#1 in Sleep Product Research Millions Served Since 2008 Ratings > Mattress Warranties Unbiased Research Based on Data From 4,200 Mattress Owners Mattresses can and often do have their warranties voided due to the use of an improper foundation / frame and the presence of staining, soiling or fluid penetration. An improper foundation / frame can result in premature wear and sagging of the mattress. Read your warranty's foundation / frame guidelines and follow them to the letter. Mattress companies do not give leeway on this issue; your foundation / frame either meets their warranty guidelines or it doesn't. These can fully void a mattress warranty. Even if the staining, soiling or fluid penetration is not near a defective area, such as where sagging is located, the warranty will probably not cover the sagging. Therefore, it is wise to use a mattress protector / pad from the first night onward. See mattress pad reviews for the top-rated pads. Most mattress warranties are for a length of 5, 10, or 20 years.
Our research strongly suggests that in most cases you should not believe that your mattress will last the length of its warranty with regular, everyday adult use. Sleep Like The Dead collected data from over 4,000 owners regarding how long they kept their mattress or how long they reported that it maintained most of its original comfort and support. This data was then compared to the length of the mattress warranty. The results suggest – as the table shows – that the useful life of a mattress is often a fraction of its warranty length, and the fraction becomes smaller as the warranty length increases. Keep in mind that our findings are true only in general. In other words, individual brands, individual models, and individual mattresses may perform somewhat better or worse. (Refer to the rating page of a particular mattress for information on its expected lifespan.) Also, our findings suggest that there is indeed somewhat of a correlation between warranty length and the quality / durability / longevity of a mattress.
In other words, good mattresses usually have longer warranties, while not-so-good mattresses usually have shorter ones. The main complaint people have with their mattress is sagging – especially in regard to innerspring beds in general and to a lesser extent memory foam, latex and air mattresses. Owner experience data suggests that even moderate sagging can and often does result in less comfort and support. It may also cause back pain, especially for side and stomach sleepers. (See mattresses and pain for more analysis.) As a result, mattress shoppers should pay special attention to how sagging issues are covered by the warranty. Most warranties will cover sagging only when the problem becomes severe enough, that is, when it reaches a certain depth. For example, innerspring mattress warranties will often provide coverage for sagging beginning at a depth of 1.5 inches. By contrast, some memory foam mattress warranties, including Tempur-Pedic's, will provide coverage for sagging beginning at a depth of .75 inches.
In other words, innerspring bed warranties often require twice the depth of sagging that these memory foam bed warranties require before coverage kicks in. Making a warranty claim and replacing a mattress under warranty can be expensive to the mattress owner. There can be a fee to have someone come to your home to inspect the condition of your mattress to determine if it is eligible for warranty coverage. If it is eligible, there will be a fee to take the defective mattress away and to ship a new or repaired mattress to you. Given the heavy weight of many mattresses today, this fee may be substantial. In addition, depending on the age of the mattress and the warranty terms of proration, you may have to pay a percentage of the replacement or repair costs. Many mattress owners realize too late that their warranty sounds more impressive than it actually is. For example, most airbeds including Sleep Number have a 20-year warranty. This causes many owners to wrongly believe that if any manufacturer defect pops up in the next 20 years, the problem will be covered at little or no cost to them.
The whole story is that non-prorated coverage (coverage for which there is no cost to the owner to repair / replace the bed) often ends after just a few years. If something goes wrong with the airbed after this time, coverage is prorated which means the owner will often need to pay at least 20% of repair costs. Therefore, make sure to read the fine print of a mattress warranty. Mattresses are discarded for a variety of reasons, but the main reason not surprisingly is usually related to a loss of comfort and support that occurs through normal wear. As is true for virtually all product warranties, normal wear is not covered under mattress warranties; only faulty workmanship / materials as defined by the manufacturer are covered. These defects are problems that can be objectively measured or observed, such as sagging depth (see below). Problems not objectively measurable or clearly observable, such as excessive softening or loss of support, are not commonly covered under warranty.
A mattress warranty is only as good as the manufacturer's willingness to honor it. Often a mattress manufacturer's BBB rating and or the number of BBB complaints from consumers in regard to warranty-related issues can be a good indicator of how well the company stands behind its warranty.A saggy mattress that sinks in various spots isn’t just an indicator that your mattress is old or in need of repair. A sinking mattress also means that you’re in for a world of discomfort, back pain and backaches, and sleep problems. To be clear, the best option is to replace a mattress that sags with a new one. However, if you don't want to buy a brand new mattress on the sole basis of a little sagging on your otherwise usable one, you can repair it instead. Even though traditional mattresses require more complex repair than something like an air mattress, which you can buy repair kits for, there are still ways you can check your current mattress and make small fixes to breathe some life back in to it.
When tackling issues that may cause a mattress to sag, check for the following situations under your mattress. In many cases, adding a new piece or simply replacing an old piece can fix sunken in mattresses. If the mattress set you have includes box springs, check them. Many times, if the box springs are worn out, replacing them will fix the sag in the top mattress. Buying replacement box springs is less expensive than buying a whole mattress set. Measure the mattress and cut a sheet of ½ inch thick plywood the same size. You may have to use two pieces, depending on the size of the mattress. Place the plywood between the box spring and the mattress, assuming you have a box spring. Check the slats in the frame under the box springs. Replace them if they are warped. Add one or two more for extra support, especially where the sag is. You might consider replacing 1x4s, the usual width of bed slats, with 1x6s or 1x8s to provide even more support. Put a piece of memory foam between the mattress and the box springs where the mattress dips.
There is also a type of bladder, or inflatable pouch, available that pumps up like an air mattress that can be placed between the mattress and box springs where the sag is. These bladders come in different sizes for different sized beds. There are several types of mattress toppers that can help with a sagging mattress. Some are less expensive than replacing a whole mattress set. Options include: a memory foam mattress topper, air mattresses, or down mattress toppers, which can be up to 3 inches thick. Keep in mind prices will vary depending on the thread count of the cotton, the amount of stuffing in the topper, and its size. Something else you can use above the mattress to make an impact are body pillows that are filled with down or polyester. They contour to your body and provide extra support for any sleep position. As with most things, prevention is easier than the cure. Here are some things you can do to help prevent your mattress from sagging in the first place.