There are many things to consider when it comes to mattress care. Although there may be some variation on how to care for different types of mattresses, there are a few universal tips that will help care for any mattress. In this mattress care guide, we’ll go over some handy recommendations!
Mattress care should start from the moment you receive your mattress! Although there’s nothing to stop you from using it right away, allow some time for it to settle and breathe for at least a few hours before use. Unwrap it, lay it down on your bed base and don’t dress it right away. Allow the mattress time to breathe, as it’s been cooped up in plastic wrap for at least a few days.
Bear in mind that manufacturer’s will have differing recommendations, so be sure to check this with them or the retailer. Sometimes, you may receive a handy guide with your delivery. These guides will usually outline whether the mattress has a specific amount of time it needs to ‘settle’.
The ‘settling’ period is particularly important for vacuum packed mattresses. Many manufacturer’s will advise that once you remove it from the vacuum packing, it should be left for up to several hours, giving ample time for the mattress to expand. The full expanding process can take up to a few days, but you won’t have to wait more than a few hours to use it.
When purchasing a new mattress, it’s important to check if the manufacturer has any requirements for the base type. Most will be absolutely fine to use on slatted bed bases. However, they may have a specific slat gap requirement.
Here at NBC, our bed bases have a slat gap of approximately 6 – 6.5cm, which all of our mattresses are suitable for use with. All of our beds have beech sprung slats (or fixed pine slats at an uplift), which we can alter the gap of upon request. Simply get in touch with us if you think you’ll need the slat gap altering on your NBC bed to suit your mattress (note – we can’t alter a bed once it’s been made!).
Ensuring that your bed base has enough ventilation is also key to mattress care. Bed base manufacturer’s do make them with this in mind, but it’s worth checking if there are any specific requirements for your mattress. NBC bed bases all have slatted bases, and some designs have mattress gaps to aid the ventilation.
Some of the above points may not seem like they would be a major issue if not followed. However, using an incompatible base could invalidate any warranty your mattress may have.
Finally, be sure to keep up with cleaning your base regularly! Bed bugs in particular can find plenty of hiding places in the nooks and crannies of a bed base!
There is no one rule for cleaning a mattress. If you have a quick look online, you’ll find many different recommendations – some of which are conflicting.
First and foremost, we again would recommend checking out the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions. You’ll find that mattresses come in a range of fabric types, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all set of instructions. What’s right for one mattress could cause damage to another!
General cleaning tips:
You can absolutely put whatever kind of bedding you wish to on your mattress! Cotton, linen, wool, polyester etc. – dress it up or down as much as you desire. The key thing about bedding is both whether you have anything protecting the mattress from spills, accidents, etc., as well as how you care for your bedding.
Mattress protectors and toppers
We’d always recommend the use of a mattress protector. There are a few different types you can get, and you may choose to use more than one.
If you are anxious about liquids damaging your mattress, then ensuring that you use a waterproof protector is certainly a no-brainer! If you’re simply after another layer between you, your bedding and the mattress, you could go for something nice and breathable like a cotton mattress protector (we also offer an organic cotton mattress protector, if you prefer to use organic bedding).
Prefer something with a bit more padding? We have a thick wool topper, as well as organic wool & organic cotton toppers.
As mentioned above, you can use more than one form of mattress protector, but we’d recommend allowing some time for your mattress to breathe every so often! Most of us allow time for this without thinking, in between taking off the old bedding and popping on the clean bedding!
Bedding care
In general, we’d recommend washing your bedding at least every 1 – 2 weeks (duvet cover, sheets, pillowcases). In between changing your bedding, it’s a great idea to remove the duvet from the bed to allow your mattress some time to breathe. Cleaning your bedding regularly also helps in preventing bed bugs.
Your duvet and pillows will need airing out regularly – again, you can do this before re-dressing your bed. Now, washing these items can be a little more tricky, as the instructions can vary wildly from product to product! Be sure to check the instructions, and factor these into the care routine.
Again, this can vary depending on manufacturer recommendations. However, in general, we’d advise rotating/flipping your mattress every 2 – 3 months. This allows even wear across the mattress, particularly in instances where more than one person is using the mattress.
Some mattresses are only single sided, meaning they cannot be flipped. In this case, you would just need to rotate the mattress every 2 – 3 months.
Of course, flipping a mattress can be a more difficult task, especially with larger sizes. A couple of ways around this is to buy a one sided mattress that doesn’t require flipping, or purchase a zip & link – this way, you’ll only have two smaller mattresses to flip over.
We hope that this mattress care blog has been helpful. If you have any questions about this blog topic or about our mattress range, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.