Mattress warranties: what “10 years” actually covers

Warranty length is the easiest number on a mattress page to compare and the easiest one to misread. It is not a prediction of how long the mattress will last, and it is not a promise you will still like it. It is a defined promise about specific defects, with a list of conditions attached.

A warranty is a promise about defects, not about comfort

If the mattress is faulty, the warranty is the right document. If the mattress is simply wrong for you, only the sleep trial can help.

That single distinction resolves most warranty disappointment. A mattress that sags 4 cm in year three is a defect. A mattress that is softer than you hoped, or that stopped suiting you after you changed sleeping position, is not — and no warranty in the category covers it. That is what the sleep trial exists for, and why the two terms should be read together rather than one after the other.

What is usually covered

Sagging past a stated depth

This is the main event. Warranties define a depth — commonly somewhere between 2 and 4 cm — and an indentation deeper than that, measured with nothing on the bed, is a defect. Anything shallower is called normal settling and is not covered. The number differs between brands and it is the single most important line in the document, so read the actual figure rather than assuming the industry has a standard.

Manufacturing faults

Split seams, a zip that fails, foam that splits or crumbles, a broken or protruding spring, a cover that comes apart at a join. These are usually covered for the full term, and they are also the claims that get resolved fastest, because a photograph settles them.

What is usually not covered

• Stains and soiling. Almost universally a hard exclusion, regardless of the fault you are claiming. This is why a protector from night one is worth more than any feature on the spec sheet.
• Normal softening. Every mattress gets softer. Warranties cover measured sag, not the feeling that it is not as firm as it was.
• The wrong base. See below — this one voids more claims than people expect.
• A removed label. The law tag sewn into the side identifies the model and the manufacture date. Cutting it off can end a claim before it starts.
• Comfort. Not a defect, in any of these documents.
• Anything second-hand. Warranties cover the original purchaser and are not transferable.

The base you put it on can void the warranty

Foam and hybrid mattresses need continuous, even support. Most warranties therefore specify the base: a solid platform, or slats no more than a set distance apart — often 7 cm or so — and a centre rail with legs on any bed wider than a double. Put a new mattress on an old sprung ensemble or a slat base with wide gaps and the mattress will develop exactly the sagging the warranty is meant to cover, and the claim will be refused because the base caused it.

Pro-rata versus full replacement

Two structures share the same headline number. Under a full replacement warranty, a valid claim in year eight is treated the same as one in year two. Under a pro-rata warranty, you pay a share of the replacement cost that grows each year — often the whole term is only fully covered for the first few years, and the rest is a sliding discount. A ten-year full replacement and a ten-year pro-rata are not the same product, and the difference is rarely on the banner.

Of the nine mattresses we rank, the TEMPUR Ease 20 is the one whose warranty is stated as ten years full replacement. For the others, the term we have on record is the length; check each brand’s own document for how a claim is settled.

Warranty length across the eleven

Eight of the eleven carry a ten-year warranty. Three run longer: the Origin Hybrid Pro, the Origin LumbarCloud and the Ecosa, all at fifteen years. That is a genuinely wide spread in a category where the length is often the only durability signal a buyer gets — but it is a signal about the seller’s confidence, not a measurement of the mattress. Warranty is one of the ten criteria we score, and every score is published; see how we rate.

Your rights do not end where the warranty does

In Australia, consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law apply on top of any warranty a manufacturer offers, and they cannot be excluded by the terms of that warranty. They are not tied to the same expiry date either — the test is what is reasonable for the product and the price. This page is general information rather than legal advice; the ACCC publishes the current guidance.

If you need to claim

1. Find the invoice. Almost every claim starts with proof of purchase and the date.
2. Photograph the law tag on the side of the mattress. It carries the model and the manufacture date.
3. Measure the sag with the bed empty — a straight edge across the mattress and a tape to the deepest point. Weighted measurements are not accepted.
4. Photograph the base as well as the mattress. The brand will ask about it, and having it ready shortens the exchange considerably.
5. Send the claim to the party the warranty names. For a mattress bought through a retailer, that may be the retailer rather than the manufacturer.

The short version

• A warranty covers defects. A trial covers regret. Read both before you buy, not after.
• The sag depth in the document is the number that matters, not the number of years.
• Ten years pro-rata and ten years full replacement are different promises.
• A protector and the right base protect the warranty more than anything else you can do.