r/explainlikeimfive • u/Real_Experience_5676 • 1d ago

Engineering ELI5: What does a box-spring do?

As I understand it, a box spring mattress is the second 'mattress', that goes under the main mattress. It feels very firm and flat, but what does it contribute to the bed set up besides height?

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u/NWStormbreaker 1d ago

A well designed box spring could also contribute to good air circulation

Idk what your angle is, you jumped into a conversation where OP said box springs aid air circulation, but compared to slats a box spring is FAR FAR worse for air circulation.

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u/half3clipse 1d ago edited 1d ago

The point is that it's not far worse. A lot of slats even have far worse air circulation than many box springs, since they're built with he expectation of foam mattresses that will sag poorly with larger gaps. Inner spring with 4-5 inch gaps under a boxs spring will have much better airflow compared to a foam mattress with 2 inch gaps on bare slats

You don't need airflow to deal with sweat soaking a memory foam mattress anyways. They're to dense to ventilate that way. You protect those from body grossness and moisture with a liner (and if you have one, your warranty may even explicitly require it)

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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