What Can You Put on Top of a Sagging Mattress?

Topper

• A good mattress topper will set you back a few hundred dollars, but it is the Cadillac of solutions to the problem. A topper is essentially a mini-mattress a few inches thick, often crafted from firm, comfortable material, that goes on top of your mattress. Since it is the same size as the old mattress, once you put the bed sheets in place, there is no evidence of first aid provided, but your sleep should be much more peaceful.

Flipping

• In some cases, flipping your mattress is almost the same as buying a new one, for a while. Consider that, over the years, the steel springs and foam begin to contour to the shape of your body. There's really no escaping that reality. Even the best capitulate eventually. A regular flipping schedule, perhaps every three to six months, will keep one side from becoming unduly worn. Along with the flip you can also reverse the ends so the head is at the foot and vice versa.

Blankets

• If a topper is out of your budget and a flip seems like too much work, placing folded blankets in the sagging area could offer temporary relief. Keep in mind that a few strategically placed bedclothes won't overcome your mattress's structural failure, but it might give you a few extra good night's worth of sleep while you try to figure out a long-term solution. The bigger the blanket, the better it works; shoot for a folded thickness of at least a few inches.

Considerations

• Somewhere in between the topper and blanket solution lies memory foam. For less than you'd pay for a topper, you could cut a piece of foam to go over your mattress, placing it on top of the mattress as if it were a topper. New foam can be expensive in some retail outlets, but you never know where you might stumble across a reasonably priced slab. Military surplus stores are a good place to look, as are discount furniture stores.