How often Should You Flip or Rotate Your Mattress?
When we were little, our moms were always reminding us to flip our mattress over when we did a spring clean. You may have also rotated the mattress at the same time. As adults, some of us continue this habit, while others consider it a waste of time. If you’ve recently bought a new mattress, likelihood is that you want to care for your new purchase as carefully as possible. After all, for many people a new mattress is a bit financial outlay, which isn’t taken lightly.
Therefore, it’s important to find out whether rotating or flipping our mattress should be part of our mattress to-do list. If flipping and rotating really necessary? Which is best? Also, does the type of mattress make a difference? These are just some of the questions you may be asking yourself. Luckily, we’ve done the key research and produced a handy guide with all the information you need about mattress flipping and rotating.
What About Rotating Your Mattress
Rotating a mattress is a little simpler. All you have to do is turn the mattress through 180 degrees, so the end where your head was ends up at the foot of the bed. Like flipping a mattress, this also ensures that you are wearing all areas of the mattress evenly.
Why Should You Flip Or Rotate Your Mattress
When we sleep, we are putting pressure on the same area of our mattress night after night. Therefore, the part that we sleep on wears our quicker than the rest of the mattress over time. Once you’ve slept on your mattress for many years, you can end up with that familiar ‘dip’ effect, where a hollow forms in the soft where you snuggle down. So, there are three key reasons why rotating or flipping your mattress is a great idea.
- It causes your mattress to wear more evenly, as you regularly change the part of the mattress that you sleep on. This increases the life of the mattress, so you shouldn’t need to replace it for longer.
- If you allow one area of your mattress to wear down because you don’t flip, the mattress loses its ability to adequately support your body weight. This is particularly true if you use a sprung mattress, as sleeping in one area constantly flattens down the springs. Why is support important? Well, if your mattress doesn’t support you, it can put pressure on your joints and throw your spine out of alignment. This can lead to aches and pains, and a sore neck and back. In some cases, it can even cause more long-term back conditions.
- Furthermore, a ‘dip’ in your mattress and lack of support during the night can become very uncomfortable. If you’re not comfy when you settle down for your nightly slumber, you can expect poor-quality sleep and episodes of waking in the night. This is bad news, because decent sleep is vital for our physical and mental wellbeing.
Rotating Or Flipping – Which Is Better
As a rule of thumb, flipping your mattress is usually a better bet. While rotating evens out the wear across the body of the mattress, you are still only ever sleeping on one of its surfaces. Therefore, one side of your mattress will wear out much quicker than the other. So, in most cases, flipping your mattress will ensure the most even wear possible and will prolong its life.
On the other hand, there are some types of mattress that should not be flipped. Whether or not you should flip or rotate your mattress comes down, in part, to what type of mattress you own. So what’s it to be, rotating or flipping? Read on for our quick tips to decide which is best for you.
- Spring Mattresses: When it comes to sprung mattress, whether your model is pocket sprung or open coil, flipping is king. this ensures even wear of all the springs across all surfaces, which significantly prolongs the mattress life. Furthermore, it’ll keep your mattress comfy for longer. Doing both avoids the classic ‘dip’ effect that is so common with these types of mattresses. In addition, you should also rotate your mattress more frequently between flips.
- Memory Foam Mattresses: When it comes to memory foam, you should check the manual. If you can flip your mattress, then it’s a good idea to do so to prolong its life. However, many memory foam mattresses are constructed with specific layers which can only be used one side up, in which case rotation is the way to go.
- Hybrid, Gel, And Latex: These mattresses are constructed with particular layers that are supposed to be slept on using only one side. Therefore, flipping would defeat the point of one of these mattresses. You should still rotate your mattress regularly to ensure even wear.
- Air Chamber Mattresses: These mattresses maintain their support by using an air chamber that can be inflated if you need to increase the level of firmness. Therefore, there’s no need to either rotate or flip these mattresses. However, some come with a special topper made of another supportive material such as memory foam, and these may need to be flipped and/or rotated. Consult your manual to find out, or ask at the retailer where you purchased your bed.
- Water Beds: Water beds do not need to be flipped or rotated. We’re sure you can imagine why, please don’t try!
How Do You Flip A Mattress
It may seem obvious, but many people do not use the proper technique to flip their mattress. Often, mattress owners flip their mattress sideways, which means they still end up sleeping on the same area. Instead, you should flip your mattress from end to end. This means lifting the mattress from one end and flipping it so the head end ends up at the bottom of the bed. Therefore in flipping your mattress, you have also rotated it 180 degrees. This is ideal, as you will now be sleeping on the other end of your mattress, evening out the wear.
How Often Should You Flip Or Rotate Your Mattress
Again, this is a difficult question to answer, and you should base your decision on the type of mattress you own and its condition. As a general rule of thumb, if your mattress can be flipped, you should do so around once every six months, and rotate every three. However, if your mattress is older or you can see or feel sagging and dipping, then it may need to be done more often. You should use your judgement based on how your bed feels to sleep on. Also, always be careful to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when it comes to rotating or flipping, as some models have requirements outside this general advice.
A Word About Pillow – Top Finished Mattresses
Chances are that your mattress has either a quilted or hand-tufted finish. These finishes usually do not have an effect on whether you can flip or rotate, or how often. On the other hand, nowadays it is possible to purchase mattresses that are finished with a pillow-top, which is a cushioned top layer adding extra softness and comfort. On these models, the finish will only be applied to one side of the mattress. In this case, the mattress should not be flipped, as this will result on the pillow-top ending up on the underside of the mattress, where it can’t offer any benefits. Instead, you should rotate your mattress instead.
Tips to Flip or Rotate Your Mattress
It’s all very well wanting to flip or rotate your mattress, but what if you struggle to do so? Here are our tips for making life easier:
Look for a model with attached handles on the side. This will make it much easier to get a good grip on the mattress.
Foam mattresses tend to be lighter than other models, and are therefore easier to manoeuvre. If you’re concerned, you could check the relative weights of different mattresses before you buy. However, as it’s important to select a mattress that is comfy and supportive for your individual needs, mattress weight alone is not the best way to select the right mattress.
If you’re really struggling, ask a family member or friend to help you flip or rotate it. It’s usually safer and easier to carry out this task with two people in any event.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, if you want your mattress to maintain maximum support, comfort, and to last as long as possible, regular flipping and/or rotating is definitely a good idea. This also means your mattress will last as possible. However, always consult your manufacturer’s instructions and take into consideration the type of mattress that you own before embarking on a flipping or rotating regime. This will help you make sure that you are making the right decision for your model. Hopefully, you now feel more confident and informed when it comes to flipping and rotating your mattress, so you are able to care for and maintain your bed in the best possible way. Sweet dreams!
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