Unwrapping your new mattress

How to unwrap your new mattress

So your new boxed mattress has arrived but before you start, we’ve provided this handy guide to show you the easiest and most effective way to unwrap your bed. It may sound simple, but it will save you any damage or scratching your heads! We’ve provided a step by step instruction guide to show you how a Casper, Eve or Simba mattress may arrive.

Step 1.

When your new boxed mattress arrives it will be sent out rolled and in a tall box.

Step 2:

We advise that you remove the old mattress and make sure you have some room ready to unwrap the new one. We recommend that you move the boxed mattress to the room of choice before unwrapping it. This is because once unwrapped the mattress will quadruple in size and start to expand.

This means handling it becomes somewhat harder and it can be a right fuss if you’re not careful. Once in the room please take the mattress out of the box. It could look similar to the image above.

Step 3:

Once out please use a pair of scissors and not a knife. Whilst knives can be used, we warn against it as it’s far easier to slice and damage your mattress with a knife than it is with scissors. Also, we find scissors easier to put down and less dangerous if you stand on them!

Turn the mattress until you can see the start of the roll, a bit like looking at the end of the sticky tape. Once you have found it using scissors carefully cut the first piece of tape and wrapping.

Step 4:

The mattress will then start to unwrap as seen below. Be careful as sometimes it can start to expand rapidly!

Step 5:

Then moving down to the middle tape if present, please carefully cut this.

Step 6:

Then moving down to the last piece of tape at the bottom, please again cut through this. This is where the mattress shall be free to unroll and expand, so again just make sure you have some clear space.

Step 7:

Position the mattress near the bed base. It will start to unroll fully. You can lay it out on the bed and remove any plastic outer packaging.

Step 8:

Once unrolled you will need to leave your mattress and topper for good 6 hours as they start to expand and fill with air. This is because during rolling the air is compressed out of them.

It may be a good idea to open a window and let the mattress ventilate as they offgass.

Just like a new sofa or car, there will be some ‘new bed’ smell that comes off the mattress. If your mattress after 6 hours is still not looking fully expanded a quick shake and then another few hours or so should be enough.

Why does my new mattress smell?

Boxed foam mattresses, such as the brands above, are also well known for having a very distinct synthetic plastic or chemical smell when you unwrap them. This is not surprising given they have been off-gassing in their bags for who knows how long. We have a really detailed article on off-gassing which may be of interest.

Offgassing is where a man-made or synthetic product off-gasses and omit smells (as VOC’s or volatile chemical compounds) as they leave the product. Think of fresh paint or new plastic.

Offgassing tends to be worst in products that have been factory sealed with no air flow before they reach you. However, with a non-rolled Natural fibre mattress, you don’t get this onslaught of chemical smells when you’re mattress arrives.

What to do if my Emma mattress or other does not expand?

You may have read reviews online that boxed mattresses like Emma, Leesa or Nectar fail to fully unwrap. For most boxed mattresses they should have fully expanded within 12-24 hours once unwrapped. This is because they need to allow air back into their foam layers which have been crushed and extracted during the packaging process. This air allows them to fluff back up as it were.

If your Emma mattress – or other boxed foam bed – does not fully unwrap/expand in 24 hours it may be that adhesive has bonded the layers together before rolling.

Meaning they are stuck together permanently.

This can also be the case if your boxed mattress has sags or dips that don’t reform like the rest. This is usually due to a manufacturing fault where the adhesive has been allowed to come into contact with the covers or layers just before crushing/packaging. Meaning it sets in position and is impossible to revive unless you cut through the covers to then manually cut away the adhesive. Which no one wants to do!

If your mattress doesn’t expand then we advise you to get in touch with the manufacturer and send them photos of the mattress. They can then advise on a replacement or course of remedial action with your boxed mattress.

How long does it take to get used to a new mattress?

Once you have let your mattress settle for a few hours, we then advise you to give it a week or two to sleep on it to properly try it. Lying on it for a night or two will not give you a true feel for the mattress.

4 weeks: If you think of a new mattress like a new pair of shoes you need to let it bed in slightly and allow yourself at least 4 weeks to truly get used to it before deciding if it is right for you or not.

Especially if you have had your previous bed for a number of years you will have been used to its feel and profile, a new bed will feel different at first.

Our 60 day love it or return it guarantee gives you this peace of mind. If there are any questions once your new John Ryan mattress arrives please don’t hesitate to call us, 0161 437 4419 or email for guidance.

Returning a Boxed Eve, Casper or Simba mattress if you don’t get on with it

Any new mattress will take 2-4 weeks to get used to it. Which is why the decent mattress brands and retailers will give you a no quibble returns policy like our 60 Day love it or return it. Quite often people find foam mattresses incredibly hot during the night or that they get stuck in one position which can aggravate bad backs or aches during the night.

Our advice would be to give any new mattress a minimum of 4 weeks and then if not suitable get back in touch with the retailer. The boxed mattress companies are usually really good at collecting your bed. Make sure you’ve saved the box and packaging as some companies will require you to also send this back.

If you really don’t get on with a boxed foam mattress don’t be tempted to just ‘try another one’. Given they all follow the rough construction principle of being one-sided it is highly unlikely based on our experience that you will get on with any foam mattress.

It can be really inconvenient having to replace your bed every few weeks so if you don’t get on we would advise you to look at a Pocket Sprung 2 -sided mattress instead. Especially one that’s breathable and responsive if you need to turn over during the night. You’ve got a higher chance of sleep success rather than just picking another ‘next day delivery’ mattress.

You’d be surprised at just what you can get for your money when compared to the synthetic boxed foam companies so it’s best to shop around.

Our Origins Pocket 1500 is a great contender to use as a comparison model to the boxed mattress companies based on price. Why settle for a one-sided foam mattress when you can get something much more bespoke and hand made for your money?