When Should I Replace My Mattress?

by Nick, Digital Specialist | July 16, 2021

Unfortunately, mattresses are not designed to last forever, and there are some telltale signs to let you know when your mattress is worn out.

If it’s true that you get eight hours of sleep every night, then you spend about one-third of your life sleeping. Even if you don’t keep track of how much sleep you get each night, your body certainly does, and you probably know what it feels like when you don’t get the sleep that your body requires. When you think about it this way, the importance of a good mattress becomes clear- as well as the harm that an old mattress can cause. With this in mind, we’ve put together a few ways that you can tell when it’s time to replace your old mattress:

- New sleep issues: this probably goes without saying, but one of the first indicators that it’s time for a new mattress is when your body tells you it’s time! This could be your mattress wearing out as much as it could be your body changing, but either way, if you start to develop new sleep issues that you’ve never seen before, it could be time to consider a new mattress. These issues could include tossing and turning, joint and back pain, and difficulty falling asleep.

- Signs of wear and tear: the materials in your mattress will break down over time, and although some of these changes will not be visible at a glance, it’s important to check for some of these signs of wear that can happen over time. Some of the most common:
  Sagging: the top of your mattress should look relatively flat; if you’re able to see peaks and valleys in the top that don’t go away after you get up, then it may be time to consider a new one!
  Lumps: similar to the sags, this should be visible to the naked eye, when you look at the top of the mattress. Large lumps that you can see (or feel) are a sign that one or more of the innerspring coils has failed.
  New noises: if your mattress starts to squeak when it hasn’t before, this could be another sign of an issue with the coils, and should be an indicator that it’s time to go shopping for a new one.
  Flattening: another sign that the mattress needs to be replaced is if the whole thing starts to get flat; imagine pressing on something and seeing it squish out the side. This can happen to your mattress over time, so keep an eye out for a bump-out on the side of the mattress.

- It’s Just Time: most mattresses have an average life span of 7 to 10 years, depending on the quality. After that, they simply don’t perform the way they are supposed to. In addition, mattresses are prone to collecting dust, sweat, dead skin cells, and the like. (Mattresses are generally heavier when you’ve had them for ten years, versus when you first bought it...let that sink in for a second!) Even if your mattress is still in good shape, it’s a good idea to replace them just for the sake of hygiene.

With this in mind, there are a few things that you can do to prolong the life of your mattress. This won’t make it last forever but will definitely extend the useful life of it:

Use a mattress protector: this won’t make it bulletproof but this will go a long way towards preventing stains and odors resulting from spills and from sweat, and can reduce the amount of sweat and dead skin cells that accumulate in the mattress. Stains on the mattress can actually degrade its performance, so much so that many mattress manufacturers will void their warranty due to stains. You can prevent this from happening by using a waterproof mattress protector.

Rotate your mattress: just like you should be rotating your sofa cushions, you should be rotating your mattress every 3 to 6 months to spread out the wear and tear. Keep in mind that most modern mattresses are not designed to be flipped over; the top should always stay the top, and the bottom should always stay the bottom. However, you can rotate the mattress from the head to the foot, and you should frequently!

Hopefully we’ve been able to outline how important a good night’s sleep is, and therefore how important it is to have the right mattress. Keep an eye out for these tell-tale signs that it’s time to replace your mattress!