Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions

Is your memory foam not acting the way it's supposed to? This article will cover what you can do to make your memory foam mattress fully expand.
By
Romeo Vitelli
Romeo Vitelli
Expert Writer
Received his doctorate in Psychology in 1987, spent fifteen years as a staff psychologist in Millbrook Correctional Centre. In 2003 went into full-time private practice. read more
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Last updated: August 19, 2023
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When you buy a new memory foam mattress, the main thing on your mind might be to enjoy a restful sleep on the cloud mattress. This kind of mattress has also been researched for sleep disorders Trusted Source Memory Foam Mattresses: Benefits and Disadvantages | WebMD The pros and cons of memory foam mattresses, pillows, and other products. www.webmd.com because of its unique structure. But these kinds of mattresses usually arrive looking thin and flat unlike with other types of mattresses, and sometimes, they don’t expand as they are supposed to.

With the memory foam mattress ends not fully expanded, it would be difficult to enjoy the sleep you were thinking of. If you’re purchasing this mattress type for the first time, you should know that the mattresses arrive compressed and flat to preserve their freshness. This ensures that the mattress can conform to your body while you sleep. Also, don’t forget about bed sheets for memory foam mattresses that can reduce or eliminate discomfort.

But the problem begins when the mattress remains thin for longer than you might have expected. There are different reasons why this might happen, and we would cover these in the guide as well as how to make it expand fully.

Why Your Memory Foam Mattress Isn’t Expanding?

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
Lying on your memory foam mattress that is not fully expanded, you may feel discomfort.

Before you can solve the problem of your memory foam mattress corners not expanding, you need to determine what the cause is. Most manuals inform that it would take you between 24 hours and 72 hours for the foam to expand fully, so you’re not meant to sleep on it within the first 24 hours.

When it takes more than 72 hours, then you know that something is affecting it. There are different reasons why your memory foam mattress might not be expanding, but here are the common causes.

It Needs More Time

The most popular reason why memory foam mattresses are that the user isn’t patient enough. In most cases, you need to give your mattress more time to expand. Many people don’t check the maintenance label on their mattress after purchasing it, primarily because of excitement. But you need to know what the label says to understand how long you need to wait.

Generally, a memory foam mattress should spend up to 24 hours fully expanding, but this doesn’t mean that it’s defective if it’s still compressed after this set time. If you open it up and it still looks thin and flat, then you probably haven’t given it enough time and chances to expand. You should wait for up to 72 hours, especially for the corners.

Some memory foam mattresses also state that it would take only one to two hours, but it’s always safe to wait for longer so that the mattress expands fully.

Ambient Temperature

Another reason your memory foam mattress ends are not fully expanded might be because of the temperature you left it in. Memory foam is temperature-sensitive, and sometimes they expand faster when you apply pressure and your body temperature to it.

You have to check whether your room is warm enough, and if it’s not, move it to another room where it can absorb a lot of heat. With this heat, it can expand faster. The right temperature is between 68- and 75-degrees Fahrenheit, and if your bedroom is too cold, then change the position until it expands.

Humidity in the Room

The humidity in your room can be another cause for your memory foam not expanding. Even if memory foam mattresses are generally porous, they aren’t good for absorbing humidity. So, it would help if you lowered the humidity of your home or room to allow the mattress to expand completely.

If you want to lower the humidity, there are different ways in which you can do so. One way is to set up dry mode on your air conditioner, while air purifiers are another good choice. You can also increase the ventilation in your room if you don’t have any of these in your room. You can also cover your mattress with a breathable material.

Mattress Compressed for Too Long

Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with the space that you’re keeping your memory foam mattress in. The main problem is that the mattress has been compressed for too long, leading to foam pockets. Keeping the mattresses compressed for too long before they are purchased or delivered, or if you’re the one that is keeping your mattress compressed after purchase, it would take a long time before they expand again.

You can avoid this by opening your mattress up immediately after purchasing it and ensuring the room you place it in has enough heat and low humidity. You can also activate the fibers which have been compressed for such a long time by applying your body heat and rolling and walking on the mattress.

Possible Defects

The memory foam mattress might just be defective, and if this is the case, then there’s nothing you can do to make it expand. If all the causes mentioned in this guide don’t fit the bill, then the mattress that you purchased is defective. If this is the case, the only thing you need to do is turn to your manufacturer.

Whenever you purchase a memory foam mattress, you should check the warranty coverage so that if it’s defective, you can repair or replace it within the time.

You can contact the customer service of the mattress manufacturer to ask what you can do about the problem. But, if the mattress has expired, then there’s nothing you can do but purchase a new one.

How to Make Your Memory Foam Mattress Fully Expand

If your memory foam mattress is not defective, then you can follow the necessary steps to ensure that they fully expand. In some cases, the mattress has expanded apart from the corners, and in other cases, the entire thing is still flatter than it’s supposed to. Either way, you can follow these steps to make your memory foam mattress fully expand.

Step 1. Lay Your Mattress on a Flat Surface

The first thing to do is unfold the mattress on a flat surface, preferably the floor, and make sure it’s straight. It’s best to do so as soon as it arrives at your home. If you unbox it as soon as you get it, you can speed up the time it would take to expand, but leaving it in the box leads to a longer recovery time. If you can’t open it immediately, you should at least do so within 72 hours of receiving it.

If you have a bed frame or box spring, the surface won’t be flat enough for your mattress, so you should leave it on the floor for about 24 hours. You should also avoid unpacking the mattress using sharp objects like scissors, knives and blades. These can damage the mattress, so unbox it with your hands instead.

After this, you can then lay it on the flat ground and ensure it’s straight. This would start the expansion process automatically, and keeping it flat would make it more exposed to air and make all the corners of the mattress expand evenly. One highly recommended mattress by customers is the Gel Memory Foam Mattress and North American Pine Platform Bed Combo, which allows you to place your memory mattress on a flat platform.

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
It is much easier to make sure your mattress is straight by spreading it out on a flat surface.

Step 2. Cool the Room

The next important step is to crank up the heat to at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit. A cooler temperature would encourage the mattress to contract instead of expanding, and so once you lay it flat in your room, the next thing to do is warm up the area where you place it.

By increasing the heat, you soften the air pocket and make it more flexible, reduce the viscosity and enhance the fluidity of the memory foam mattress. If your climate is cooler or you purchased the mattress during colder months, you can make the space hotter by using a space heater.

Keep in mind that if the heat is too high, you will risk damaging your mattress, so don’t let the room become hotter than 75 degrees Fahrenheit. So, even when using a space heater, you shouldn’t put it too close to the mattress.

You can also check the manufacturer’s details to know the right amount of heat it can take.

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
Temperature control can be a crucial factor when expanding the mattress.

Step 3. Put a Little Pressure

Now that your mattress is well laid out and the heat is suitable, the next thing you need to do is start moving on your memory foam. You can massage your mattress for about 10 to 30 minutes to make the tiny air pockets in the memory foam much softer, which would encourage expansion.

Remember that your body heat would add to the expansion of your memory foam mattress and change your sleeping position often so that the mattress can expand maximally and evenly.

But, it’s not advisable to stand on your mattress to give it body heat because this would lead to deep notches and recesses on your mattress. You can roll around the mattress regularly until it is completely expanded because sometimes the edges remain flat while only the center expands.

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
A slight pressure on the corners of the memory foam mattress can help it expand faster.

Step 4. Adjust the Air Circulation

Air circulation is also essential to memory foam mattresses, which takes us to the next step: to improve air circulation in the room where you put the mattress. This would make it expand much faster, so you don’t have to wait for too long.

There are different ways to increase the air circulation in your room when you buy a memory foam mattress. One popular method is to turn on a fan, as fans bring both ventilation and active air movement to the table. You can make things easier for yourself by getting a fan heater, so you have better heat and air circulation at the same time.

But you shouldn’t place the fan heater too close to the mattress so that it doesn’t damage the product. Instead, you should set the heat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and also check the manufacturer’s specifications.

Another good way to increase air circulation is with a steamer, significantly when the memory foam mattress corners are not expanding. It allows you to increase the heat and also add air circulation to the mattress.

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
A fan can increase the air circulation in your room, making your mattress expand easier.

Step 5. Check the Warranty

If you follow all these steps and your memory foam mattress is not expanding after more than 72 hours, then there’s a good chance that it is defective. It’s advisable to wait for about a week before you conclude because it might be too slow if the mattress is compressed for a very long time.

In most cases, mattress companies offer a sleep trial, so you can return it if it doesn’t expand as the sleep trial is nearing a close. You can also ask your manufacturer why it’s not expanding after the set time so that they can replace it for you during the sleep trial or warranty period.

The sleep trials can go between 100 and 365 nights, depending on who you are purchasing it from. When it comes to good sleep trials, Plush Bed is usually recommended for its 100-night sleep trial. So, when buying a memory foam mattress, you should check the warranty coverage and sleep trial before purchase.

Memory Foam Mattress Not Fully Expanded? – Step-By-Step Solutions
Do not forget that you have the right to return a defective mattress to the seller.

How Long Does It Take a Memory Foam Mattress to Expand?

Memory foam mattresses come in a bed-in-a-box format, and mattresses in this format take up to 72 hours to expand fully, although it depends on the manufacturer. Some manufacturers would advertise that their memory foam mattresses would expand faster than others, some promising between a few hours to a little less than 24 hours. Even if they give these promises, you should still wait for up to 72 hours before writing the mattress off as defective or slow.

After waiting for the set time and your memory foam mattress still doesn’t expand, you should follow the steps that we have explored in this guide to speed up the expansion. If none of this works, you can contact the customer service of the mattress company.

You can inform them that you have a defective mattress and ask if they can replace it for you at no cost. This would most likely be possible if you have a sleep trial or warranty period.

Final Thoughts

Although 72 hours is a rare case for your memory foam mattress to expand, you should be patient and follow the steps in this guide to expand it. The memory foam mattress ends not fully expanded problem is common, which means that you shouldn’t panic if your new bed isn’t acting the way it’s supposed to.

Simply follow the steps from 1 to 4, and then go for 5 if it still hasn’t expanded after everything you have done. When purchasing any mattress Trusted Source Softly does it: how to choose the perfect mattress | The Guardian It’s important to find a mattress that soothes as well as supports you. Two experts give their advice and test out John Lewis’s selection to find the best bed for a silent night. www.theguardian.com , it’s recommended to go for those with a great sleep period and warranty coverage. This way, you can protect yourself in the case of a defective product. The worst thing that can happen is getting a new mattress, so stay calm and try your best to expand your memory foam mattress.

References

1.
Memory Foam Mattresses: Benefits and Disadvantages | WebMD
The pros and cons of memory foam mattresses, pillows, and other products.
2.
Softly does it: how to choose the perfect mattress | The Guardian
It’s important to find a mattress that soothes as well as supports you. Two experts give their advice and test out John Lewis’s selection to find the best bed for a silent night.
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