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How To Make A Soft Mattress Firmer & More Supportive

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How To Make A Soft Mattress Firmer?

Dec 7, 2020

Lack of firmness and support can lead to various issues, in particular, back and neck pain, not to mention poor sleep quality. Does it mean that everyone who needs a bit firmer mattress should throw away an old mattress and buy a new one? It is not necessary. There are pretty many ways to make your mattress more supportive without spending a fortune.

Ways to make a mattress firmer

If you took a look at the warranty and made sure that it would not help, just recognize that you need to solve the problem yourself. Fortunately, it is not that hard. So, let us take a look at the ways to make a mattress firmer and, therefore, more supportive. Some of them are free, some of them cheap and some are more expensive - just choose the option that suits you best.

Put a firm plywood board between the bed and the mattress

This is one of the easiest, the most effective, and the cheapest ways to make your mattress much more supportive. You can just put such a board between a bed frame (or foundation or a box spring if you have one) and your mattress, and you will be able to enjoy sleeping on a really firm surface.

Buy the right topper

This is another simple way to solve the problem, but you will need to buy the right topper. The good news that you will hardly need to spend hundreds of dollars - a good topper usually costs $30-$100 depending on the size, materials, etc. Note that even a foam topper (memory foam is considered to be one of the softest materials) can work. People looking for extra firmness also buy latex or cheaper polyurethane toppers.

Positive effects of sleeping in a cold room

It is not only about the standard health benefits of sleeping in a cold room, it is also about firmness. The thing is certain types of mattresses, in particular, memory foam mattresses have a unique property - they become softer in a warmer room. Hence, if you have such a mattress and cannot understand why it is so soft, try this good old method - maybe, it will solve the problem without any investments.

Check if your box spring still works well enough

What is a box spring? It is literally a box with some springs in it. Those springs may wear out, and this is normal. However, it has other consequences - coils provide great support and make your mattress firm. Hence, worn out coils cannot provide this much support, and the mattress loses its firmness. Consider replacing your box spring or buying a platform bed or foundation instead of it. How do you know what exactly you should do? Check out our guide to box springs and foundations.

Flip the mattress if it is two-sided

You can also flip a mattress - the bottom side is likely to be less worn out and much more supportive than the top surface. Please note that this method works only if you have a flippable two-sided mattress (usually, these are innerspring mattresses or hybrids.)

Consider placing your mattress right on the floor

Please note that it works only if you don’t really care about the lifespan of your mattress - this will reduce it a bit. In general, this is one of the most drastic ways to solve the problem, and it is often used if any of the previous ways did not help. Why? Because it is not really safe - after all, the floor is the floor, and dirt and dust are the least of the problems. Still, this doesn't make it less effective - if you put your mattress right on the floor, it will feel much firmer.

If there are old layers, replace them

Note that this method can work only if the mattress has a removable cover and consists of a few layers. If you have such a mattress (latex or memory foam one), you can remove the cover, see what layer(s) is/are worn out and replace them adding some extra firmness. Where do you get the new layers from? The easiest way to get exactly what you need is to contact the manufacturer of your mattress and make the order.

Conclusion

Is your mattress sagging? Are looking for some back pain relief? Do you need some extra firmness? You don’t always need to buy a new firmer mattress (in most cases, medium-firm and firm mattresses are hybrids, and they are not cheap) if you want to sleep better. You can spend less money on topper and enjoy the pain relief or just place a plymoth board between a mattress and a bed frame of a bed base (foundation or box spring) to achieve the same effect.