Did you know?
We spend over one-third of our entire life sleeping. That’s right.
Believe it or not, your mattress is very much like your personal support system, ensuring you get enough good sleep so that you can wake up feeling like a million bucks each day. Therefore, you should play your part in taking care of your precious bed.
With the right TLC, a good mattress can last between 7-10 years or beyond. Read on and follow our care tips to keep your bed in tip-top shape.
Tip 1: Protect
Interesting fact 1: You sweat when you sleep (Oh yes, you do). In fact, some people lose up to 250 grams of water every night! So, don’t be too excited when you notice that you weigh less in the morning, it’s just water loss.
Your mattress soaks up all that moisture and coupled with a humid environment, mould would start to develop.
Interesting fact 2: Every hour we shed approximately 1.5 million dead skin flakes and an average night of sleep can yield over 12 million dead skin flakes, and it all ends up in your mattress each day!
Over time these dead skin flakes start attracting dust mites – imagine your bed being slowly invaded by millions of dust mites!
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to put our mattress in a washing machine. But, thankfully, we can wash a mattress protector. It’s highly recommended to use a mattress protector on your brand new mattress, as it could prevent most of the sweat and dead skin flakes from seeping into the mattress, plus it helps to protect your mattress from other unwanted stains.
Tip 2: Invest in a good bed frame / divan
Your mattress and bed frame or divan should come hand-in-hand. If you’ve just bought a wonderful new mattress the last thing you want to do is place it on a wobbly, squeaky and worn-down bed frame or a divan of the wrong size. Not only could an unfit bed frame be bad for your mattress, it may also affect your beauty sleep. If you’d like your new mattress to give you many years of good slumber, you’ll want to ensure that your bed frame offers good support and has the correct size base. It is advisable to get a divan from the same brand as your mattress for the best fit.
Tip 3: Keep It Clean
Using a hypoallergenic mattress protector is highly recommended and is a great way to preserve the life of your mattress while keeping the dreadful dust mites out. However, keep in mind that a mattress protector may keep your mattress clean, but spills or stains may still seep through the protector sheet unless you get a waterproof one.
In case of any accidental spilling or staining, don’t worry, cleaning your mattress is easy, however you should treat it as quickly as possible. Use warm soapy water sparingly to soak the spill or stain and refrain from using a coarse brush to scrub. Also make sure the mattress is completely dry before you place the protector and sheets back on. To speed up the drying process, try using a hair dryer (on a gentle setting) or place the mattress in the sun.
A good vacuum cleaner also comes in handy in reducing the amount of dirt, dust mites or other allergens. You can use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum for any hard-to-reach areas. Vacuum your bed regularly using low suction so your mattress stays fresh and you sleep comfortably at night.
Tip 4: Rotate Your Mattress
Owning a new mattress is like walking in a new pair of shoes. You’ll need to give it some time to ‘break-in’ and get comfy. Similarly, with a mattress, you’ll need to give it about 2 – 4 weeks for any new bed to settle in – after which, it’s recommended to start rotating your mattress regularly.
Regular rotating provides equal wear to each side of the mattress and accommodates the sleeping surface evenly to help increase the durability of your mattress.
If you have a single-sided mattress, you should rotate your new mattress from head to toe for the first three months, then every three months after that. Additionally, the handles on a mattress, (if fitted) should be used only to position the mattress, not to lift or carry it.
Tip 5: Keep the kids off (Yeah, don’t they just love jumping on our bed)
Dear parents, your new mattress is not your kid’s trampoline. They are certainly welcome to sleep on your new mattress but don’t jump on it. That’s a big no-no if you want your mattress to last.
One more advice – you and your kids should also avoid standing on your mattress, bending your mattress and kneeling on the edges. If you have a habit of sitting on your mattress to read or watch the TV, try to sit in a different spot each day or your mattress may start to sag in these places very quickly.
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