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How to Get the Most Out of Your New Mattress

How to Get the Most Out of Your New Mattress

You just bought a new mattress. Now what? There are so many things to consider when you are mattress shopping. Which mattress size fits your bedroom? What’s your budget? Which type of mattress construction and comfort level fits your sleep position? What kind of mattress base or foundation do you need?

If you’ve pondered these questions and come out on the other side with a brand new mattress, congratulations! Even so, your new mattress journey isn’t quite over yet. Now that you’ve made your purchase, it’s important that we address a few common questions, concerns and issues that new mattress owners have.

Read on for a few helpful tips from Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet’s very own mattress experts. Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that you get the most out of your new mattress – both today and in the years ahead.

Mattress Delivery & Recycling

workers unloading and delivering a flat mattress foundation

Now that you’ve picked a mattress and foundation, it’s time to decide which pickup and delivery options are best for you. Read up on your options here on our delivery page.

Here’s one additional thing to consider. If you’re unsure of what to do with your old mattress, remember that we can take it with us (along with your old foundation or box spring) and ethically recycle it for you. This option is available with our Premium Delivery Service.

Setting the Right Foundation

Additionally, while every mattress brand has their own recommendations about what kind of base/foundation to use, it is vital that your new mattress is adequately supported. Without getting into the details of your specific model of mattress, the easiest way to make sure your new mattress is properly supported is to go ahead and buy the mattress and foundation together. That way there’s no question whether or not your mattress and foundation are a good fit.

If you opt to buy your mattress, foundation and frame separately, it is important to remember a few key things:

  1. Don’t set your new mattress on an ancient, decades-old box spring. “Box spring” is often used incorrectly as a catch-all term for all mattress foundations/bases. However, if your foundation has actual metal coils/springs in it, it is outdated and should be replaced. There are better options these days, and modern mattresses are made to work with modern foundations.
  2. If you’re buying a foam or hybrid mattress and have a platform base or foundation with slats, keep in mind that the slats need to be very close together. Exactly how close depends on the mattress make and model, so be sure to ask your salesperson if you have questions. If you’re concerned that the slats won’t be close enough, a bunkie board is a perfect alternative.
  3. Ideally bed frames or rails supporting a king or queen size mattress should have a center support bar and/or a center support leg that touches the floor.

Your New Mattress Is an Investment. Protect It!

The compatibility of mattress, foundation and base are critical to the durability and long-term comfort of your new mattress. But so is proper maintenance.

person putting a mattress protector or mattress cover on mattress

 The simplest thing you can do to protect your investment? Buy a thin, waterproof mattress protector. Even if you don’t have kids or pets and don’t eat in your bed, your body still sheds skin cells, sweat and natural oils. Eventually these collect in your mattress over time.

Here at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we think this step is critically important. In fact, many of the mattresses we offer require purchase of a mattress protector to qualify for our Comfort Guarantee.

Fortunately, it is no longer necessary or recommended to flip most modern mattresses. However, another way to extend the life of your new mattress, is to rotate it periodically. We advise you to rotate your new mattress every couple months for the 1st year. After that, you only need to rotate the mattress every 6 months. This can extend the life of your new mattress by helping it wear more evenly.

Breaking in Your New Mattress

Here’s where many new mattress owners have questions. Perhaps the most important question we get after purchase is, “Why does my mattress feel different than the one I tried in your store?” Or a close second, “Am I supposed to feel sore after sleeping on my new mattress?” We also frequently hear questions like “How long does it take to break in a new mattress?”

smiling couple with hands and feet in the air like they just flopped down on bed

These are completely normal questions to ask, and they’re all related to your mattress break-in period. Unfortunately, far too often mattress sellers don’t answer these questions proactively and therefore don’t properly set the customer’s expectations.

Here at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we want to give our customers the best possible buying experience — so let’s get to those questions!

Why Does My New Mattress Feel Different?

First, it’s common for a brand new mattress to feel more firm than the one you tried in the store. Many times, the new mattress sitting in your bedroom is fresh from the factory. Meanwhile the one you tried in the showroom has been broken in by many, many mattress shoppers. So there’s no need to panic.

After a brief break-in period, your mattress should feel just like the one you tried in-store. For some mattresses, this is a matter of a few days. For others, it can take a few weeks. Want to speed up this process? Try rolling around or crawling on your mattress.

Why Does My Body Hurt?

woman sitting on edge of a bed grabbing lower back

Second, just like your mattress has to break-in to perfectly adapt to your body, your body has to acclimate to your new mattress too. So a little bit of back, hip, shoulder and other muscle or joint pain is pretty normal at first. This aching can be especially pronounced if you’re going from a ragged, old mattress to one providing exceptional support.

For most sleepers, this will resolve itself in a matter of days or weeks. However, for others, it can take up to 60 days for your body to fully adapt to your new support system.

Mattress-in-a-Box Considerations

Lastly, if you are unboxing a mattress-in-a-box, there are a couple of unique things to address. Although it can take 2 or 3 days to fully expand, your mattress should be mostly expanded within 4 to 6 hours. At this point it is safe to sleep on, although it will still take additional time to feel exactly right. As for that funny “new mattress smell”, it is usually the result of off-gassing and should dissipate within a few hours or a couple days at most.

Sleep Trials & Our Comfort Guarantee

Here at Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet, we understand that sometimes a customer’s mattress issues persist even after the mattress break-in period. It is unfortunate, but that’s why we offer our very own Comfort Guarantee.

Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet’s Comfort Guarantee

a certificate with Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet logo and the words

Our standard Comfort Guarantee is a 90-day sleep trial and exchange program that we offer for every mattress we sell (floor models and overstock mattresses excluded). Our only requirement is that you keep the mattress for at least 30 nights. This is so that we’ve given the mattress enough time to break-in and for your body to adapt.

Any time between night 30 and night 90, we offer a one-time exchange for full credit of what you paid for the mattress. If you choose to exchange for a mattress of lower price, you will get a store credit for the difference in price. Please note, there is an exchange fee of $199.99 to cover the cost of mattress removal, transportation, handling and sanitization.

Keep in mind that some of our brands require purchase of a mattress protector to qualify. This is because any stains on the mattress will void the warranty. As a result, we recommend this regardless of mattress brand. If you’re unsure whether you need a mattress protector to qualify, please refer to your receipt or contact your salesperson.

Did you forget to order a mattress protector with your new mattress? It’s not too late to add a mattress protector (and eligibility for the Comfort Guarantee) as long as it hasn’t been delivered or picked up yet.

Manufacturer Guaranteed Sleep Trials

Lastly, there are instances where the mattress manufacturer’s sleep trial is longer than our Comfort Guarantee. In those cases, we extend our own Comfort Guarantee to match the guarantees made by the mattress manufacturer. For full details tailored to your specific mattress, please refer to your bedding guide or ask your salesperson.

 
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