover your sink hole; on average the official industry line on warranties is that the body impression has to be 1 ½ deep. The majority of us would call such a measurement unreasonably deep. Company guarantees are nothing more than written promises that are to be easily broken. Their warranties are written by lawyers to protect the manufacturer and they lack real substance and value.

Replace Your Pillow Top

Some mattress owners claim they will never buy a pillow or euro-top mattress again. Truth be told, the developing canoe affect is not just an issue with pillow tops, it’s a serious concern with any bed that uses layer upon layer of low quality foam, fiber, and other upholstery. The best solution: Plan ahead and research before you buy. Consider purchasing a firm bed or a firmer double-sided mattress and purchase a pillow top topper separately. This is an easy low cost solution that allows for replacement of the cushy surface material and is a better alternative to buying a whole new mattress set.

Care and Proper Maintenance Are #1 Concern

Turn your mattress end to end and then flip it over. By doing so the foam and padding has a chance to fluff back up. If the support does not come back, chances are the mattress is worn out. For those researching mattress issues, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and there is no substitute for better care to prolong the overall long-term life of your set.

• EXAMPLE: If you want the tires to last on your car they require proper upkeep; correct air pressure and tire rotation is essential to get more miles out of your tires.  Another consideration is opting for quality 2 sided mattress versions that allow for flipping over and rotating the bed end to end. This has been essential care for nearly 100 years for longer life because it spreads out the load and evens out wear over its life.

Fluff Your Mattress

Highly controversial as to whether this actually works and in my opinion it does not.  Bashing the fill around in the same way you would fluff pillows by beating, massaging, kneading really is nothing more than a quick fix at best. Why, because worn out materials are simply going to flatten back out or nest where you sleep very quickly.

Use The Other Side

Flip the mattress onto the wrong side- This is a horrible option if you have one of the modern 1 side mattresses. While the bottom foam may seem better and firmer, you have done nothing more than re-purposed it to become the top cushioning (comfort and sleeping surface layer). By itself this may not seem to be an issue; however this new “top cushioning” will now be supported by the broken down foam that was causing you problems in the first place.

• NOTE: It is not good to use soft layers as your bottom core support, especially layers that are already worn out. Finally the bottom fabric material is not something most would find comfortable to sleep on and is generally nothing more than a nonskid material that was put there to keep the mattress from sliding off the boxspring.

Build Up Under The Sagging Area

This perhaps is the worst idea of all since most anything you could add will completely change the continuity of support, pressure relief, and any comfort that may still remain in the mattress. Piling up blankets, foam, or pillows is at best a temporary solution and for most people will feel worse than the initial problem.

Buy A New Mattress

While this is an expensive investment it’s an important one because we spend 1/3 of our life in a mattress. The importance of quality support and good sleep and the impact it has on our overall health makes the news daily making this the very best solution.

Plywood

Plywood or OSB will only work if you have a failing box spring / foundation. Weak base support causes this type of problem and if you caught the problem before doing permanent damage to your mattress this can be a long term effective solution. Another piece of good news is that costs about $20.00 and you should know right away if it solves your problem.

New Boxspring /Foundation

If you have tested and determined your box spring is bad, you have 3 options. Replace it, purchase a platform bed or try shore it up with plywood.

While many of you will agree that most of these suggestions are cheap inexpensive ways to get more comfortable, we want people to realize that they really are very short term fixes and will do little if anything to make a difference. Unfortunately, unlike a waterbed where you can repair a leak with a patch kit, the broken down cell structure of damaged worn out foam found in mattress sets cannot be repaired or effectively revitalized. You simply cannot repair the cell structure of a worn piece of foam. You cannot restore the memory or energy of a fatigued steel coil. Unfortunately there is no solution short of buying a new mattress or professionally reupholstering your existing mattress.