Some Questions About Box Springs

I've been sleeping on an old fashion twin bed set for about a decade that consists of an innerspring mattress and box spring, specifically the old style of box spring that uses actual springs. The mattress seems fine but the springs on one side of the box spring are broken and it feels like I'm about to roll off my bed. I tried finding a box spring that would be just like my old one but discovered that most box springs available these days are made up of wooden slats or a solid foundation. How would I go about finding the old style of box spring, if that's even possible?

I know I'll need to the replace the mattress eventually but I'm looking for a temporary fix. Will there be any difference in the comfort if I use a newer box spring that has wooden slats? The ones I was looking at have wooden slats that are spaced quite far apart. I'm a side sleeper, and I like a more plush feeling, so I'm worried that a solid surface won't feel the same as the box spring I was used to that has a small amount of "bounce". Also is it possible that a mattress could have been designed to only use with a old fashion box spring and not the current design? Thanks in advance to any answers to my questions.

Seen 761 times Last updated Jun 2022

Anonymous624

Jun 2022

One Answer:

oldest newest most voted

GoodBed Help from San Francisco, CA

answered Jun 2022

Hi there — Thanks for your question. Unfortunately I don’t have great news.

While there are still a few companies that make the old style of box spring, AFAIK they are all smaller manufacturers whose products have only limited regional distribution. TBH I can’t even think of any of their names off-hand.

The second piece of bad news is that your mattress definitely will not feel the same with a new style of box spring. It will feel both less bouncy, more firm, and much less conforming. With the prior style, the mattress and box spring worked together to create the spinal alignment, pressure relief, and feel that you had been experiencing. In the new style, nearly all of that happens in the mattress — the box spring’s job is just to provide solid support. So placing your old mattress on a new style of box spring will feel very different.

Sorry I can’t be of more help on this one, but I hope that information is at least somewhat useful nonetheless.