# Is it time for me to buy a new mattress? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2002, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645 "2002-10-31T03:58:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/21 "2002-10-31T18:15:28Z")
Mattress and box springs. It’s heavenly. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/22 "2002-10-31T18:17:08Z")
AHA! See, I thought the OP was about a new mattress. You don’t necessarily have to buy new boxsprings every time you need a new mattress. (Do you?) ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/23 "2002-10-31T18:21:13Z")
Getting a firm mattress is good. But you don’t have to be uncomfortable. Either get a pillow top or one of those feather bed tops **Lola** was talking about. You can put a bit of cushion on top of the mattress and still get the benefit of the firmness. I also like Sealy. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/24 "2002-10-31T18:39:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Winston Smith \* > \*\*It’s time. Get the firmest mattress you can find, then slap a sheet of plywood between it and the box spring - heaven. I slept on the floor for eight years before getting married - no kidding. My wife - then gf - though it was fun to set up my “bed”: a comforter or two, sheet, sheet, blanket, comforter. But when we got married, the first thing we got was a bed. Her reasoning - “Grown-ups sleep on beds, Winston.” Humph. I look back on the floor-sleeping years with true fondness. My back never felt better, and it added a whole new dimension to… um… actually, that would be a new thread entirely. \*\* Ditto. Some of the best nights of sleep I ever had were on a futon pad on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/25 "2002-10-31T18:41:52Z")
Serta has to be good; they had Susan Anton doing their ads. I heard she came with the mattresses, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/26 "2002-11-01T16:31:27Z")
I got mine free, it was outside the store with a FREE tag on it. Nice bed. The old one would fall apart in the middle of the night. "There are ways to “maintain” a mattress, including rotating it and flipping it over occasionally (I think you’re supposed to flip 'em every six months or so). " Yeah, I like that idea, I hope your posts educates people on this cause it works. They do now have so called ‘no flip’ mattresses … ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/27 "2002-11-01T16:56:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*_wakes up from her delicious sleep_ > > A feather bed fits on top of your mattress, so it doesn’t comprimise the support . They truly are a DREAM! 🙂 > \*\* I really hate to hijack this, but I don’t know if this deserves its own thread… I went to that site, and then googled for ‘feather beds.’ [Overstock.com](http://Overstock.com) has them even cheaper. But before I take that particular plunge, perhaps those of you with feather beds could answer a question or two for me: 1. What’s the difference between a featherbed and a fiberbed? 2. What’s a “good” thread count? 230? This sounds like what I’ve been looking for! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/28 "2002-11-01T19:23:49Z")
I’m a futon fan myself. I’ve been sleeping on a futon, usually supported by the floor or plywood, since 1990. We have a foam-core futon with one of those egg-crate type foam thingies on top. Love it. Squishy on top and firm underneath. I don’t care for any inner-spring mattress that I have ever come across since I started sleeping on a futon. But that’s all a matter of personal preference. A couple of years ago, we were swayed by the advertising and got a Select Comfort Air Adjustable bed. We found it very uncomfortable in use, and took advantage of the warranty and returned it. To answer the OP’s question: yes, you absolutely need a new mattress! Do some research. Do a lot of research, because the world of mattresses unduly complicated. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645/29 "2002-11-01T23:03:38Z")
Not one post about a water bed? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-time-for-me-to-buy-a-new-mattress/134645.md?page=1)