Do you have an IKEA bed with slats? You do! Are the slats underneath falling through, causing your bed to sag? It’s a frustrating experience, to say the least. There’s nothing worse than waking up only to realize you’re sinking—not to mention it’s terrible on your back. You need a fix, preferably a quick fix.
Why Do My Bed Slats Keep Falling Out?
If your bed slats keep falling out, there are a few reasons why this would happen. Finding out the root cause of the unstable slats, whether that’s because there’s no support, or the slats themselves are damaged, getting right down to the issue and fixing it will keep your slats stable so they won’t keep falling through.
1. There’s No Support For The Slats
If there’s no support, your slats won’t be stable enough to stay in place. The slats need to be supported, whether that’s putting something underneath the slats themselves to make sure that they can handle as much load as possible or screwing them onto the bed frame so that they’re as stable as possible. Since the ground is below your bed, putting something underneath will allow the slats to remain stable since they’re on top of the item. This will keep your body weight in place as well as the slats because there’s something in between them keeping them stable.
2. The Supports For The Slats Are Weak
If your slats are screwed into place or you’ve got slat support and it’s weak, this can affect the steadiness of the slats themselves. You need to make sure that you replace or get new slat supports (view on Amazon) so that they can be held into place to support your weight. You need to make sure that the slat supports that you have now are in place properly, and are functioning properly. If they’re not functioning properly, then it’ll cause your slats to keep failing through.
How to Fix Bed Slats That Keep Falling
If you’re noticing problems with your bed falling through all the time, you need to know what’s causing the issue and if you’ll need to get the bed repaired or replaced. Having a functioning bed is crucial for any home, and fixing it will allow you to get a goodnight’s sleep. The main pretend is to make sure the slats are supported fully so they can handle any weight and won’t fall out.
1. Prevent the Slats Falling with Velcro Strips
An ingenious method—and by far the best—is using velcro strips (View on Amazon) to stop the slats from falling through. You often see velcro stips used with floor mats to prevent slipping and sliding. Naturally, it works for an IKEA bed as well in the same way.
The problem comes from you shifting your weight in bed. The simple act of turning will shift the bed to one side, jostling some of the slats underneath and ultimately making them fall. Hence, the reason your bed eventually sags.
Here’s what you do:
1. Start by removing the bed and the slats.
You need to reach the outer shell of the bed first. That’s where the fuzzy side of the velcro strip goes first. You have to place a single fuzzy strip of velcro (known as the “loop”) for each end of the slat for every slat. For example, if the bed has 10 slats, then two strips of the fuzzy side of velcro will be placed on the bed frame, two for each end of the slats.
2. Apply the loops (the fuzzy side) to the bed frame, right where the edge of the slats rest. Two for each slat. The loops have adhesive backings so remove the cover first. Afterwards, rub the strip so it adheres to the frame better.
3. Now rest the slats on the loops without adding the hooks (the rough side). This is to help measure where the hooks will go.
4. Uncover the adhesive backing on the hooks (the rough side) and apply them to each end of the slat.
5. Lay the slats into place along with the bed.
With the hooks and loops now coming together, any kind of shifting will prevent the slats from moving and ultimately keep your IKEA bed in place.
2. Prevent the Slats Falling with Duct Tape
Duct tape has a lot of uses, and one of them just so happens to be a practical way of keeping the slats for your IKEA bed from falling. Much in the same way velcro strips keep your bed in place, duct tape can work the same way. The one benefit duct tape has over velcro strips is that just about everyone has duct tape in their house.
1. Start by removing the bed and the slats.
2. Cut a strip of duct tape (view on Amazon) about six inches long and loop it. Do this twice for each slat.
3. Place the loop of duct tape on the bed frame where the slats get placed.
4. Lay the slats into place where the duct tape is.
Alternatively, you can apply the duct tape to the slats themselves if you’re having trouble lining up each strip. And if you want extra security, you can wrap an entire strip of duct tape around the middle of the slats (after they’ve been placed). It’ll prevent the slats from moving up and down.
3. Check If The Pins For The Slats Are Still There
The slats of your bed are supposed to come with some pins attached at the top and bottom of them. In case of any accidents, you might face the misfortune of these pins falling out. If they do, the slats are most likely going to end up with the same fate. So, make sure to check if the pins are still there from time to time to keep your bed slats from falling down.
4. Put Something Underneath The Bed To Support The Slats
Using some large containers (view on Amazon), you can stack them on top of each other in a few spots underneath your bed. Make sure to turn them over and stack them one above the other. If it’s still not reaching underneath your bed slats so that it can support your weight, put some old clothes in the container, turn an empty one upside down, then turn the one upside down with clothes in and stack it on top of the empty on. This will give the stack height upside down which means that your weight will be supported and the slats will no longer fall through.
5. Make Sure There Isn’t Too Much Weight On The Slats
Rather than trying to make sure that your slats are steady and don’t keep falling through, you need to consider how much weight you’re putting on them. Too much weight can affect the slats and cause them to fall. If you’re applying more weight than you used to, then you need to go back to the amount of weight that you applied before. A drastic change in weight on your bed can cause the slats to continue falling.
6. Fasten the Pins and Bolts That Hold The Slat In Place
With most bed slats, you’re given pins and bolts to keep the slats in place. These pins and bolts are responsible for connecting the bed slats to the frame and making sure that they’re secure. If the pins and bolts are loose or haven’t been installed correctly, it can cause the bed slats to detect from the frame when a lot of weight is put on it. To check if the pins and bolts are fastened properly, you need to remove the mattress and pillows from the frame. From here, you need to inspect the corners of the bed or where the pins and bots have been put in place to secure the slats.
Gather a hammer, screwdriver or drill and fasten the bolt and pins into place to make sure that they’re properly secured to the bed frame and the slats have no chance of moving. If you have extra pins and bolts, you can add them to secure the bed frame even more. Doing these things will support the weight of the person sleeping on the bed and your slats will no longer fall.
Bottom Line
While these are the two most common methods, anything that can force the slats into place is a method. For example, if the bed frame has holes you could drill holes into the slats and use zip ties. There’s room for creativity that’s really only limited by what’s available to you. With that said, duct tape is usually on hand and quick, but velcro strips are certainly cleaner, better suited, and frankly, prettier than an ugly row of duct tape.
