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For Dora at Trustpilot
26th August 2021

Making a mattress firmer advice

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Nat

I have a 7 yr old dunlopillo latex mattress which feels a bit soft now. I can’t afford to buy a new mattress at the moment. The base is slats, but they are very wide and have very small gaps. I have seen suggestions of ply over flexible slats, but I am not sure this is needed. Are there firm mattress toppers? Could I put high density foam under it? Where should I get this? Thanks so much for your advice.

Lee Answered 7 months ago

HI Nat,

 

Many thanks for your comment about firming up a mattress. All mattresses will settle and therefore soften over time. usually in the first 6 months and then at a far slower rate over the next 5-7 years. Obviously, this depends on the quality of the upholstery, fibres and construction styles used.

Latex is a fantastically resilient progressive comfort layer that tends to hold its shape well in a two sided latex mattress model. You don't say if your dunlopillo mattress is one or two sided.  Given they haven't made many 2 sided models we will assume its one of their one sided models. Have a look at our Fusion 3 below and what a 2 sided latex mattress looks like with a cross section to help.

These have a far shorter shelf life that a two sided model as you can't turn them over to help even out settlement. It means that all the wear is on one side. For 7 years this is good going for the life span of a one sided model.

How to firm up a mattress:

The quick answer is that the only way to firm up a mattress is to use plyboard on top of the mattress base to help give it a bit more support.

However, it sounds like it's the comfort layers that have settled or sagged in your mattress. Adding as firm topper will only add a temporary reprieve before the sagging continues as it will conform to the softer material underneath.

This is why it is so important to choose the correct support/spring tension and then fibre that will give you the correct feeling of the mattress. Take a look below at the two guides for more advice on this.

Upholstery Layer Fibre Type How it will feel? Price Point
Polyester Synthetic Soft Cheap
White Fibre Synthetic Soft/Medium Cheap
Recycled Fibre / Eco Fibre Synthetic Medium Cheap
Memory Foam Synthetic Medium/Firm Mid Price
Igel / Hybrid Foam Synthetic Medium/Firm Mid Price
Polycotton Synthetic/Natural Blend Soft/Medium Mid Price
Linen Synthetic/Natural Blend Medium Mid Price
Wool (Pure) Natural Soft/Medium High-End
Cotton (Pure) Natural Soft High-End
Silk Natural Soft Expensive
Horsehair Natural Medium High-End
Mohair Natural Medium/Firm High-End
Hemp Natural Medium High-End
Latex (100% Natural) Natural Medium/Firm High-End
Coir Natural Firm High-End
Flax Natural Firm High-End
Coarse Cashmere Natural Firm High-End
Bamboo Natural Super Soft Expensive / Exclusive
Horsetail Natural Firm Expensive / Exclusive
Alpaca Natural Soft Expensive / Exclusive
Cashmere (Pure) Natural Soft Expensive / Exclusive
Vicuna Natural Super Soft Expensive / Exclusive

Try the plyboard and then if no joy then please get back in touch and we can advise on a replacement mattress.

If you have any more questions Max please get back in touch with us on 0161 437 4419.

 

All the best

John & Ryan

 

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