Rainwear Central Rainwear Forum

In a humorous piece about weekend breaks in Guardian Weekend columnist Lucy Mangan complains loud and long that the last time she booked into a B&B in England there were "rubber sheets" on top of the mattress. She actually uses the words "rubber sheets" four times in eight lines!

Now I doubt that they really were "rubber" sheets-more likely plastic mattress covers. However, I thought that, with all the new anti-allergic fabrics now available and the suggestion that they were now frowned upon by tourist boards, good, old-fashioned, plastic mattress covers were a thing of the past. Is that right?

When I used to have to stay away from home for work I was always pleased if, on examination, there was some sort of waterproof mattress cover on the bed-not for any practical reason I hasten to add but simply because I liked the "thrill" of knowing one was there. The simpler, plastic types were more common in smaller establishments in those days and I guess some must have lingered on. I always understood that, while they obviously protected mattresses from "accidents" by children (and drunken sportsmen as one hotelier told me), they were really there to protect them from the consequences of "love".

Anyone else experienced them or share my enjoyment?

Yes I can recall not only plastic covers in some motels but going into department stores and seeing stacks of them for sale. Back in the 70's they were "frosty clear" and some were thick and stiffer. They made a symphony of rustliing and crackling when they were applied to the bed and provided total "protection". Too bad they don't make those anymore!

Surprisingly, a few years ago I found Argos did a pretty good range of waterproof mattress covers.

So is Argos a department store in the UK? Stateside we have "Bed Bath Beyond" as a source of bedding protection, but their product is sanitary white and really hardly noticeable. Still would love to see some true earlier style covers that are noisy and frosty clear.

argos is a slightly strange kind of shop in the UK. you choose your item from a catalog and then fill in a form and wait half an hour for the goods to appear from the warehouse. A sort of department store where you never see what you are buying til you have bought it

Love plastic mattress covers too

Me too

When younger i remember sleeping inside a pvc zip mattress cover .Can't find them these days.

Mydreamhascometrue wrote: January 1st, 2023, 6:17 pm When younger i remember sleeping inside a pvc zip mattress cover .Can't find them these days.

Awesome I know the ones your on about as I used to climb inside one and zip it up was lovely feeling as the air ran out and the cover would cling to me as I tried to lift my arms up and get some air

annabell-cagoule wrote: January 1st, 2023, 1:21 pm Me too

Lovely things to play in x