What's wrong with my bed?
May 29, 2020 1:25 AM Subscribe
I think my bed is sloping. Is this related to the warped box spring? And how do I fix it under the circumstances?
I got my bed from my mom a couple years ago. It's a full size hybrid mattress and boxspring. She'd only had it a year or two, but apparently she'd had it on the wrong size frame. My mover pointed that out to me and said it'd be fine on the floor but not to try another frame.
Lately I feel like my sleeping side of the bed has been sloping/sinking, like it takes more effort to get up on it. I don't have a way to test this theory for sure. I can't just switch sides because of cpap/outlet issues.
Could there be sloping issues related to the warped box spring?
This feels more intense than needing a mattress flip.
I'm hoping to fix the sloping, but I have obstacles. I live alone and I'm not at all handy (I think my only tools are a hammer and a screwdriver), and I don't want anybody to come in (because of cv). I am also not at all strong, and it'd be hard to manipulate my mattress and plywood (saw that suggested) at the same time. Finally, I don't want to go to any store and don't have transportation to (also cv). If I need any supplies, I can order online or have delivered from a box store.
I got my bed from my mom a couple years ago. It's a full size hybrid mattress and boxspring. She'd only had it a year or two, but apparently she'd had it on the wrong size frame. My mover pointed that out to me and said it'd be fine on the floor but not to try another frame.
Lately I feel like my sleeping side of the bed has been sloping/sinking, like it takes more effort to get up on it. I don't have a way to test this theory for sure. I can't just switch sides because of cpap/outlet issues.
Could there be sloping issues related to the warped box spring?
This feels more intense than needing a mattress flip.
I'm hoping to fix the sloping, but I have obstacles. I live alone and I'm not at all handy (I think my only tools are a hammer and a screwdriver), and I don't want anybody to come in (because of cv). I am also not at all strong, and it'd be hard to manipulate my mattress and plywood (saw that suggested) at the same time. Finally, I don't want to go to any store and don't have transportation to (also cv). If I need any supplies, I can order online or have delivered from a box store.
The side you sit on when you get up and when you go to bed often develops a sag and it is usually in the mattress not the spring. It's worth using a yardstick of some sort to measure and make sure of if it's in the box spring or in the mattress and before you start any repairs. Measure without sitting on the bed and measure with sitting on the bed, and measure while lying on the bed. If you can feel the slope it will probably show up on the yardstick. Also compare when you sit or lie on the non-sagging portion for a baseline of compression.
It's also worth testing with a marble or ball bearing or bead to make sure the slope isn't actually in your floor. I have a notable slope in some of the floors in my older home which are structurally safe but the result of one hundred and ten years of beams settling and wood bowing.
You might want to look into the cost of having a compressible mattress set delivered and have that as background information before outlaying money on plywood and tools.
If your mattress is a pillow-top quite likely it can still be flipped - but the reverse side will be much more cheaply made and will not be treated with fire-retardant, so some thought needs to go into that.
Nthing jon1270 that a rotation is one of the first things to try.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:22 AM on May 29, 2020
It's also worth testing with a marble or ball bearing or bead to make sure the slope isn't actually in your floor. I have a notable slope in some of the floors in my older home which are structurally safe but the result of one hundred and ten years of beams settling and wood bowing.
You might want to look into the cost of having a compressible mattress set delivered and have that as background information before outlaying money on plywood and tools.
If your mattress is a pillow-top quite likely it can still be flipped - but the reverse side will be much more cheaply made and will not be treated with fire-retardant, so some thought needs to go into that.
Nthing jon1270 that a rotation is one of the first things to try.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:22 AM on May 29, 2020
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It’s not uncommon for some types of mattresses to compress and develop low spots rather quickly. Also, many mattresses aren’t designed to be flipped because a specific side is meant to face upwards. Rather than flipping it, you could just rotate it 180 degrees and see if that helps.
posted by jon1270 at 3:41 AM on May 29, 2020 [5 favorites]