How to Keep a Futon Mattress From Sliding

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What Causes a Futon Mattress to Slide Off?

Before we dive in, let’s figure out why even the best futon mattress isn’t immune to sliding off. 

The most obvious reason is its small weight, which makes it overly responsive to movements. But it’s not the only one:

• Futon materials. The construction of most futon mattresses is pretty much the same. However, cotton and polyester blends that are typically used for cover fabrics have little to no grip against a metal or wooden bed frame, which can make it a challenge to keep a futon in place.
• Wobbly bed frame. An unlevel or saggy bed frame is usually the main culprit when it comes to mattress sliding. To eliminate this issue, inspect all the joints and tighten up the bolts. You may also want to move your bed onto a more uniform surface.
• Your excessive movement. Finally, if you toss and turn a lot, this will affect the positioning of your futon mattress anyway, causing it to travel around the bed with you on top.

So, How to Keep a Futon From Sliding? 4 Solutions

Fixing your futon mattress in one position is actually not that hard. So, check out the solutions I’ve found for you and just choose the one you’ll find the most appealing.

#1 Use Bedding

The easiest way to keep a futon mattress from slipping is to cover it with a fitted bed sheet. Or, you can purchase a removable sofa cover, which people use for refreshing their interiors, and wrap it around your futon mattress.

Besides keeping your futon mattress from sliding, this cover can serve as a protection from spills and thus prolong the lifespan of your futon.

#2 Try Grip Strips or Velcro

If your bed frame has wooden slats, you can purchase an adhesive grip strip at a hardware store. It is typically made of soft polyfoam and has a sticky side. Here’s how you secure your futon with this strip:

• Remove the futon from the bed frame.
• Measure the length of each slat and cut the corresponding piece of grip strip.
• Remove the paper layer on the sticky side and glue one piece to each slat, applying a bit of pressure. The foam side should face upwards, as it will be holding your mattress in place.

That’s it! Now you have a tenacious surface that will prevent your futon from sliding off.

“Grip strips can also act as a shock-absorbing pad and make your bed frame quieter. This may come in handy for owners of older beds.”

Some Velcro strips come with an adhesive side, too, so you can use them for a firmer grip. The technique is pretty much the same here: 

• Glue the hook side of the Velcro to the bed frame.
• Attach the loop side to the futon mattress, making sure that both hook and loop sides will cling onto each other precisely. You can use safety pins for that, and don’t worry, this won’t damage the mattress.
• Stick them together.

#3 Make Hand-Made Corner Straps

If you’re more of a ‘do-it-yourself’ person, you can make a handmade futon mattress holder. All you need for that is a piece of cording or a narrow strip of fabric and some needle and threads.

• Measure the height of your bed frame and, based on the result, cut the cording into shorter pieces so that they would be at least twice as long as the bed frame’s height. You’ll need 8 pieces.
• Sew two pieces of cording on each corner of your mattress and, once done, place the mattress back onto the frame.
• Wrap the pieces on each corner around the nearest slat or lag of the frame and tie together so that they would secure the futon tightly. 

The advantage of this solution is that corner straps perfectly hold the futon mattress in both sofa and bed positions.

#4 Place a Rubber Mat Under the Futon

Finally, you can just place a rubber mat onto your mattress support and put a futon mattress on it. I have used a couple of yoga mats with a Queen bed frame and they have worked just fine.

To make the most of this solution, though, you need to clean your bed frame first. The thing is, dust and debris particles can accumulate on the surface of the slats, making them even more slippery. Vacuuming under the bed will help you to get rid of it all and enhance the grip.

Have you tried any of these ways to keep your futon in place before? Feel free to share your experience or your own solution below!