Can a Mattress Be Mended?

Small Rips

• A small rip in the surface fabric of your mattress is something most anyone can mend, providing you know how to sew. Minor tears in the stitching or other fabric on the outside of a mattress can be stitched. Find a matching color thread, pull the tear together and sew some stitching into the fabric to hold it in place. You may wish to sew a bit farther than the rip actually extends to reinforce the material and prevent the weak area from reopening.

Exposed Coils

• If you have exposed coils in your mattress, you will likely have to replace it very soon. There is no practical way to repair this type of problem in a mattress aside from flipping it to the other side. Even with the exposed coils turned toward the bottom, the support mechanism inside the mattress is still compromised. It may be tolerable for a time, but a new mattress purchase is not too far in the future. If you do not have a mattress you can flip over then you will need to go ahead and replace it. The metal coils sticking out from the mattress can cause injury in your sleep. Even if you pad it, the edge of the metal could protrude through to the surface.

Air Mattress Leaks

• Sleeping on an air mattress is only possible as long as the air stays in the mattress. When you get a leak in your air mattress you'll know it very soon as you feel your body sink to the foundation below it and you feel the material of the mattress gather around you. Although this is a serious air mattress problem, you can mend it easily using a patch kit, assuming there isn't a major rip in the material. Locate the leak by pumping the mattress tight and running your hands over the surface. If you can't find it this way, then spray the surface with soapy water. The leak will begin to inflate bubbles at the site. Wipe off the water and mark the spot. Use an adhesive and patch to seal the leak and the mattress should be almost as good as new. If there is a puncture you may be able to use a tire plugging kit to repair it.

Memory Foam

• If your innerspring mattress is beginning to sag and isn't allowing for a comfortable or supportive night's sleep anymore, there are some options. The best bet is to replace it with a mattress that is both comfortable and supportive. Short of that you can opt for a memory foam topper. Purchase one of these toppers at a mattress store and place it on top of the mattress to make it firmer, more supportive and generally more comfortable. If you have a memory foam mattress, on the other hand, then mending is not as easy of a task. Rips in memory foam could potentially be closed with a foam adhesive, but this isn't a quality fix. If the memory foam mattress is worn out over time, there is not much you can do aside from replacing it entirely.