I’ve always thought there are two kinds of mattresses in the world. There are saggy, stained mattresses that are on their way to being replaced someday. These mattresses draw ire from their owners, who acknowledge they need a replacement, but for some reason are waiting it out. The other type of mattress is the dream mattress. No sag, no stains, just the right firmness—this mattress is the one you plan to keep for years to come. An owner of a dream mattress loves the bed they sleep on and wants to keep it pristine for as long as possible. They rotate the mattress as directed and may even protect it with a waterproof cover. If you’ve got one of those dream mattresses and you want it to remain in it’s dream-like state, it’s imperative that you store it properly. The key is to mimic it’s natural position by laying the mattress flat with no items resting on top. Wrap it securely in a plastic cover and secure the cover with rope or tape. While in storage, keep it at a reasonable temperature – humidity and mold are the greatest threats to the life of your mattress, so it’s important that you take the necessary precautions.
To find out more, we reached out to Mattrezzz Guys, a retailer that’s making a name for itself as an Austin favorite (check those Yelp reviews), and spoke to owners Frank and Anthony about how to properly store a mattress. This is the main reason this blog post exists. Not to point fingers, but other blog posts and websites often say to store the mattress on its side. Frank and Anthony strongly advise against it. “If you stand it up, the padding and coils can settle and the mattress will never be the same. Don’t forget, gravity’s not always our friend,” said Frank. If you intend on keeping this mattress in good shape, you’ll want to mimic its natural positioning—maybe even setting up your whole bed inside your storage space. Gravity can come into play if you leave something on top of your mattress (or you have your mattress resting on something). To avoid wear and tear, make sure nothing is weighing down your bed. The only thing that should be on the mattress and boxspring is a plastic cover.
This final layer of protection can prevent worst-case scenarios. Frank and Anthony recommend completely wrapping the mattress in plastic, be it a specially made mattress bag or stretch plastic wrap. Water damage or pests shouldn’t be a problem at most storage facilities, but the covering has a more important application as well. This prevents dust from settling into the fibers of your mattress, which can happen even in the cleanest indoor unit. You should apply the plastic wrap or mattress cover before moving to help protect it while it’s being transported. Make sure you cover the entire mattress and secure the cover with tape. While we’re on the topic of transportation, you should avoid tying your mattress down on top of your car. You’re either going to warp your mattress by tying it down too tight or ruin it having it fly off the top of your car and onto the road. You should transport your mattress protected from the elements in a covered moving truck. Note: It’s okay to transport the mattress on its side as long as you aren’t leaving it there long-term, according to Peter Cancelli of The Mattress Expert.
“If you’re storing for an extended length of time use climate-controlled storage,” Frank advised. He might have been speaking to local customers in this case, but this tip applies anywhere with a relative humidity that swings above 50 percent (hint: almost everywhere at some point in the year). Mold is a serious threat to the health of your mattress and potentially to your health, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Frank and Anthony’s final tip: If you stored your mattress for more than six months you should remove your plastic covering and let the mattress breathe for a few hours before you put your sheets on it. This should prevent any lingering odor from the plastic or the storage unit, which will help you continue to appreciate your dream mattress. Post updated by SpareFoot, 1/30/2017.I’m so excited for the Purple mattress review. The company sent me a free king size Purple mattress to test out. This mattress may make the color purple more popular than Prince himself.
The reason for my excitement is that this mattress has a top layer construction that is unlike anything I have reviewed so far. I first found out about the Purple mattress through the Kickstarter campaign where 320 backers pledged $171,560 to bring the project to life. I have seen other mattress Kickstarter campaigns and they don’t even come close to the popularity of Purple. Below is their official Kickstarter video. Below is their famous raw egg test video on the Purple Mattress featuring Mallory Everton from Studio C, a well known YouTube channel: You can order Purple direct from their website. According to my UPS tracking, the mattress with packaging weighs in at 143 lbs. By far the heaviest mattress I have reviewed. Right now you can get a king size for $1,299. As a general rule of thumb, I find the heavier the mattress, the more quality you get. That’s because there’s just more material in there to work with. The mattress comes in a plastic bag as shown below.
There’s no external box, just this which is really cool. the top unzips and then you can slide it out of the bag. Getting it out of the bag may take two people since it’s in there tight. Instead I just cut the bag open which is a shame because it would be great to reuse to store things in. The bag also comes with handles so it makes it easier to move. This came in super handy while bringing it up a flight of stairs. At over 140 lbs. I’ll take all the help I can get. Here’s me unboxing the Purple Mattress. When unzipping the cover I found that they give you a cutter, instructions and two mini samples of the purple top layer. You can unzip the ticking. I really like the embossed “Purple” logo on the sides: What really makes this mattress stand out from the competition is the Smart-Comfort Grid. Here’s a sample that comes with the mattress when you open the purple plastic casing. The only similar mattress I have come across is the IntelliBed which uses “Intelli-gel” which look similar to the Purple technology.
The difference is that the IntelliBED uses innersprings and latex instead of foam layers. The IntelliBED costs a bit more though. Here’s the full Intellibed Review. Their Relief Perfect Low Motion model costs $3,599 for a a queen. While you can get a queen size Purple mattress through the link below for $999. Here’s what the layers look like. The bottom two layers are really just for support. What makes Purple unique is the top layer. So, what is the Purple mattress made of? The Purple mattress is made of a hyper elastic polymer grid that collapses when exerting a certain amount of pressure. The grid will provide support and pressure relief where need while maintaining a cool sleep environment. The first night of sleeping on this mattress was wonderful. This is truly a unique sleep experience in large part because of the Smart-Comfort Grid. You get a sort of floating sensation and the grid conforms to all your pressure points while providing support where you need it. Here’s what the grid looks like:
This is also the most breathable mattress I have ever tested. If your major concern is sleeping hot, then get this mattress. It beats all the competitors hands down. The Purple ranks extremely high in point elasticity. That means it will collapse where needed without affecting the other parts of a mattress. A traditional inner spring has low point elasticity, think about how you feel your partner moving around. The best example of the Purple point elasticity is their egg test where it rapidly adjusts to the pressure exerted by the egg. The only other mattress with this high level of point elasticity that I have tested i the Luxi mattress. Luxi calls this their SBT layer (Support Balancing Layer). Here’s a comparison of the Luxi vs. Purple Here’s a video illustrating how each layer works: With this mattress you sleep on it more than in it. Whether or not that’s a good thing comes down to preference. Some people like more of a pillow top feel some don’t. Notice that there isn’t a large amount of sinkage with this mattress however it does a wonderful job with pressure relief.
Here’s how it handles motion transfer: I don’t notice my partner shifting around on this mattress. Motion is very well contained and it also bounces back into shape well which is very hard to achieve in a mattress. If you’re looking for sheets for the Purple mattress, I strongly recommend going with a set the Purple Sheets. They are stretchy and breathable so you will get the full performance of the mattress. The same goes with a mattress protector. You can get other brands of performance sheets such as Sheex or Bedgear but I haven’t come across a mattress protector like the Purple Mattress protector. It is very stretchy but still waterproof, breathable and light. The Purple mattress provides amazing pressure relief and temperature regulation. It doesn’t sleep “cool” or “hot” instead it just passes heat through the comfort grid. I love how it contours so well to your body. In my opinion it truly is a Goldilocks mattress in the sense that you get great support and contouring.
However it isn’t a mattress that feels “cozy” or will hug you. I weigh over 210 lbs. and the grid handled my body just fine. According to their side, 300 lbs. is the threshold for weight. That means 300 per person so 600 total. I sleep primarily on my stomach and side and this mattress felt great in both positions. Sometimes I get numbness in my arm from sleeping on my stomach on certain mattresses. The Purple was able to sink enough in the right areas so this didn’t happen. Expect to hear a lot about Purple in the near future. It’s a game changer in the mattress industry and is exploding in popularity. If you are looking for a mattress with high point elasticity like Purple but also want more “hug” check out my super in depth overview of the Luxi and Purple technology. Purple has recently launched some new accessories including the Purple Mattress Protector and the Purple Pillow. Below is a video overview of the Purple Pillow Purple doesn’t do coupon codes.