How Often Should You Flip or Rotate Your Mattress?

You may have heard that you’re supposed to flip or rotate your mattress. But how often do you actually need to do it? The answer depends on the mattress type and manufacturer.

Mattress Care and Maintenance by Size and Material

There’s no one-size-fits-all routine because every mattress can be different. One memory foam mattress may be eight inches thick; another may be 12 inches. Some have smooth tops; others, seamed designs. The cover can even be made of different fabric types.

Victoria Wildhorn, a sleep health content specialist with Mattress Clarity, identifies six types of mattresses: firm, soft, innerspring, memory foam, hybrid and coil. Each individual mattress will wear differently, which is why it’s so important to follow the manufacturer recommendations for mattress care.

Small, soft mattresses can wear quickly, Wildhorn says, while large, firm mattresses hold their form longer. “As with different floors and countertops in your house, you should use the right cleaning products on foam versus plush material,” Wildhorn says. You wouldn’t want to make a mattress stain worse by mistake.

Why To Rotate or Flip a Mattress

Do you have a favorite side of the bed? Most people do. And after months of laying in the same spot, a mattress begins to wear down in that spot.

Rotating and flipping helps to evenly spread normal wear and tear across a mattress. Wildhorn says that can prolong the mattress life. And when rotated 180 degrees, she says, “it will help you maintain neutral alignment in your spine which is crucial to getting a good night’s rest.”

A mattress with a dip in the middle isn’t as comfortable as a properly maintained mattress. You’ll sleep better and your mattress will last longer with routine care.

How Often Should You Rotate Your Mattress?

As with mattress cleaning, follow your manufacturer’s recommendation. Your back might also tell you when it’s time. “You’ll wake up uncomfortable or in pain more frequently, there may be an imprint from your body where you sleep, and it may not ‘bounce back’ like it used to,” Wildhorn says.

Drew Miller, director of marketing, sleep consultant and co-owner of Sit ‘n Sleep, provides some guidelines for when to rotate a mattress: “Memory foam, latex mattresses and newer innerspring mattresses should be rotated one to two times per year,” he says. “Some memory foam and hybrid mattress companies suggest every three to six months.”

Not all mattresses need to be rotated and some only need it occasionally, but rotating it more often than necessary won’t hurt.

How Often Should You Flip Your Mattress?

It’s important to note that not all mattresses need to be flipped. In fact, many should not be flipped. These mattresses usually have a clear rightside up and upside down.

For memory foam and hybrid mattress, “it’s recommended that you do not flip, as the memory foam is usually on the top of the mattress,” says Miller. If the mattress says double-sided, Miller says that’s a good indicator that it can be flipped.

Only flip your mattress if it’s recommended by the manufacturer. If the manufacturer recommends flipping, they should provide a timeframe, but you can usually expect to flip the mattress once or twice per year.

Older mattresses are more likely to need flipping. However, Miller puts the average mattress lifetime at six to eight years. If your mattress is past its prime, it might be worth upgrading to a newer mattress that doesn’t need to be flipped.

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