So, you bought yourself a new memory foam mattress? You’re absolutely ready to leap into the cozy and comfortable memory cloud mattress and dive into a deep and restful sleep. But, what if your memory foam mattress is not acting as expected? Most of the mattresses look expanded out of the box and ready to sleep on, but something feels different about memory foam. It’s thin and smushed, what to do?
Memory foam mattresses are different than traditional mattresses in a variety of ways. People who are springing for the memory foam mattress for the first time may not be aware that memory foam mattresses are compressed and enclosed to preserve their freshness and ability to conform and adjust to your curves, which often means it’ll arrive at your doorstep in a compressed package or a box.
Still, seeing a mattress that is at least 3 times smaller than what you ordered can be shocking and concerning, which is why we want to help you understand how to expand your mattress and what to do if your mattress hasn’t expanded even after the necessary time for it to expand has already passed.
Memory foam mattresses, especially if paired with gel memory foam for temperature regulation, are a jackpot of sleep health. They provide comfort and coziness by conforming to your body’s shape.
Unlike really hard and firm mattresses, memory foam mattresses love your curves and will embrace them and cuddle them to sleep.
The entry models are moderately priced which means they can be approachable to anyone’s wallet. To be able to embrace the shape of your body and give you pain-relieving comfort, memory foam mattresses need to be compressed to be delivered so that foam can remain intact even after a long time.
However, various causes can lead to memory foam mattress acting defected once it arrives. Continue reading through our guide to learn more about the causes of memory foam mattresses not expanding and what you can do to make the whole situation better, and embrace your mattress at night, as it adjusts to your curves.
Memory Foam Mattress Not Expanding: 7 Causes And Solutions
Before you can be able to fix your memory foam mattress from not being inflated properly, you need to learn what’s the cause of it not expanding properly. Here, we compiled a list of causes that are most commonly happening to new memory foam mattress owners.
1. You Weren’t Patient Enough
Whether because of excitement or some other reason, a lot of people don’t check the information about mattress maintenance. It’s important to know that the maintenance label is super-important especially when it’s about the memory foam mattress.
If you opened up your new mattress box and it looks smushed, thin, and simply exhausted, it’s because you didn’t even give it a chance to expand. Normally, memory foam mattresses need at least 24 hours to fully expand. That time can go as long as up to 72 hours for the mattress to get completely expanded, especially when it comes to the mattress corners.
Some mattress makers make promises that your mattress will expand in 1 to 2 hours. Still, that’s often not the case, and even if you feel like your mattress inflated itself over the course of 2 hours, you should still aim to have it wait another day until you can be hundred percent sure that it fully expanded.
Editor’s notes:
- Be patient and wait for your mattress to get fully inflated.
- Otherwise, lay the mattress in a flat position. Don’t immediately place it on your box spring or other bed foundation.
- Avoid holding the mattress upright, it’d be best to lay it down on the floor.
- You can also roll on the mattress and step on it multiple times so it can expand fully.
2. There Are Likely Foam Pockets On Your Mattress
Foam pockets happen for several reasons – the manufacturer kept it in the box for too long and shipped it out much after the production of the mattress was finished. Otherwise, you may have been the one keeping it in the box for too long.
Oftentimes, people who buy a new mattress for their house are moving out or are waiting for the bed foundation to arrive. That can often lead to the mattress being trapped in the box for weeks, if not months. That’s often a bad idea because it will cause the mattress to become harder and its fibers to stay locked inside, preventing the mattress from fully expanding.
Not everything is over, however. If the mattress is not defective, and it’s not the manufacturer’s fault for sending in the mattress that may not meet your requirements, there are several things that you can do.
Editor’s notes:
- Make sure you opened your mattress as soon as it arrived.
- Let it expand in a room that has enough air and is sufficiently warm.
- Similarly like with the #1 problem, you can roll and walk on the mattress for 20 to 30 minutes and activate its fibers by applying your body heat.
- Contact the manufacturer if none of the solutions work and the mattress refuses to expand.
3. Keep It In Cozy Environment
The technology behind memory foam mattresses is a simple one. Once we apply pressure and our warm body temperature, we transmit our natural heat on the mattress and it changes its shape to conform to our body. If the mattress you’re shopping for is cheap, it will likely heat up a lot and make you sweat in the night, which often feels disruptive to your sleep.
Your new memory foam mattress likely hasn’t received enough heat to warm up yet. That’s why you must ensure that your room is either warm enough or move it to some other room where it can absorb heat and get the heat that it needs to get warmer.
Also Read: What Is the Perfect Temperature for Sleep?
Editor’s notes:
- Always make sure that the room where the mattress is located has a temperature of at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it would be even better if the temperature was higher, up to 75 degrees.
- If your bedroom is too cold, you can place the mattress in your warmest room in the apartment until it fully expands.
- Lastly, if you notice that it started expanding due to heat, you can lay on it and help it warm up by sharing your body temperature to help it expand.
4. Your Room Is Too Humid
Although memory foam mattresses are very porous, they won’t absorb too much humidity. Still, if you’re living in a house or environment that is too humid, you should consider lowering the humidity to allow your mattress to expand properly. One of those ways to lower the humidity is to ventilate regularly, or use an air conditioner with a dry mode. Air purifiers can also come in handy.
Also Read: Where to Place Humidifier in Bedroom?
Editor’s notes:
- Make sure that your memory foam mattress doesn’t absorb too much foam by keeping it in a well-ventilated room.
- Cover your mattress with a breathable material that will soak in the humidity instead.
- Try laying on your mattress for a bit to speed up how fast it’s inflating.
5. You Don’t Ventilate Your Room
Another reason as to why your memory foam mattress is not expanding enough, or the way you need it to expand based on the product label is because your room is not properly ventilated. You need to make sure that you air your room often. Open the windows regularly, and air different rooms to bring in more fresh air.
Editor’s notes:
If you live in a house and have your yard, you can let your memory foam mattress expand outside, in the sun. The natural breeze and soft, fresh air will help your mattress expand. Moreover, penetrative sun rays will not only warm up the mattress but also speed up the inflation. Just make sure it’s warm outside, and that the weather is dry.
6. It Could Be Too Firm
Something that happens to mattresses that are firm and thick is that their density is preventing them from expanding fully. It may do an extraordinary job and expand moderately, but then, it’ll just stop and leave you disappointed days after “expanding.” This can lead to many people thinking that the mattress is defective and have them return it.
Luckily, there are more ways to fix this problem and speed up the recovery of your mattress so you can harness all its features and comfort.
Editor’s notes:
- As mentioned earlier, one good option is stepping or rolling on the mattress. Even laying on it for a while could suffice.
- Some people advise that spending the night on the mattress could sufficiently soften it to improve the expansion rate.
- If you notice good results after spending one night on the mattress placed on a firm surface, try spending the entire week on it and see how it unfolds.
- If none of the advice above helps your mattress, it’s time to contact the customer service of the mattress manufacturer from whom you bought it.
7. It’s Defective
If it’s none of the above-mentioned causes to why your mattress won’t expand, then it’s definitely that the memory foam mattress you purchased is defective, and that it won’t meet your requirements. If you purchased your mattress long ago and used it just recently, the warranty likely expired. But if it didn’t, you should be persistent and contact customer service to see what you can do about your mattress.
What Other Things You Can Do When Your Mattress Won’t Expand?
Memory foam mattress not expanding, even after all the attempts to fix it we mentioned earlier can, indeed, be frustrating. Still, there are some other things you can do, depending on how old your mattress is, how much money you spent on it, and what the company you bought the mattress from offers to its customers.
Stay with us for the remaining paragraphs to inform yourself about things you can do when your mattress won’t expand.
Does Your Mattress Have Sleep Trial?
One important thing to consider is whether your mattress has a sleep trial. If the answer is yes, then you can contact the manufacturer and return the mattress as it is, saying that it didn’t expand and that you’re not satisfied with the service. The company will return your funds or offer to swap it with another mattress from the warehouse that will, hopefully, expand in its entirety.
Most professional mattress makers with good reputations offer sleep trials. These include Saatva, Nectar, and other reputable mattress makers. Cheaper mattresses usually don’t have a sleep trial, but if you bought your memory foam mattress through Amazon, there’s likely a 30-day return policy you could use.
Otherwise, see what you can do with your warranty if you have it. You can get your mattress replaced or fixed in a way that it can expand better.
Also Read: Mattresses Return Policies: What Are the Best Ones, and What Companies Offer Them?
Have You Considered Mattress Topper?
If your mattress has expanded up to some point but remains hard and dense, then an affordable mattress topper can soften your mattress and add more thickness in the sense that it’ll feel more expanded now. Mattress toppers are often also made of memory foam. However, the difference is that they’re lower in height compared to mattresses, measuring 1 to 4-inches in height.
Editor’s notes: Keep in mind that the mattress topper may also need about 24 to 72 hours to expand. If you’re facing difficulties with your mattress topper expanding, you can use the same tips we listed above to help it expand faster.
Also Read: Mattress Pad, Topper, or Protector: Which Is Best for Me?
Consider A New Bed Frame
Mattresses can last about as long as the foundations. With that in mind, if you’re getting a new mattress after years of using your old ones, you should consider getting a new bed frame or foundation.
A new, fresh, and firmer sleeping surface may also make it easier for your mattress to expand in its entirety. We understand that getting both frame and mattress can be quite expensive, but if your mattress doesn’t feel just right or even, it might be the right time to get the full upgrade.
Also Read: 50+ DIY Bed Frame Ideas: Outstanding Designs For Quick Projects
