“How long does a mattress last?”
If you’ve had your current mattress for a long time now, you might be asking yourself this very question. It’s not always super easy for people to tell when their mattress is on its last legs, which is why they wonder what the mattress lifespan is supposed to be.
Generally speaking, the answer to the question, “How long do mattresses last?”, is approximately 10 years. You’re going to get about a decade out of your mattress before you’ll need to throw it out and replace it with a new one.
But it’s worth noting that there are some mattresses that will need to be replaced prior to the 10-year mark. There are also others that will last way longer than 10 years before needing to be replaced. It all depends on a bunch of different factors.
Let’s take a look at some of the factors that are going to help determine how long your mattress will last.
What Kind of Mattress Do You Have?
One of the first things you’ll want to consider when you find yourself asking the question, “How long does a mattress last?”, is what kind of mattress you have in your bedroom right now. The type of mattress that you have is going to play a big part in how long it’s going to last you.
If you have, say, a regular innerspring mattress, you’re often going to get just under 10 years out of it. Most innerspring mattresses are designed to stick around for about 7 or 8 years before they’ll need to be tossed and replaced.
But if, on the other hand, you have a memory foam mattress, you should reach the 10-year mark with it without any problems. One of the biggest benefits of going with a memory foam mattress vs regular innerspring mattress is that it’ll last you for a longer period of time.
There are also some types of mattresses, like latex mattresses, that will give you well over 10 years of life. You might be able to squeeze about 15 years of life out of them prior to replacing them.
It’s a good idea for people to keep these numbers in mind when buying a new mattress. By spending a little extra money on a good mattress, you can ensure that it’ll last you for a longer stretch of time.
Which Manufacturer Produced Your Mattress?
Another thing to think about when pondering the question, “How long is a mattress good for?”, is which manufacturer was in charge of producing the mattress that you sleep on every night. This could also play a huge role in how much life you’re able to get out of a mattress.
The global mattress industry is worth almost $30 billion at the moment. And that number is expected to explode and grow to over $40 billion within the next five years.
As a result of this, there are mattress companies popping up all over the place and selling mattresses to the masses. Some of these companies specialize in creating high-quality mattresses that will stand the test of time, while others are out to make a quick buck and create low-quality mattresses that won’t hit the 10-year mark for you.
You should check out which company produced your mattress and see what their reputation is like when it comes to producing high-quality mattresses. You might have to plan to replace your mattress sooner than expected if you bought one from a company that doesn’t value quality in the way you might hope they would.
How Often Do You Use Your Mattress?
Do you sleep on your mattress every single night—or do you only sleep on it every now and then? This is something that you’re going to want to consider when you’re trying to figure out, “How long does a mattress last?”
As you might expect, a mattress isn’t going to wear down on you as quickly as it would otherwise if you don’t sleep on it every night. If you have a mattress in a guest room or a mattress in the master bedroom at your beach house that you only visit occasionally, replacing it every 10 years won’t be necessary.
You should also spend some time thinking about how much wear and tear you put on your mattress when you’re lying down on it. If you’re a physically fit person, you might not put as much strain on your mattress as someone who is overweight would. This is going to factor into the durability of your mattress and help you answer the question, “How long does a bed last?”
How Much Support Do You Need Your Mattress to Provide?
The older that a mattress gets, the less support that it’s going to be able to provide for you. At the same time, the older that you get, the more support that you’re going to need your mattress to give to you.
With these things in mind, it’s not uncommon at all for those who require more support than others to replace their mattresses more regularly. If you’re someone who needs a very supportive mattress because of something like a bad back, you’re going to have to get into the habit of finding the Best Mattress Australia (or the best mattress in your own country) for you and splashing out more often than other people might have to.
You should consider how much support you need your mattress to give you based on everything from your age to your health. You should then plan to replace it accordingly depending on how supportive you need it to be. You might find that replacing your mattress every 5 years will work better for you than waiting a full decade to do it.
Do You Flip and/or Rotate Your Mattress on a Regular Basis?
No matter what you do, you’re not going to be able to get a mattress to last you for 20 years. Mattresses just aren’t built to last for that long.
But there are some things that you can do to make a mattress last you for a longer period of time. Flipping and/or rotating your mattress is one of the best things that you can do if your goal is to extend the lifespan of your mattress and get as much life out of it as you can.
Flipping a mattress involves taking it and flipping it over so that you sleep on both sides of it throughout the course of its life. You should flip your mattress about once every six months so that it doesn’t start to sag on you anytime soon. It’s a very simple way for you to increase your mattress lifespan without much effort on your part.
You might also want to rotate your mattress every six months or so as well so that the top of your bed moves down to the bottom and vice versa. This is another great way to reduce the wear and tear that you put on your mattress over time.
Just be careful about how you flip and/or rotate certain types of mattresses. If you own a mattress that has a very specific set of layers, you might not have the option of flipping it like you would a regular innerspring mattress. You’ll need to rotate it more often to make up for this.
What Other Steps Do You Take to Maintain Your Mattress?
Flipping and/or rotating your mattress is the easiest way to maintain it. If that’s the only thing that you do to maintain your mattress, that alone should help it to last longer.
But there are also other steps that you can take to maintain a mattress over time. Here are some of the things that you can do to extend the life of your mattress:
- Put a mattress protector over your mattress as soon as you bring it home and leave it on your mattress at all times
- Machine wash the sheets and comforters that you use on your mattress every week or two
- Vacuum your mattress every time you wash your bed linens and eliminate any stains from it
- Avoid jumping on your mattress
- Be very careful when you’re moving your mattress to a new home or apartment
By taking these steps, you’ll find that your mattress will last longer and feel better when you climb into it at the end of a long day.
So, How Long Does a Mattress Last? Your Responses to These Questions Will Provide the Answer
It’s impossible to predict exactly how long a mattress is going to last you. Ten years has turned in the benchmark for mattresses, but you might find that you can get more life out of your mattress by taking good care of it.
If you’re asking yourself, “How long does a mattress last?”, at the moment, you can find out an answer by answering all the other questions posed here. They should give you a better indication of how long your particular mattress is going to last you.
Browse through the other articles found on our blog to learn more about mattresses and how long they tend to last.