Care of your mattress

Read our advice on how to care for your Abaca mattress.

Key information

Your mattress should be turned over on a regular basis. Once during the first three months is an absolute necessity, turning your mattress end to end and flipping it. After the first three months, turn it every 4-6 months. To safeguard damage, always have at least two people to flip the mattress, it is a substantially heavy item, and we value the health of our customers!

1. Push at opposite corners A and B while your mattress is lying flat.
2. Position the mattress across the bed so it hangs over the foot end by a foot or so.
3. Raise the mattress up on edge as indicated in the illustration.
4. Let the mattress fall gently down towards the head of the bed.
5. Push on corners A and B alternatively to position the mattress on the bed.
6. Final position of the mattress, turned over and rotated at the same time.

Mattresses made with natural materials need to be aired regularly and you will do it no harm by vacuuming it occasionally. Protect the integrity and cleanliness of your mattress by always using a mattress protector which can be washed at 40ºc or more. By turning your mattress regularly you encourage even wear and ensure that your mattress has the longest possible life span. Never fold or bend your mattress. Don’t stand on it or allow children to bounce on it, and avoid bending the corners while putting on fitted sheets.
If you are using a bed with wooden slats, you will add years to the life of your mattress if you use an under pad. This will absorb the compression created by the hard slats against the soft mattress materials.

The Abaca Nolton & Newgale mattresses are hand made using a traditional Italian technique. Masses of organic wool and horse hair are hand layered and then hand sewn into an organic cotton cover. The fibre is at its bulkiest when the mattress is new, and care has to be taken so that the fillings compress evenly. In the first six months the mattress ought to be rotated and turned every week. The amount of compression depends on the weight of the person sleeping on it, so if you have a partner who is heavier or lighter than you, then this process of turning is critically important. After six months or so the mattress ought to be flattening out and will need rotating and turning less often, but it is good practice to carry on doing so once a week!

This mattress is a labour of love, and the more care you give it the longer it will last. At some point in the future you may want to send the mattress back to us to be opened up for the wool and horsehair to be refreshed and the cover replaced if necessary. We offer this service for 20% of the purchase price excluding the transport costs.