If you have people to stay a few times a year but no spare room, a folding mattress is the easiest answer. It sleeps like a proper foam mattress, then folds up and goes in a wardrobe, under a bed or behind the sofa. Here's what to look at before you buy one.
Tri-fold, 4-fold and sofa beds
Most folding mattresses are tri-folds: three foam blocks inside one cover. Unfolded, it's a flat mattress. Folded, a single is a block roughly 63cm long and three mattresses deep, usually with a handle on the side for carrying.
4-fold mattresses fold into four shorter sections. They pack smaller, which suits a small press or the boot of a car, but there are more joins across the sleeping surface.
Then there are fold-out sofa beds. These are tri-folds with a thicker cover, and the folded block works as a low chair or floor sofa during the day. The corduroy fold-out sofa bed is one of these, in single or double, and comes with a throw pillow.
Thickness: 10cm or 15cm
This is the choice that matters most.
10cm is fine for kids, for a night or two, or on top of a bed base or sofa. On a hard floor, most adults will feel the floor through it by morning, side sleepers especially.
15cm is the better choice for adults, for longer stays and for the floor. The extra depth usually means a proper memory foam layer over a firmer core. On the gel memory foam tri-fold, for example, the 15cm version has 3cm of memory foam over a 12cm support core. It comes in sizes from small single to double, with the double in 10cm.
Size
Single (3ft, 90cm wide) is the most common folding size, and it fits most storage spaces once folded. Small double and double folding mattresses are available, but they're heavier and bulkier when folded, so make sure you have somewhere to keep them. Our 4-fold floor mattress comes in single, small double and double, in black, beige or grey.
The cover
Guest mattresses get used by different people and dragged in and out of storage, so a removable, washable cover is worth having. Many zip off completely and go in the washing machine. Check the care details on the listing, as some covers need a cool wash or can't go in the dryer. An anti-slip base is useful on wooden or tiled floors.
The 3-layer tri-fold mattress has both. It's 15cm deep with a 2cm memory foam top, the cover zips right off and can go in the washer and the dryer, and it has carry handles and a non-slip base.
Unpacking it for the first time
Folding mattresses arrive compressed, like any mattress in a box. Take it out, unfold it flat and leave it for 24 to 48 hours in a room with some air before anyone sleeps on it. If it still looks thin in places, give it longer. Foam recovers slowly in a cold room, so a heated room speeds things up.
Between visits, store it folded and flat rather than on its end, and keep it out of a damp shed or garage. Foam picks up moisture and smells easily.
A simple option for occasional guests
For a spare bed that gets used a few times a year, the 10cm memory foam tri-fold in single or small single keeps things simple. It weighs about 7kg, comes with a storage bag, and the cover goes in the washing machine.
See the full range of folding and tri-fold mattresses. Delivery is free to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and most orders arrive in 3 to 7 days.