Can't make heads or tails out of this Ikea mattress
February 12, 2016 1:28 PM Subscribe
Which side of this Ikea Sultan foam mattress is up?
I have an Ikea Sultan foam mattress that I bought 10+ years ago. It somehow took me until today to realize that the 2 sides of the mattress are not the same. The whole thing is one big piece of foam, but one side is solid, and the other side has squares cut into it. Imagine cutting a rectangular cake into square slices, except you don't cut all the way through to the bottom.
Which side is supposed to face up? The cover on the mattress doesn't have a big label -- the only label is a little tag that's attached at the seam, which runs around the edge (i.e., the "depth") of the mattress. This seam isn't centered at the midpoint of the mattress' depth -- it's a little closer to one side. (So, if you look at the covered mattress, there appears to be a deep side and a shallow side, if that makes any sense.) The handles (to help you move the mattress) are also attached to the edge, on the shallow side of the mattress cover.
The shallow side has the flat foam surface, and the deep side has the cut surface. (It's possible I took off the cover to wash at some point, and put it back on wrong. But pretty unlikely, because I am lazy.)
So mefites, which side of this damn thing should I be sleeping on?* The cut side or the flat side? Have I been doing it wrong all this time?
*Well I mean the correct answer is "the side that belongs to a new and better mattress". I'm working on that.
I have an Ikea Sultan foam mattress that I bought 10+ years ago. It somehow took me until today to realize that the 2 sides of the mattress are not the same. The whole thing is one big piece of foam, but one side is solid, and the other side has squares cut into it. Imagine cutting a rectangular cake into square slices, except you don't cut all the way through to the bottom.
Which side is supposed to face up? The cover on the mattress doesn't have a big label -- the only label is a little tag that's attached at the seam, which runs around the edge (i.e., the "depth") of the mattress. This seam isn't centered at the midpoint of the mattress' depth -- it's a little closer to one side. (So, if you look at the covered mattress, there appears to be a deep side and a shallow side, if that makes any sense.) The handles (to help you move the mattress) are also attached to the edge, on the shallow side of the mattress cover.
The shallow side has the flat foam surface, and the deep side has the cut surface. (It's possible I took off the cover to wash at some point, and put it back on wrong. But pretty unlikely, because I am lazy.)
So mefites, which side of this damn thing should I be sleeping on?* The cut side or the flat side? Have I been doing it wrong all this time?
*Well I mean the correct answer is "the side that belongs to a new and better mattress". I'm working on that.
Response by poster: Great question -- sadly I don't remember, and the tag only says "Sultan". It's about 5 inches deep? I doubt I would have paid for the top-of-the line model as I was a broke student at the time. I also seem to remember that I avoided the cheapest one, but it was all so very long ago.
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 1:43 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 1:43 PM on February 12, 2016
Best answer: It doesn't matter what IKEA thinks. Whichever side you like better is the right side. If you can't tell the difference, it doesn't matter.
The side that's cut into squares will probably be a little softer and conform to the shape of your body better.
posted by aubilenon at 1:51 PM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
The side that's cut into squares will probably be a little softer and conform to the shape of your body better.
posted by aubilenon at 1:51 PM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: It sounds like it is intended to be cut side up. We have a latex mattress and the denser layers (fewer holes) are on the bottom, and the cushier layers (more holes) are on top.
posted by defreckled at 2:09 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by defreckled at 2:09 PM on February 12, 2016
Yeah whichever side is softer is meant to be face up, but I also agree with aubilenon.
posted by MillMan at 2:50 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by MillMan at 2:50 PM on February 12, 2016
Oh I thought of something else - if your bed holds up the mattress with slats with gaps between them, that'll probably work a little better with the cut side up.
posted by aubilenon at 3:25 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by aubilenon at 3:25 PM on February 12, 2016
Cut side down, especially if that puts the handles closer to the top. They usually put a layer of something more resilient over something more rigid. The resilient foam contours to the body; the rigid provides support. It doesn't make sense for foam that contours to have big gaps in it.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:03 PM on February 12, 2016
posted by oneirodynia at 4:03 PM on February 12, 2016
The side of the labile that reads Sultan in big letters should be up, but as everyone said, whatever is comfy for you.
posted by Iteki at 4:51 AM on February 14, 2016
posted by Iteki at 4:51 AM on February 14, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks all! I do have slats, and the cut side does seem to conform more (which I like). I'll leave it cut-side up for now and see how it goes. :)
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 2:55 PM on February 15, 2016
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 2:55 PM on February 15, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hanov3r at 1:38 PM on February 12, 2016