When you're watching the clock crawl backwards at work, with fried nerves and an aching back, where's the one place you'd rather be? Aside from "my own private beach," the answer for many people is in their favorite couch or seat at home, unwinding with family and friends, or just kicking back with a bowl of popcorn and a movie.
And while the decompression activity matters, what ultimately makes these experiences so relaxing is how comfortable the seat is.
Sitting on a cold, hard floor to watch the big game sounds like a punishment, but if you've got a cozy, supportive couch to sink into, watching your favorite team pulverize the opponent into powder is all you'll be able to think about for days! Superb seat comfort is key to having that calm spot amid the chaos of everyday life, and it is dependent solely on the condition and quality of the foam used.
The first thing to understand about maintaining the comfort of your seating is why cushions wear out to begin with.
Open-cell comfort foam, the filling in the majority of seating, consists of a web of tiny, spindly struts; the structural remains of millions of burst bubbles of foam.
After thousands of hours spent supporting the weight of seated individuals, as well as the flexing and pressure caused by getting in and out of the seat, those struts break down, losing the ability to hold weight and return to their original dimensions.
Fortunately, by utilizing the handful of the tips included in this article, you can stay on top of the condition of your upholstery before the comfiest seat in the house loses its title.
The Visual Check When seat and couch cushions are brand-new, their foam inserts are slightly larger than the covers where they will be housed.
Because foam is easily compressed, this allows the inserts to be squeezed into the covers, resulting in that ultra-stuffed appearance seen in many types of upholstery.
At the very least, fresh cushions have clean, sharp lines and smooth edges.
As a cushion breaks down, it will physically shrink in size, as it loses its springiness and resilience.
As it gets smaller, it will no longer fill out the cover as fully as it once did.
If you notice a cushion has a sagging cover when nobody is sitting on it, or one that's wrinkled at the corners, your foam is losing the resilience which, in addition to the ability to return to size, provides comfort and support.
A perpetually sagging, loose, or wrinkled cover on your cushion is a red flag that you will soon need a cushion replacement.
The Comparison While the visual cover inspection works well on seats that were originally fluffy and full, lower profile seating may not offer enough of a visual indicator to signal an aging cushion.
But for loveseats and full-size couches, comparing your favorite spot to another cushion in its place may help you take notice of the fact that your foam is wearing out.
While you could place them side-by-side, examine each with a magnifying glass, or get out a scale and weights in an attempt to measure compression, the easiest way to perform a comparison test is to swap your most-frequently sat-in cushion with the least sat-in cushion.
Sit in one for a couple minutes, wiggle and adjust yourself to get comfortable, and get a feel for its support.
Then, replace it with a cushion from the far end of the couch that doesn't receive much use.
If the lesser-used one feels springier and/or fuller, your favorite one is wearing out.
You could always buy yourself a little time by re-organizing cushions, but that only delays the inevitable.
It's important to note when trying this test that you test both cushions in the same spot on the couch.
The frame and build of a sofa or seat has an impact on how you sit and are supported.
Your body sits differently in an end-seat than it does in a middle seat, and so on.
Of course, this test is certainly not scientific, but attempting to make things as similar as possible can only help you notice slight differences.
The Reality Check When you're sitting in your favorite seat, do you find yourself constantly fidgeting and adjusting your position? Sometimes, we can be so focused on what we're doing, whether it's watching TV, reading, or our phones, we can overlook our body trying to get comfortable or relieve built-up pressure from an under-supportive cushion.
If you actively keep track of how often your body has to "reset" and find a new position, you may realize you're constantly trying to get comfortable, and that's an issue.
While it's the most difficult way to evaluate a comfort seat cushion, being able to step outside the situation and objectively analyze the feel of your cushion will give you a definitive answer as to whether or not you should be looking for replacement foam.
Noticing whether or not you're actually a little uncomfortable though, as opposed to bottoming out to the springs, is fairly difficult since comfort is always relative.
But if you're able to take a step back and recall how plush, comfy, and relaxing your seat first was, and realize it is starting to move away from those traits, you'll have a definitive answer as to whether you need to consider cushion replacement!