Posted by Mark Greening - Overseas Technical Development and Quality Control Manager on 22nd Mar 2022
Bensons for Beds Troubleshooting Guide
After you purchase products from Bensons for Beds, our customer service doesn’t stop there.
We’re here to help you get the best out of your new mattress, bed, sofa bed, wardrobe, and any other item of bedroom furniture - even after you receive your purchases from Bensons for Beds.
Part of our service is to help you with any problems you may have when receiving or using your purchase.
We’ve collected some of the most popular queries our Customer Services team addresses regularly and provided solutions to them in our helpful troubleshooting guide.
Mattresses
My mattress is too hard or too soft
Buying a mattress isn’t always as simple as it seems. You may have bought a mattress that has the same comfort rating as your old one only to find the new mattress doesn’t feel the same as your old mattress.
Depending on the age of your old mattress, it could be that it now feels like a soft mattress when you initially bought it as a medium mattress. This could lead you to buy the same comfort rating as your old mattress, despite its support changing over time.
Alternatively, you may find that your new mattress is a lot firmer than you expected. It can take time to get used to a new mattress and a firmer mattress may be offering support to areas of your body that weren’t receiving it before.
A new mattress on a different type of bed base
The type of bed base you have can affect the feeling of your new mattress. For example, if you’ve switched from a bed frame to a divan, you may feel an initial difference.
This different feeling of support may be unfamiliar at first, but it could merely be a matter of getting used to this new, supportive mattress.
Trying mattresses in store
If you tried a mattress in store, it’s important to note that the display model may have softened with use over time.
However, one of the best ways to ensure you get the right mattress for your needs is to use our sleeppro® guide. This helpful guide shows how sleeppro® is used in store and is brimming with top tips to use when buying a mattress online.
My mattress has a funny smell
Many new mattresses have a distinctive aroma. This smell will disappear over time. The more you can air the mattress, the quicker the aroma will go.
The fillings of my mattress seem to have settled
It’s perfectly normal for the filling layers of your mattress to compress over time. This is due to the weight of the sleeper or sleepers pushing any air out of the mattress.
The only way a mattress wouldn’t experience any compression whatsoever is if it was made of something completely uncomfortable, like wood or concrete.
You can however ensure that the compression process happens evenly across the mattress by rotating it regularly.
Taking care of your mattress
Top Tips:
- Lying in the same spot on your mattress can cause a dip. To prevent this, when you first receive your mattress, turn the mattress every week for two months. Then, turn the mattress every 6-8 weeks. If your mattress is non-turn, you can still rotate it from head to foot. You should also try to vary where you sleep on the mattress.
- Memory foam mattresses can react to heat and so if you place your bed near a radiator, this could heat the mattress causing it to soften. In colder temperatures, the memory foam mattress may become firmer than normal.
- Try placing a mattress topper on your new mattress for an extra level of comfort until you become accustomed to the new support provided by your new mattress.
Beds and bed bases
My bed base is creaky
There can be many reasons why your bed is being noisy.
If you can’t determine the reason for the creakiness on first look, consider:
Has the base been knocked out of shape?
Have you dropped your bed while moving it or been using it to stand on for tasks such as changing the lightbulb? If so, you could have unwittingly knocked the bed frame out of shape, causing the bed to squeak.
It may not be the bed creaking
Although you may be convinced that it’s your bed being annoyingly creaky, it could actually be your flooring. If you’ve moved your bed or use it to stand on (which is highly inadvisable!) you could have caused your floorboards to become damaged by localised weight in a certain area of your floor. The floor boards could have become unlevel or loose.
The top of the base has collapsed
Weight shouldn’t be placed on the bed base until the mattress is placed on top of it. Lying on the bed without using a mattress on top can damage the top of the base. Damage can also occur when the base is being carried, when you are constructing or positioning it in your home, or when rotating the mattress.
Fixing jammed divan base drawers
Should one or more of your divan bases drawers become stuck, there are some steps you can take that can help to resolve this problem:
If you can’t open the drawer:
- Remove the opposite drawer on the base
- Reach inside the base and lift the back of the jammed drawer to release while pressing forwards to release the drawer.
If the drawers often become jammed:
- If possible, remove both sets of drawers from the base
- Swap the drawers and place them into the opposite side of the base
My ottoman is askew
If you find that your ottoman has become misaligned, it may have occurred when the lid has suffered an impact. This can cause the lid to slide from one side to another. In many cases, we have found that this problem can be resolved by adjusting the brackets or actions with a flat-head screwdriver.
Bedroom Furniture
My drawers are stuck!
When the runners on the sides of your draws come off the rails inside the drawer frame, the drawers can become stuck. Resists the urge to use a heavy handed approach, and avoid forcing the drawer back out as this can damage the runners and even cause them to come away completely. You may be able to gently ease the drawer out to place it back onto the tracks once more.
To avoid this situation, be careful when handling your bedroom furniture. Drawers that are dropped onto the floor rather than placed, or drawers that suffer from knocks can result in damaged runners.
Slider doors are coming off their tracks
It can be extremely annoying to find that slider doors aren’t remaining in place and come off their tracks. You’ll find sliding doors on some of our sliding door wardrobes and also on many of our mirrored wardrobes.
One of the main reasons for slider doors coming off their tracks is that the sliding door wardrobe isn’t level. This causes the doors to lean forward or the unit to twist which can create an uneven guide for the runner and glide.
However, you can help prevent this from happening by:
Securing the sliding door wardrobe to the wall
This is not only important to avoid slider doors coming off their tracks, but also to secure the entire unit so it is safe.
Example of instructions of how to attach a wardrobe to a wall
Being aware of carpet and underlay subsidence
When items are placed on carpets and carpets with underlay they can compress the area on which they are placed. Over time this can cause the item to shift from its original position which, in turn, can affect the alignment of the slider doors in their tracks.
Being aware of gripper rods in your carpet
Gripper rods are often used to secure carpets and underlay to the floor. These gripper rods are usually found approximately 2cm from the edge of the room and are 3cm wide. If you place your sliding door wardrobe on top of gripper rods, this causes it to tilt forward and the doors to move outwards.
It’s important to keep your unit on a level surface, not only to prevent slider doors from coming off their tracks, but also to reduce stress on the joints of your furniture. A level surface can also help to stop the unit twisting and damage being caused.
Parts and Assembly
Some parts are missing
To avoid getting to the end of the construction process only to discover some parts are missing, check the parts before you begin.
When you receive your product do the following:
- When opening bags of multiple fixings, pour them into a bowl for safekeeping.
- If the fixing kit includes multiple packs of fixings, keep them in the packs until they are needed.
- Check packaging for any parts that may be hidden in folds or crevices.
- Check the product for any parts that may contain fixings and other parts: bed bases with drawers may have fittings inside but if they are knocked, these fittings can become dislodged and fall into the bed cavity.
- Check you have all the parts as outlined in the instructions and component inventory.
Top Tips:
1.Look out for stickers on bed bases telling you where you can find some parts
2.To order part replacements, complete our online Spare Parts Order Form.
Parts may be found inside drawers in bases.
Assembly Instructions
Instructions on how to assemble your bed, or any other Bensons for Beds product are included with any product that requires self-assembly. It is important that you read these instructions thoroughly before attempting to construct your new bed or piece of bedroom furniture.
Very important things to note:
Never attempt to carry out assembly by yourself - a minimum of two people is required to assemble most of our products.
Make sure all parts are present before you begin assembly. You can do this by comparing the components with the list included in your assembly instructions.
- Make sure all fixings are present - this can mean screws, furniture connecting bolts, etc.
- Follow the steps in the order they are shown in the assembly instructions - never jump ahead to another step before completing the previous step.
- Ensure all fixings are securely tightened when assembly is complete.
- After assembly, lift the product into the final required position - do NOT drag or push the product as this can cause damage to the joints.
Example of contents checklist
Prevent Potential Problems
Often, we are contacted about problems that could have been prevented.
Take a look at our list of common mistakes people make when ordering items from Bensons for Beds and discover how to avoid them.
The item I ordered is too large my home
Check the measurements of different areas of your home
When buying a bed or an item of bedroom furniture, it’s common sense to measure the room in which it will be placed.
However, you’ll also need to measure the areas through which the item will be delivered.
This includes:
- The front door
- Stairways
- Hallways - including tricky corners
- The door of the room the item is going into
The delivery driver can’t access my home
You should also consider what space is available for the delivery van.
Our delivery vans are approximately 8.5 metres long, 2.5 metres wide, and 3.5 metres high.
Consider:
- Is your house easily accessible?
- Will the driver be able to manoeuvre down your road easily?
- Are there any parking restrictions that could prevent the driver from parking close to your home?
Address these factors before placing an order to prevent any problems receiving your items.
Cleaning products have caused damage to my items
We recommend using our Care and Protection Cleaning kits for use on bed sets and bedroom furniture.
Each kit contains carefully selected cleaning products and materials to help keep your items in great condition.
Using alternative products may cause damage to items and could invalidate your optional 5 year care and protection guarantee (see your guarantee).
We’re here to help
If you need any further help with a product purchased from Bensons for Beds, please get in touch with our friendly customer services team. We'll be delighted to help you in any way we can to ensure you are getting the best out of our products.
