How to fix a sagging mattress — on the cheap

Our sagging mattress is terrible; how about yours? This mattress has been terrible since shortly after we got it, the place we bought it from is out of business, and this is the third terrible mattress we’ve gone through in our marriage so far. You know how these expensive mattresses are just not lasting like they used to? Or maybe we’re just very poor at picking them… and ours developed horrible indentations on each side where we sleep. So both MashupDad and I often woke up with back pain and slept poorly because we were sleeping in a hole — not to mention that it’s really depressing to spend all that money on a mattress, and then find that it feels nothing like it did in the store within just a few weeks.

A new mattress isn’t in the cards quite yet because of the long list of other things that need replacing (we have a refrigerator and car that are on their last legs, oy!). So I thought I’d update this original post from almost three years ago with a list of what we have tried to help fix our sagging mattress on the cheap (without having to buy a new one), ordered from best to worst. 

The products I’ve tried do bop around in price fairly often, and I of course picked up each when on sale at their lowest point or with a coupon code… 😉 

How to fix your sagging mattress — or at least make it much more sleep-able!

Best: Pick up a gel memory foam mattress topper to help fix your sagging mattress

So here’s what I’ve found to work the best, after a few years of dealing with our sagging mattress. I recently picked up this memory foam mattress topper from Kohl’s — which has great and well-deserved reviews! It’s a little pricey when not on sale, but this is Kohl’s, guys, so if it’s not on sale today it probably will be soon. I bought mine at around $25 after a sale + coupon code, and will watch for new deals to pop up for you guys.

It’s kind of neat how this unrolled to fit a king-sized mattress, but when I first opened the mattress topper I was afraid it would be too thin to work. Luckily, I was wrong. It helps quite a bit, and the mattress pad and sheets still fit nicely over everything. In all honesty, you can still definitely tell that the indentations are there, but it does a nice job of evening them out more and getting rid of some of the lumpiness — and the bed is much more comfortable. We’re sleeping better, so it’s definitely worth more than my $25-ish sale price, and highly recommended!

Other things we’ve tried to fix our sagging mattress:

The Mattress Helper does help fix the sagging mattress issue — somewhat

After reading a bunch of reviews online, we also tried the Mattress Helper a while back. It was at the time on sale at Kohl’s, plus a coupon code, plus Kohl’s Cash back — so again, watch for deals on the Mattress Helper there if you are interested in trying it out. The Mattress Helper did actually help lift the mattress back up along where it was sagging, but didn’t bring it all the way back up. Our sagging mattress problem got better after placing the Mattress Helper under the places where the mattress is sagging, but it didn’t entirely resolve the issue or our poor sleep issues. It’s possible our mattress was just sagging too much for this to work, but the Mattress Helper is likely a nice option if your sagging issue is a bit less or your mattress is just too soft.

We also still have the Mattress Helper under our mattress and use it in conjunction with the memory foam mattress topper, so they play really nicely together.

This mattress pad helps, but doesn’t fix the sagging mattress problem

A while ago I was poking around on Amazon and started reading the reviews of this Pinzon Basics Overfilled Plush Mattress Pad. We needed a new mattress pad anyway because our old one was tearing at the corners, so I bought it. I will say that it’s a really nice mattress pad — it helps smooth out the smaller lumps, but doesn’t honestly do a lot for the sagging problem. I’d recommend it for a lumpy mattress, a dorm room mattress, or if you’re just looking for a nice new mattress pad.

Most temporary fix for a sagging mattress

Lastly, here’s the most temporary fix for a sagging mattress: Take two cheap bed pillows. Lift up your mattress. Shove one under each side of the mattress, right under each indentation. Put the mattress back down over the pillows, lie down, and see if it feels like the pillow is in the right place. If not, lift the mattress back up and adjust as needed. Here, I used two old bed pillows I already had in the house, so it cost us nothing. We did sleep more comfortably for a few nights, but then the pillows got smushed down to a pancake so we were back to square one — not a long-term solution.

• Note: If you use the firmer gel pillows, this fix will work better and last longer!

(I originally saw this pillow idea fix for sagging mattresses over at Frugal Freebies and Deals, and it’s what was featured in the original post here from 2013 — but now updated with everything else we’ve tried!)

What ideas do you have for fixing a sagging mattress?

Let me know how any of this works to fix your sagging mattress, if you give them a try yourself — I’d also love to hear any other ideas, or tips for buying a new good mattress that will last, and check out some other ideas in the comments from the original post, below.