My memory foam topper is still compressed after 3 weeks. Can I inflate it?

Hi, I bought a 3” memory foam mattress topper 3 weeks ago…. from a national chain discount store. It feels ok, except for about 18” at the foot of the topper have not bounced back yet. It’s still compressed. Is there a way to make it inflate? Can it come back to full size?

Nancy, AK

Hello Nancy,

It’s probably not going to decompress. And what I mean by “probably not” is: it’s not going to. But I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, so I wish I didn’t have to tell you. Memory foam that has been rolled, and compressed, usually decompresses within minutes of being opened. It should come back to full height within 24 hours.

The big stores that carry memory foam toppers mainly import them from China. They stay compressed, sitting on the shelf sometimes for months. Memory foam is damaged in exactly the way you described by staying compressed too long.

My understanding, from talking with foam makers, suppliers, and people who work in this industry, is that it should be compressed for no longer than 2-3 months. After that, it loses its ability to bounce back. It also loses much of its functionality, its ability to conform to your body and reduce pressure points.

About a year and a half ago, I was at a trade show talking with a manager of a large furniture store. He told me a story about importing a container of mattresses from China that had the same problem as your topper, only worse. They were supposed to be 10” mattresses, but when they decompressed, they only came back to 7”, and they were quite a bit firmer than they were supposed to be.

The problem in this case was that the mattresses were made, and then compressed too soon after the foam was poured. Apparently the foam needs to sit for a while after being made and before being compressed. The manager ran a sale, selling them as “firm” memory foam mattresses for $99 a piece with no return policy or warranty.

I don’t think ALL memory foam toppers from big store discounters are damaged, probably most are not. But I’ve not heard of a quality control system in place to dispose of or mark down memory foam toppers after being compressed too long. So it could be a chance buying a compressed topper from a discount store. You never know how long it’s been on the shelf.

You definitely have a reason to return or exchange the topper. No reason to wait any longer. Next time, you can avoid damaged foam by purchasing from a foam company that uses US made foam and compresses the topper for shipment at the time you order.