Suitable mattress for flexible slats

Hi Michelle,

Thank you for your question. Flexi slats, also known in the UK as sprung slats, give the illusion of softening a mattress by moving down and up as weight is applied and removed. They are, however, still strips of wood.

The problem with this type of base is twofold. As with all types of slatted bedframes, the slats indent into the upholstery layers on the underside of a two sided mattress and if the gap between them is too large (7.5 cm and over), pocket springs or even the support layers of foam mattresses, such as memory foam like your Emma mattress or latex, can settle in the gap which means you do not get the correct support and the mattress can be damaged. In the case of sprung slats, sometimes the mattress sits at the top of the arch and doesn't push it down. This can make you roll into the middle or it can look as if the mattress has sunk in the middle due to there being no support for the centre of the mattress.

In the case of our pocket sprung mattresses, we recommend covering over the slats that have a smaller gap with an old or cheap duvet or blanket to protect the underside of the mattress from indentations. If the gap is 3 inches or more, the slats must be covered over with MDF or Plywood to prevent the springs from settling in the gap.

We would always recommend following the manufacturer's instructions as they know what is best for the mattresses they have created. It is their opinion that flexi slats are detrimental to the mattress and yourself and this is why they will void a warranty if the mattress is used on this type of base. You can either follow their guidelines by boarding over the slats with 3 - 5 mm thick sheets of MDF or Plywood to give the mattress a uniform surface or use a mattress on your flexi slats to give you the feel you like which runs the risk of voiding the warranty if anything goes wrong with it.

I hope this helps you.

Kind Regards

Michaela