Two Sided Mattress Surgery?

I’m planning on trying to do surgery on a two sided mattress, but didn’t see any posts in the forum specific to
surgery on this type of mattress and whether or not both sides or just one should be done? From what I have read,
it sounds like two sided mattresses tend to have less depth in the comfort layers above the springs, so I was wondering if this would be an issue in trying a surgery or if it’s not a good candidate for it. I don’t have all of the original information on this mattress and it is an old model (about 10 years old). Below is the information I have:

Serta Perfect Sleeper
Model: 120446
Size: Full
Innerspring Type: Pocket Coil
Coil Count: 800 (this is from memory)
Two Sided Eurotop

As for me, I have a small build, weigh around 118 lbs. and either sleep on my side or on my back. I’ve been having
issues with this mattress (back pain due to my hips sinking in too much) for awhile, and after two unsuccessful attempts at persuading the retailer to honor the warranty I’ve decided to try fixing the mattress since I just can’t afford to replace it right now. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing the sag / divot / body impression is due to breakdown in the Eurotop layers rather than the springs or the layers below the Eurotop (if any) themselves. Afterall, I don’t think 118 lbs should be a lot of stress on the springs or the lower layers.

When the mattress started giving me back pain due to sagging after it was about two years old and the retailer
wouldn’t replace it under warranty (first attempt), I added a Sensus 5lb 3" Memory Foam Topper. The Sensus Topper helped for quite awhile, but it’s not enough anymore after I had a back injury a couple of years ago. At this point, I think the 3" topper is thicker than I should have gotten given my body type since it may just be too much padding to sink into, making matters worse. I have tried both with and without the topper, and it’s a little better with it than without it., Even though the topper may be exaggerating the sag, the cradle effect may be helping a little to keep me from rolling all the way down into the “Serta gully” so to speak (Hey, can I coin that phrase?). To help keep the topper a littler firmer throughout the night, I’ve recently added a blanket over the topper and then just put the mattress pad over the top of everything as usual. It helps a little…

I had considered using a seam ripper along the bottom seam of the lower tape edge of the Eurotop to make it easier
to just remove the whole top, but since I can’t be sure what’s really inside and beneath the Eurotop or how it’s flange is attached, I think removing the seam on the upper tape edge may be the better / safer option.

So, my plan is to use a seam ripper to remove the seam along the top of the upper tape edge of the Eurotop and then hopefully remove the layers inside (on just one sleep surface of the mattress initially to see how it feels afterwards). This would give me the option of leaving the surface quilt later in place in case it’s needed, and either placing the Sensus 5 lb 3" Memory Foam Topper (or get a thinner one) on top or inside (if it fits) where the Eurotop layers were if it’s needed. I think I may also need to keep the blanket as a body heat barrier over the topper to help keep it firmer, and then just put a mattress pad over everything as usual.

I’m not sure If I should remove the seem along the head, foot and one side and open it up like a suitcase, or if I’ll be able to leave more of the seems intact to help hold the quilt in place if I decide to keep that layer? I guess it depends on how the layers are held in place. My bigger questions are should I only do surgery on one sleep surface (keep other Eurotop in place for padding for the springs on the bottom?) or both, and will there be enough padding after the Eurotop layers are removed, or should I do something differently? Yes, it’s possible the springs are no good or some of the pocket coils are out of place given the age of the mattress, but given my size and weight I think there’s a good chance they are fine. Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi IT_Guy,

There are some extra challenges when you are doing mattress surgery with a two sided mattress.

As you probably know I would consider mattress surgery as a last resort when there are no other good options (see post #4 here). While it’s unlikely after 10 years … if the foam in your eurotop is still in good condition with no or only minimal soft spots or sags then a different topper may be a good solution (probably thinner than the one you’ve tried already). After 10 years it’s also possible that the springs may no longer be even or may have shifted although that’s less likely than an issue with the foam so you will need to test them to make sure they are still good.

I would start with some “exploratory” surgery on one side by removing the quilted cover at the top tape edge. This will give you access into the contents of the Eurotop to see what’s inside.

You will probably need to remove the Eurotop from both sides because if the foam is sagging or has softened then this can come through to the sleeping surface and if you test the springs with sagging foam under them you won’t know where the sag is coming from.

If you remove the material in the eurotop from both sides (but leave the eurotop compartment and the foam below it in place) then you can replace the foam in one side and trim the material in the side panels of on the other side and use it on the bottom of the mattress to turn it into a one sided mattress. If you remove the Eurotop on both sides then your side panel wouldn’t be attached to anything on either side and would be loose and the mattress would have little structure.

So step 1 would be to remove the quilt panel on one side of the mattress to see what’s inside it and then if it seems worthwhile continuing I would remove the foam in the eurotop on the other side before testing the springs through the foam that is under the eurotop which would remain (see post #8 here about testing the springs) to make sure they are still in good condition. Removing the seams on 3 sides should be fine to give you access to the eurotop compartment if you plan to keep the quilt panel (assuming it’s also not too thick and depending on what is inside the quilting because it could also be the cause or at least part of the problem).

Phoenix