How to Buy the Best Mattress

The ultimate guide to the best mattress types and brands.

waterbed

How to Fix Rips and Tears in Your Mattress

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It almost seems inevitable that anything that gets used eight hours a day, every day for decades, will develop rips, tears and other assorted signs of wear. Your mattress fits this bill exactly. Most people spend so much time on their mattresses and even spend quite a bit of money to have nice mattresses. But what many people lack is the foresight to properly protect their mattresses.

Protecting your mattress should be just like protecting any investment that you have. However, protecting a mattress from some of the normal wear and tear of day to day life might be a little easier than most other investments.

How to Prevent Rips and Tears on Your Mattress

The first step you can do is to prevent rips and tears from happening in the first place. This is usually accomplished with a mattress cover. Mattress covers are very handy devices that can create a barrier to stop dust and water from getting into your mattress and provide much protection and support from forces that can cause rips and tears in a mattress.

However, if you find yourself in a situation where a rip or tear has already developed, following are a few pointers on how to fix them.

How to Fix a Memory Foam Mattress Tear

For many of us with a memory foam mattress, they may seem invincible when we first get them. But over time and with heavy use, some people find out that a tear or rip in a memory foam mattress can easily happen. The best and easiest way to fix this is to head down to your local furniture or upholstery shop and ask for a special kind of glue made for memory foam mattresses. This glue will help repair your mattress and stop any tears from getting bigger.

How to Fix an Air Mattress or Waterbed Mattress Tear or Leak

Usually trying to fix a tear or leak in an air mattress or waterbed poses a few different challenges to the person trying to fix it. For an air mattress, the first thing you want to do is try to find the hole by mixing up some soap and water, applying it to parts of the bed and looking for bubbles. If you see bubbles somewhere, chances are you have a hole.

Hopefully, a small hole in a waterbed is a little more obvious. Once the hole has been identified, if it is small enough just apply a little bit of glue over the hole and let it dry. If the hole is a little too big for that, you will need to find a small square of plastic or vinyl and glue it over the hole as a patch.

While fixing a tear or rip in a mattress is not necessarily a very difficult process, it can still be mostly avoided by using a protective mattress cover. Not only that a mattress cover will protect your mattress from rips and tears but it will also protect your mattress against dust and bacteria.

Water Bed Mattresses

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Mattress made by American National, a major waterbed manufacturer.

One of the most important pieces of furniture in most homes is the bed and the type of mattress that is on the bed generally sets the tone for how the day will go. Backaches from a bad night’s sleep or a smile on your face if you wake up rested bring out the difference between a good mattress and one that’s not so good. Information about the best types of beds can be found in a mattress review based on the size and type of bed you’re looking for.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down For a Water Bed Mattress?

In terms of water bed mattresses there are typically only two sides: one side loves them, the other side hates them and usually there is no middle ground. The amount of water in the mattress can be raised or lowered to help adjust the firmness. However, if the bed is shared, one may like it firmer than the other and that can cause dissention in the bedroom. Although traditional mattresses are the same firmness across the board, something in the middle can sometimes be found to benefit both partners.

In cold climates, a water bed mattress is heated and can be much more comfortable climbing into than a regular mattress. Many people say that they like the warmth when they get into bed. In warmer weather the adjustable thermostat can be turned down on a water bed mattress for a cooler sleeping environment.

Water bed mattresses are not always one large bladder that can cause motion sickness in some people. Most of the newer water bed types of mattresses have baffles to make them waveless or at least semi-waveless. This can also stop one problem often cited in a mattress review of one person being disturbed by their partner getting in or out of bed. This can be especially bothersome, along with unwanted noise, if any air is in the mattress.

No Dust Mites, What a Revelation!

One of the other advantages of a water bed mattress is that it does not offer a friendly home for dust mites. Although the mites can live in bedding, they will not find a home in the mattress. Typical sheets for water bed mattresses are also different than those for traditional beds. The so-called fitted sheet and top sheet are usually attached at the bottom, basically because you can not tuck them under the mattress to hold them in place.

The mattress itself may take getting used to, especially for someone who has slept on a regular mattress and box spring for many years. However, in the event of an accidental spill they are much easier to clean. Simply remove the bedding and wash them down with warm, soapy water and you’re good to go. Some couples have commented that they thought intimate activity would be different in a water bed, but found that not to be the case.

Another issue posed on mattress review sites is the weight of mattresses. When filled with water, a water bed mattress will be impossible to move. However, when empty, most of these mattresses are lighter than traditional mattresses and box springs, depending on the size of the bed.

Like most beds, different manufacturers offer different features and it is best to read many mattress reviews before buying one to hear about other people’s experience with a particular brand.

Visit American National Manufacturing to see the newest in waterbed technology.