How to choose a mattress for a sofa to ensure a comfortable sleep?

Mattress for a fold-out sofa: area of application

A sofa used as an additional, and often the main sleeping place, wears out quite quickly. The filler begins to “sag”, the surface becomes bumpy. Moreover, even if the filler itself meets all the requirements for good mattresses, it will usually be placed not on orthopedic slats, but on a regular furniture frame, which reduces its ability to properly support the human body during sleep.

A thin mattress for a sofa (thickness from 2 to 8 cm) can solve the following problems:

• Surface alignment;
• Smoothing out irregularities and joints;
• Adjusting rigidity;
• Increasing orthopedic properties;
• Increasing the level of comfort;
• Extending the service life of the sofa.

Such a mattress can be easily put away in a closet, sofa drawer or on the mezzanine during the day.

Sofa topper: materials

The main requirements for a mattress that must be removed from the bed during the day are lightness, relative compactness while maintaining orthopedic qualities. It is clear that spring blocks cannot be used as a basis for making toppers – they are heavy and take up a lot of space, and it is impossible to fold them.

Toppers are springless versions of orthopedic mattresses and are made from the same materials as regular springless mattresses, differing from them only in thickness. Let’s take a closer look at the most common materials.

Coir

Natural fiber obtained from coconut palm nuts. Coir is pressed and then processed in two different ways: fastened using the “stitching” method with needles, obtaining pressed coir, or impregnated with latex – the result is latexed coir. Coir that is not treated with latex is harder, its service life is shorter. When choosing a mattress for a sofa made of latexed coir, you need to take into account that its hardness will depend on the amount of latex. It can be up to 70 percent of the total volume, and the more latex, the softer the mattress. Coir is a natural, environmentally friendly material, so its cost is quite high.

Latex

Foamed rubber tree juice is called latex. It is a natural polymer material, very durable, holds its shape well, has the best orthopedic properties and does not emit harmful substances into the air. Latex provides air exchange, is permeable to water vapor, and is also able to maintain body temperature, preventing overheating in the heat and freezing in the cold. Even a very thin mattress on a sofa made of latex will provide the spine with the necessary support and give complete relaxation. This is the most expensive material of all those used in the production of mattresses.

Artificial latex

It is made from polymers obtained by chemical synthesis. In terms of its performance properties, it is close to natural latex, but has a number of significant differences. Firstly, it is a little harder and has a shorter service life. Secondly, the production uses substances that, gradually evaporating, can have a negative impact on the well-being and health of a person. Such mattresses are more budgetary than those made of natural latex.

PUF

Synthetic polyurethane foam is used in the production of toppers quite often. A mattress for a sofa made of this material is the most affordable in price, although the least durable. Its elasticity is inferior to that of latex, it is much softer, its orthopedic properties are expressed rather weakly. As a rule, polyurethane foam toppers are used in cases where the folding bed is not used very often.

Memory Foam

Artificial foam with a “memory effect” is made from polyurethane by adding special additives. This is a very comfortable material that is pleasant to lie on, as it minimizes pressure on the body. A memory foam sofa mattress gives the body a feeling of weightlessness. The main disadvantage is the inability to remove heat due to poor air permeability. Another disadvantage is the high cost, comparable and sometimes exceeding the cost of latex.

Combined option

Progress does not stand still, manufacturers are constantly experimenting, combining various materials in the production of sofa toppers. The purpose of such experiments is to reduce production costs, and, consequently, the price for the buyer, while maintaining consumer qualities. Combining the advantages of artificial and synthetic materials, it is possible to level out their disadvantages. Combined materials, as a rule, have a long service life, have good air exchange, and are permeable to moisture. Rigidity is regulated by the rigidity and quantity of components included in the initial mixture.

Among the combined materials, two of the most popular can be distinguished:

• Ergolatex: polyurethane – 70%, latex – 30%.
• Strutofiber: 20% – natural fibers (dry seaweed, animal wool, coir, cotton, bamboo), 80% – polyester fibers.

Orthopedic thin mattress for a sofa: tips for the right choice

Before going to the store, you need to clearly understand why you need this purchase. All toppers have different properties, so you need to decide what you need and in what conditions the mattress will be used:

• Do you need to make the sleeping area soft, or, conversely, make it harder and more elastic;
• Will the topper be removed during the day;
• Will the sofa be used as a sleeping area constantly or from time to time;
• What is the weight of those who will sleep on it.

When choosing a mattress for a sofa, it is very important to imagine who will use it most often. The required rigidity of the topper depends on this. The hardest and densest ones are made of coir. They level the surface well, make height differences and joints completely invisible. Young people, those who do not suffer from excess weight and diseases of the skeletal system can sleep on such a hard “bedding”.

To make the sofa softer, toppers made of latex and polyurethane foam will help, the most comfortable option will be if you put a topper made of “memory” foam on top. The polyurethane foam, from which the most budget mattresses for a sofa for sleeping are made, can last no more than three years, while the weight of a person lying on them should not exceed the average. Those who weigh more than 90 kg will not receive orthopedic support from such a topper, and they will feel the unevenness of the bed with all their sides.

Coir and strutofiber, with all their advantages, have one significant drawback: you can’t call a topper made of them mobile, it is impossible to roll it up to put it in a closet or on a mezzanine. But they are quite suitable if the sofa does not fold during the daytime, or folds very rarely, while it is possible to take the mattress to another room.