Panda Bamboo Mattress Protector Review
A mattress protector with a bamboo face, and this page covers the part that gets skipped.
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Verdict
A mattress protector with a bamboo face, and since this site keeps insisting you buy one, this page covers the part that gets skipped: how to fit it, how often to wash it, and what goes wrong when you do not.
Buy it if
You have bought a mattress. Fit it before the first night.
Avoid it if
Nobody. If you dislike this one, buy a different breathable protector, and buy one.
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Panda bedding is well represented here.
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| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Mattress protector with a bamboo face |
| Fit | Check the skirt depth against your mattress, which may be 31cm or more |
| Washing | Every one to two months, more with children or pets |
| Own two | So the mattress is never bare on wash day |
| Check | Waterproof rather than water resistant, and breathable |
The scores
A good protector, and the cheapest insurance in bedding.
A small fraction of a mattress, removing the commonest reason a claim is refused.
Check the specific model states waterproof rather than water resistant.
A bamboo face over a membrane, rather than a plastic sheet.
Check the skirt against your mattress before ordering.
Machine washable, which is the whole point.
Check the terms for the specific product.
Fitting it, washing it, and what goes wrong
Fit it before the first night. A stain that happens before you got round to ordering one counts exactly the same as any other, and guarantees exclude stained mattresses absolutely rather than conditionally.
Check the skirt depth. Standard protectors are cut for around 25 centimetres and modern hybrids run 28 to 35. One that is too shallow comes off the corners and keeps doing it.
Wash it every one to two months, more often with children or pets. It is catching what would otherwise be in the mattress, so leaving it unwashed defeats half the purpose.
Wash cool and dry low. Heat damages the waterproof membrane, and a protector that has been through a hot tumble dryer a few times often is not waterproof any more without announcing it.
Own two. Otherwise the mattress is bare on wash day, which is exactly when something gets spilled.
A cheap protector undoes a cooling mattress
The layer nobody accounts for
Cheap waterproof protectors are essentially plastic sheets with a fabric face. They stop liquid, and they also stop air.
Put one over a mattress with a deep spring layer and you have sealed off the airflow that was doing the cooling. That is the most common reason someone buys a hybrid for temperature, adds a cheap protector, and cannot understand why it sleeps warm.
If you need allergen or pest control specifically, that is a full encasement rather than a fitted protector. Dust mites live throughout a mattress, so sealing only the top achieves much less than sealing the whole thing.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Mattress protectors are bought once and then forgotten, and they need washing every one to two months because they are catching what would otherwise be in the mattress. They also need washing cool and drying low, since heat damages the waterproof membrane and a protector that has been through a hot tumble dryer several times is frequently no longer waterproof without giving any sign of it.
Should you buy it?
Buy it, fit it before the first night, own two, and wash it cool every one to two months.
Check the skirt depth against your mattress. If you need allergen control specifically, buy a full encasement instead.
Questions people ask
How often should I wash a mattress protector?
Every one to two months, more with children or pets. It is catching what would otherwise be in the mattress, so leaving it unwashed defeats half the purpose.
Can you tumble dry a mattress protector?
On low. Heat damages the waterproof membrane, and a protector that has been through a hot tumble dryer a few times often is not waterproof any more without announcing it.