Call it what you want, "hide a bed", "sleep sofa", or "fold out couch", these contraptions seem to be required torture devices in any home. As a result, when we had company on the way for a visit during which adults would be using our fold-out-couch, I set about to make the experience as pleasurable as possible for our guests.
Initially, we reviewed the "bed board" option in which some type of stiffening device is placed under the mattress to protect the sleeper from the horizontal frame bars of the fold-out-couch. However, this option was quickly discarded placing the hide-a-bed mattress on the floor and giving it a quick test provided us with the evidence that what we really needed was a better mattress. At the same time, it would be really great to have a full size mattress so our guests would have maximum comfort and we could use standard sheets and bedding linens. Obviously, this was not a viable concept because there would be no way to fold up the "sleep sofa" with this gigantic mattress in place.
After searching a variety of sources, we found that the best mattress for the "sleep sofa" / "fold out couch" / "hide a bed" came in the form of a combination mattress which fit the form factor of our original "sleep sofa" mattress, but utilized the advanced features of "air bed" technology to increase the mattress in thickness to that of a normal sized mattress.
A quick review of sources for such a mattress leads one to the AirDream mattress, which can be purchased at SleepDynamiX.com/AirDream, 1-877-528-0662. The beauty of this particular mattress (aside from its attractive price of $299- $349) is the added benefit of the "air over coil" technology, which provides the sleeper with an ergonomic, weight-distributed sleep surface.
The practicality of the "inflatable" approach is enhanced by the ability to fill the Sleeper-Sofa-mattress with air in only 25 seconds. The small, easy-to-use pump
,
minimizes the effort
to inflate the bed. The design of the "air input port"
also aids in the ease of inflation. 