Although a mattress pad is primarily for added comfort, there are two other benefits to having them:
They form a cleanliness barrier for the mattress itself and make it a little easier to clean the bed. Some padding covers are machine washable, while others are dry clean only. Usually, the over-filled padded covers are dry clean only.
Even if a mattress has a pillow top, you can still use this Microplush-filled padding. You really do get a lot of extra softness by doing this. The deep pockets on the sides of the cover make it easy to go on, even with the added thickness of a pillow top.
To save even more, you can also get a comfortably filled pad that has the bed skirt already built into it.
That way, you don't have to run out and buy a separate skirt. I've featured one here so you can see what it looks like. It's the same as the one above, except it has the skirt built in.
So before you go to the expense of adding a soft topper to your bed, examine whether a mattress pad is a wiser, more affordable option.
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