Cutting and Sizing Your Memory Foam for Your Mattress

If you've decided to purchase a memory foam mattress or memory foam topper, no doubt you're looking forward to some very comfortable sleep indeed. However, both memory foam mattresses and memory foam toppers come in what are usually only standard sizes, and it may very well be that you have a bed that's of nonstandard size.

If that's true, you do have several options. You can have a memory foam mattress custom-made, but that's usually a pretty expensive option and can take a long time to come to you once you order it. A better bet, for most people, is to buy a memory foam mattress or topper that's larger than the mattress you intend to use it on and then cut it down to size.

Here's how you can cut your memory foam mattress or foam topper to size for your bed, so that it's a perfect fit.

* Take the foam topper or memory foam mattress out of the package and let it "breathe"

The very first thing you should do when you receive your memory foam mattress or foam topper is to take it out of its package, lay it flat, and let it "breathe" and expand for up to 48 hours. Usually, memory foam products come to you somewhat compressed, and you need to take them out of their packages and let them fully expand to actual size before you do anything further.

* Lay the foam topper or mattress flat on the ground

Obviously, a clean, dry, completely flat Surface is optimal for this. You'll also need to place the mattress or topper on top of something that will protect your floor when you cut the memory foam, such as a piece of wood, to take care of any knife nicks, etc. (see below).

* Measure the bed the mattress or topper is going to go on, and then measure the memory foam, with a measuring tape.

If you have full memory foam mattress, measure from the inside corners of the bed frame. If you have a mattress topper, measure the mattress the foam topper is going to go on top of.

* Mark the measurements on the memory foam with a black marker

For example, if the mattress or topper is going to be two inches smaller all the way around, measure from the outside corner of the memory foam to two inches inward all the way around the mattress, marketing strategically in several places with black dots. Connect the dots when complete (using a straight edge or your tape measure) so that you have a line that marks where you should cut, two (or however many) inches in, all the way around the memory foam.

* Cut the memory foam to size

Usually, an electric carving knife will do a good job with this, but make sure you put the memory foam mattress or topper on a surface that can take knife cuts as stated above; placing a flat board underneath the mattress or topper on top of an even floor surface like tile is perfect.