Hello Emmeline, I too wash my mattress protector, along with all the linens every week and air the mattress weekly... However when thoughts turn to mattresses and bed bugs, it pays to remember our entire bodies are literally infested with microorganisms. Of those, are such things as follicle mites on our eyelids, several types that live on our faces etc. They are in fact benefic to our existence and while people scratch their heads at the mention of a creepy crawly, we really aren't getting away from them.. So while a clean mattress is a must.. It's a far more reassuring thought to have a shower or two! (Especially if you have studied these and looked at them under the microscOpe! :))

You might say we're biased, but we think if you have the right mattress for your body type, which not only contours to your shape and supports your body in all the right places, but provides the right comfort, you don't need a mattress topper! The best advice we can give is to go to a showroom and try them out for as long as it takes. Two things you can look out for are: - Ensuring your hips aren't being pushed up or are sinking too much into the mattress - Ensuring you have some support on the backs of your knees from the mattress - if you don't this could be a sign that the mattress is too firm for you Seeing as your spend a third of your life on a mattress, with good mattresses lasting up to 10 years, it's definitely worth investing in one that's right for you :)

Ordinarily, I flip mine ("flip" sounds so easy!) every three months without fail: end-to-end, side-to-side, end-to-end, side-to-side. Repeat, ad infinitum. It does extend the life of the mattress and help it wear more evenly. (Did I mention I once worked for a mattress company?) With new ones and plush "mattress toppers" built-in and memory foam layers on one side and not the other... You can't really flip it over. Both sides are not the same. In the UK our mattress is sort of foam-core / layer-filled. (I don't think it has springs. It's not like the US mattresses I'm used to.) The top is the top, and the bottom is the bottom, and one does not sleep on the bottom. Consequently, I flip it from side-to-side, but not over, every three months. (If I'm making sense here.) In the US we have a traditional coil-spring-with-layers-on-both-sides mattress: no memory foam, no combination "stuffing," no mattress topper. And I do the quarterly thing with it. ...and suddenly I feel like an old lady who grew up in the '50s and learned housekeeping from Mom and my aunts and my grandmothers. O.o

Let's go ahead and state the obvious: mattresses have never been a visual feast for the eyes. White, cream or covered in dated patterns - that's the norm. You're going to cover it up with sheets anyway so what's the problem? But suddenly the way a mattress looks uncovered seems to be a focal point for buyers. So we're asking the question: does the appearance of your mattress without its sheets on really matter to you?