The names of the mattresses and the promises they make to the buyer range from the most ethereal to the incompressible. Sellers hint that you’ll have night-time disappointments unless you buy the most expensive option on the market. Trying to approach the intimacy of sleep by leaning on a mattress in a public place with fluorescent lighting can be uncomfortable at best.
The good thing is that mattress manufacturers are experimenting with new construction methods, rearranging foam layers as well as placing springs on the internal spring models in an attempt to improve comfort. Meanwhile, savvier online marketers are trying to improve the shopping experience by eliminating the store from the equation altogether. And they are doing a good job.
The highest satisfaction scores in our survey were for 2 of the new mattress brands in the United States, online companies Casper and Tuft & Needle. They will send you a bed at the door of your house for a competitive price. Regarding performance, Casper had the highest top score among all foam models.
The internal springs, however, remain the most common type of mattresses being sold, although it seems ripe for consumer reconsideration. In our survey, 65% of respondents said they were very satisfied with the internal springs, versus 75% of the owners of viscoelastic foam and 80% of owners of adjustable air mattresses.
It is perhaps not surprising that viscoelastic foam mattresses continue to grow in popularity. And adjustable air mattresses, such as those sold in Sleep Number stores, have a good score on our mattress tests and reader surveys, especially among those who report neck, back, sleep apnea and other pain health problems.
That is why we submit each model that we acquire to rigorous evaluations using people who try them and sophisticated equipment to measure the support and firmness of each mattress. These machines hit and mistreat the mattress to measure how they resist over time. Then we open them to expose their interior: springs, layers of foam, foam rubber with injected gel, to determine which are the materials that improve performance. This year, we have presented some methodological improvements, including a way to “pair” a mattress for you and your partner.
Here are the 7 steps you should take to find, choose and buy a mattress that you love and also love you:
Step 1: Discover lessons about your old bed
Do you twist, turn around and squeeze your teeth trying to find the ideal place for the mattress to accommodate you? Do you wake up feeling exhausted and sore? Do you discover that, curiously, you sleep better in a hotel? If the answer is no, you will eventually. ” Young people can sleep well on almost any surface, including a wooden board,” says Bonnet. “We all started to have a lighter sleep with age, and pain and other medical problems worsen this situation.”
There is no established rule about the time in which we should replace the mattress, we try them for a use of approximately 8 to 10 years, but there are some signs that indicate that you must do it. Some are visible to the naked eye such as tears, holes or blemishes (your dog is sleeping with you, is not it?) Other things can be felt, for example if your hips and shoulders sink into the mattress. you can see at all.
You can use other observations to guide you in choosing something new. If you feel bumps or sharp points, that may indicate that there is damage inside the mattress, so you should look for a model with a high durability score on our ratings. If you and your partner wake each other up while turning in bed, you should seek a high stabilization rating.
Step 2: Learn the Mattress Shop
If it looks like there is a mattress reviews on every corner today, that is because it is so. There are over 12,000 specialty bed and mattress stores in the country and the number continues to increase. If you cannot find something you like at Mattress Firm, you can inspect the store next door at Sleepy’s (which, by the way, now belongs to Mattress Firm).
As rare as this may be, we cling to our usual advice to try before you buy, which means you should take off your shoes and lay you in a future election for at least 15 minutes in the position where you generally sleep. In our survey, about 20,000 readers bought a mattress in the last 3 years.
Among those who tried it in the store, the more time they spent trying it before buying it, the greater the satisfaction: 77% of respondents who spent more than 15 minutes were happy with their purchase. Fewer than 1 in 5 people do that, but our surveys show that 28% do lie down for a few minutes.
This may be good, as this membership store manufactures one of the mattresses we gave them the highest scores, the Nova form 14 “Serafina Pearl Gel. And that may be a sign of the direction the market is headed, as 57% of readers who bought a mattress at Costco did it online.
Step 3: Consider buying online
For those who want the maximum convenience of buying online and skipping retail stores altogether, there are more options than ever before. Emerging companies like Casper and Tuft & Needle are getting a lot of attention for their high-performance box-cushioned foam mattress, but the fact is that you can buy any mattress online, including with internal springs.
Buying a mattress without trying it may seem risky, but consider that Amazon, which sells all kinds of mattresses, outperformed retailers among all sellers. It is excellent in price and delivery on time. The limitation is that you will not be able to try the mattress in a store before you buy it online, a practice known as product display. That’s because you will not find the mattress you tried on Ethan Allen, for example, on Amazon because it’s unique to that store.
Step 4: Never pay full price
You will see mattress sales in the run-up to the holiday weeks, but you should not wait for an official rebate to get the best price. The mattresses have a great markup, so do not be afraid to negotiate with much enthusiasm.
More than half of the readers in our survey paid from $ 500 to $ 1,750 for a mattress, those buyers who bargained saved an average of $205. The hagglers were more successful in Mattress Firm Mattress Firm, Mattress Warehouse, Mattress King, Sleep Train and Sleepy’s. And buyers usually went with something for free, such as a mattress protector or a bed frame.
Start by asking for a price that is 50% less than the list price and ask for free delivery and the carrying of the old mattress to begin with. If that does not work, try one of these questions:
- What is the lowest price on which this mattress was sold?
- Can I have a price guarantee? If the mattress is lowered within say 30 days, would I be reimbursed for the difference?
- Would you give me a discount if I pay in cash? (This prevents the seller from paying fees for the credit card.)
If you answer no to all this then it is time to say goodbye and walk out the door. After all, there is another mattress store at the end of the block.
Step 5: Use the trial period well
When the new mattress arrives, be prepared to be patient. Be aware that the old mattress was familiar with flaws and everything. Mattress sellers usually offer from 3 weeks to 3 months for you to try the purchase. Others offer what they call the comfort guarantee. So before you buy, examine the fine print for the terms of the trial period and ask how you can return the mattress if you do not like it.
Wait at least 2 weeks to decide. During that time, focus on the mattress and not on the bed, since you want to limit the number of variables. ” Stay with the same pillow for a while so you can better discover whether it’s the pillow or the mattress that disturbs your sleep,” says Steven Scharf, MD, Ph.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at University of Maryland. On the other hand, if you did not buy a box spring or a new mattress frame, as some manufacturers recommend, you would not be giving a fair chance to the new mattress.
To increase the chances of having a good night’s rest on the new mattress, switch off the devices 2 hours before bedtime and avoid heavy meals just before bed. Then, an hour before bed, you dim the lights, read a physical book, listen to music or perform other types of relaxation.
Step 6: Success Returns [happy returns]
Make sure you know what the store’s return policies are before buying a new mattress. Some sellers charge certain fees, replacement and others. Mattress Firm offers a 120-night happy rest guarantee and charges a $ 149 change or return fee. On the other side is the Original Mattress Factory, which does not accept returns or changes to upholstered bedding products. It is therefore prudent to keep the mattress old during the trial period, however inconvenient.
The return of the bed in a box is another story. For beginners, it is unrealistic to think that they can force the bed into the box. That’s why marketers have developed a variety of ways so that consumers can return mattresses, usually free of charge and with a full refund within 100 days of purchase.
Then there is the problem of getting rid of the old mattress. At least 20 million mattresses and box springs are disposed of every year (and a double-ply mattress can occupy up to 40 cubic feet in the garbage dump. It’s a shame since 80% of the components in a mattress can be recycled.
Step 7: Make the mattress last
With internal spring mattresses, our recommended cleaning routine has always been to flip them over and rotate them 2 times a year and clean them at the same time. But many of today’s mattresses, such as those that come with top padding, cannot be turned because they have a specialized top and bottom. Still, you’ll want to clean all mattresses 2 times a year.
To do this, you must undo the bed to vacuum the cloth covering the entire mattress with a upholstery accessory and clean any stain with an enzyme-based soap or with mild soap and water. Once the stains dry, spray bicarbonate over the entire mattress and leave there for 24 hours. Then remove it with the vacuum cleaner. And of course, the bed is laid with clean sheets.