Can You Reuse a Box Spring with a New Mattress? We Find Out

No matter what separates people they all have one thing in common, they need good sleep. In this pursuit, they ask themselves many questions regarding the comfort of their sleep. One of these questions is, can you reuse a box spring under a new mattress and still have it do its job? Here are a few different facts to suss out the answer.

Yes, you can reuse a box spring with a new mattress. It is not a necessary expense since the box spring should function normally regardless of the mattress’s age. A box spring is meant to make your sleep experience better by allowing you more room to sink and allow your weight to settle in a cradle.

While the age of the box spring isn’t always necessary to consider, other things are. Your box spring and mattress could be incompatible for a plethora of other reasons, so read on and find out why you just may need a new box spring after all.

Can a Bad Box Spring Ruin a Mattress?

Mattresses can be an expensive purchase, especially if you are looking at higher-end ones, so making sure it doesn’t get ruined is important. To answer the question, can a bad box spring ruin a mattress, we need to decide, what makes a bad box spring? A bad box spring can consist of quite a few things like:

• The size of the mattress and box spring not matching up
• If there is any damage done to the box spring
• Sagging, overhang, or soft spots
• A frame that doesn’t support the style of mattress that you have

Having a bad combination of these two important items can cause you to not get the type of rest you’re looking for. What do you compare when considering your old box spring and your new mattress? The questions can seem endless so here are a few things to look at:

• Decide if your box spring is too damaged to be used or not
• Compare your new mattress’s size to your box spring, checking height as well
• It’s also important to check your box spring’s weight limit

If you keep these things in mind, you will be able to figure out whether or not your new mattress will work with your old box spring.

Is Your Box Spring Too Damaged?

The main thing to consider is the damage that your box spring may have accrued. Things such as broken boards can cause a whole host of problems. The broken boards can create a kind of pit that your mattress will sag into.

If left alone long enough the sag could become permanent. In the slightest cases, sag and support will be your problems. In the worst cases, the boards themselves can pierce your brand-new mattress.

Once you have determined if the boards are fine then it is time to consider the whole frame itself. Does it have any major cracks or breaks in it? Is the protective fabric still intact or has it been destroyed, exposing the boards? Are there any major holes that could lead to less support given during sleep?

Here is a small list of things you can look at when determining the damage level of your box spring:

• Are the boards damaged beyond minor repairs?
• Is the boxspring past its recommended use date which is usually around ten years?
• Is it warped? Does it sit flat on the floor? If not this is a major support problem

If you find that there are damages, do not throw them out just yet, you may be able to repair them.

We wrote an article to determine eight ways to determine if you need a new box spring.

Repairing Your Old Box Spring

With something like a wooden box spring, if the damage is a minor break, you can fix it with a splint. To do this you just need two pieces of board that are large enough to cover the entirety of the broken section. You then take a drill and screw in these boards on the front and back adding to the support.

If the frame is instead a metal frame it is a little more complicated to repair. You need to have a bit of welding knowledge to fix any of these frames. If you do know how to weld or have your own welder then this is fairly simple. Just torch and weld the break back together.

Size and Weight Limits

If your mattress is bigger than your box spring the mattress will sag on all the corners. Not only will this deteriorate your mattress quicker due to a lack of support but it will also give you less support than intended. So making sure you have all the measurements for the old box spring before you go to buy the mattress is an important part of all of this.

You also have to consider your mattress weight vs your box springs weight limit. If your box spring cannot support the heavy mattress on top of it then it will break down that much faster.

You can usually find the box springs weight limit on its info tag. With your standard wood-style box spring, this can be an issue, but the whole problem can be avoided by just buying a metal frame foundation instead.

Here are the types and sizes available for all foundations:

• Standard: 9 inches
• Low profile: 2-6 inches
• Bunkie Board 2 inches
• Split: 9 inches

Keep these in mind when considering mattress and box spring combos.

Get the Right Mattress for Your Old Box Spring

No matter your height there is a particular sweet spot for getting on and off your bed. If you get a mattress and box spring combination that isn’t correct it could lead to back problems, restless sleep, and other issues.

The height of your mattress will be altered with your old box spring. So you will need to do a little research to find out which of the many types of mattress really fits your desires. Here are a few things to look for.

• Look into finding a mattress that matches the height that you need when added with your box spring
• Pay attention to your box spring’s weight limit to make sure it can handle the mattress you are buying plus anyone sleeping in the bed
• It may also be worth looking into getting the same brand mattress as your box spring

A lot can be said about determining if your old box spring will still be usable with your new mattress. Normally you would decide on a mattress first and then pick a box spring but if you intend to keep your old one then that needs to be the idea going in.

When you get your new mattress, consider your old box spring with every decision. Considering its strengths and weaknesses will go a long way to helping you along.

Conclusion

This article started off by asking if you can reuse a box spring with a new mattress. The short answer to that is yes, but I also think there is a lot more to it than that. There are so many different things to consider when thinking about a new box spring and mattress purchase. Like styles, sizes, and economic efficiency. With all the options you can choose from, your box spring experience is completely customizable.

So the important thing to consider is not if your new mattress will be damaged by your old box spring but rather if they’re compatible at all. You must consider the frame’s height with the mattress’s height. You also have to think about your budget and how necessary having all new stuff may or may not be. Ultimately it’s about whether your bed combination is good together.