Whether you’ve recently decided to treat yourself to a brand new futon in place of a bed, or you’ve decided to deck out a small guest bedroom and want to save on space – then opting to go for an innovative and compact futon instead of a bulky traditional bed is a great choice to make.
Besides offering you, your family and your guests the opportunity to stretch out and enjoy a restful eight hours, a futon also doubles up as a sofa! Thanks to this, it means that you’ll be able to enjoy plenty of versatility, not to mention being given the opportunity to really open up your living space.
However, even though futons pack plenty of versatility and space-saving benefits, that doesn’t necessarily mean that futons don’t come without any issues.
So much so that if you’re currently struggling to keep your futon flat on the ground, rest assured that you’re not the only one experiencing this, as this complaint is one of the most commonly reported by futon owners all over!
Luckily, getting a stubborn futon to lay flat is a lot easier than you might initially think, and we’re here to show you how to do it. Regardless of what type of futon you currently have, read on for some simple and easy to follow instructions on how to flatten out your futon and get full use out of it:
How To Get Your Futon To Lay Flat: Step-By-Step Instructions
- Open up your futon: In order to get your futon to play ball and lie nice and flat, you’re first going to need to begin by opening up your futon! Depending on what type of futon you have, this step will look a little different for everyone.
If you have a bifold futon, then all you will need to do is simply take the handle (which is usually located somewhere on the base of the futon) and then pull it outwards to extend it.
However, if you happen to have a trifold futon, then you will need to access the third deck area by lifting the futon up, and then pulling the futon out after you have revealed the mattress/bed frame area.
If you’re ever confused or unsure of how to do this, then we recommend that you refer to the owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to open up your futon.
- Set the legs: After you have opened up your futon, you will then need to make sure that you have made all of the proper adjustments (as well as set the legs correctly) otherwise you’re likely going to find that your futon won’t stay flat in the reclined position, and you’re not going to be able to get the proper use out of it.
After you have located the handle on your futon and extended your futon outwardly until it stops – you should then be able to set each of the legs firmly to the ground.
It is very important that you take the time to make sure that the legs have been properly set on the ground and locked into place, otherwise the frame of the futon bed won’t be secure and you won’t be able to keep it in a flat, reclining position that will allow you to sleep comfortably on it.
- Make any further adjustments to secure the futon: So, after you have taken the time to open up your futon and then make sure that you have set the legs (otherwise you’re likely going to find that your futon is unstable as the frame won’t be supported properly) you will then need to make sure that you have effectively made any more adjustments that need to be made in order to ensure that your futon remains in the flat position that you have put it in.
Walk around the pulled-out futon and inspect its frame, are there any loose bolts or screws that need to be tightened to prevent your futon from folding? Or perhaps the frame hasn’t been properly extended and it’s bending in the middle?
If you can see anything of this nature, then you should proceed to make the necessary adjustments so that you can be sure that your futon is going to remain in the flat position while you or your guest sleeps on it throughout the night.
- Inspect the mattress: After you are confident that the frame has been properly secured and it has all of the support needed to remain in the flat, reclining position that you have extended it out into, we then recommend that you take the time to inspect your futon’s mattress.
Sometimes, if you’re noticing that your futon isn’t laying completely flat, it can sometimes be due to the mattress being bent out of shape.
So, if you can see that your mattress is bending upwards in the middle, then we recommend that you take a heavy box (or even some heavy books) and place them over your futon’s mattress for a few hours, as this will help to get rid of any bumps.
As a side note, please keep in mind that all of the instructions that we have talked you through above are only to be taken as general guidance as they apply to all futons in general.
In order to ensure that you are able to effectively open up your futon and keep it laying flat safely and effectively, we recommend that you take a look at the owner’s manual of your futon (that you would have gotten in the box upon purchasing it) in order to discover the specific instructions on how to keep your futon flat provided to you by your futon’s manufacturer.
This will ensure that you know exactly how to open up your futon and keep it secured in a flat position, as you will have followed the instructions given to you by the manufacturer.
