Many of today's latex and foam mattresses require special foundations in order to work with certain bed systems. The most popular of these mattresses are latex or memory foam mattresses. Often times the manufacturers of these mattresses tell you that you'll void the warranty if you don't use proper support for their mattresses. This can make shopping for a new bed somewhat challenging at times but there are things you can do to make it easier in finding the bed you like and making it work with your memory foam mattress. In this article we'll look at some of the many alternatives that exist that can help you in providing the proper support for your mattress and at the same time give you a bed that is both pleasing to look at and functional with modern mattresses.
A large majority of platform beds use a system of slats which make up the foundation of the bed system. This works well with mattresses that use a lot of batting be it cotton or cotton polyester as this helps to promote air flow. This in turn helps to keep moisture from collecting in the batting and improves the life of the mattress. However slat systems don't work so well with brands of mattresses which require a solid foundation so you'll need to make some minor modifications to use your existing bed or beds you're thinking about purchasing to make it work.
Twin Latex Mattress
One option would be to use a ¼" sheet of plyboard over the existing set of slats. This covers the gaps between the slats and the slats beneath the plyboard will have trouble supporting the plyboard. The thin nature of ¼" should also help to hide it between the mattress and slats so that it isn't visible. It's best to measure the inside length and width of your bedframe where the mattress rests and subtract 1-2" from each dimension to be sure that the piece of plyboard you are cutting will fit correctly over the slats and won't hang over any edges. If you're worried about movement you can find non-slip material in most major hardware stores and home stores. It's the same material used in kitchen cabinets and under rugs to keep things from moving around.
Another option you can do is purchase a second set of slats. This option would give you maximum strength and support for almost any mattress and the extra set of slats can be placed in the gaps between the existing gaps to effectively fill in the foundation to be more solid. Because many slats systems are banded this may require you to purchase for a second set of slats that are unbanded which will allow you to place the slats more independently of each other between the slat system already in place.
In this article we've looked for ways to make existing platform bed systems comply with warranty requirements of mattresses which require a solid foundation. A few of the ideas presented here are just some of the many ways you can modify your existing bed system to work with your latex or memory foam mattress. One suggestion we presented here was using a ¼" of plyboard over existing slats to help form a solid foundation without gaps for your mattress. The other idea was to use a second set of slats and place them in between the existing slat system to fill in the gaps and make the foundation more solid. Always check with your mattress manufacturer to see what the warranty requirements are for your mattress to make sure that your bed's foundation will work with the type of mattress you are using. The ideas presented in this article will hopefully give you an excellent starting point in converting your existing bed system into one that will work with your new foam mattress.