20 layer cake/latex mattress question confusion

[phoenix]

Hi Rachierad,

1. We really looooved the softness of the Vitality. If this combo ends up being too hard after sleeping on it a while, any suggestions to soften it up? Low ILD poly foam between bed and topper? Another Latex topper?

There are many potential solutions to softening a mattress but I wouldn’t recommend starting in this direction. If you are sensitive to changes in a mattress than deciding on a topper much less a mattress/topper/topper combination can be just as complex as buying a mattress. I would strongly encourage you to buy the specific combination that you are confident about in the first place. For some people … experimenting with toppers can become an expensive and frustrating exercise (they often can’t be returned if you choose the wrong one). My general suggestion when you are making a local purchase is to buy a mattress as if you only had one chance to get it right and make it as close to your needs and preferences as you possibly can so that if you do need to make any “fine tuning” changes after the purchase they can be as small as possible and used as a backup only if necessary … not as a main reason to make a purchase. This will help keep you focused on good objective testing in the store rather than trying to figure out what is possible if something happens “in theory” which will only open the floodgates to information overload. Your lighter weight means using a very low ILD topper has better odds of success but I would always make sure that your testing confirms it in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) to the greatest degree possible.

2. We switched gears from memory foam to latex because I started to get worried about the unfounded safety concerns with memory foam. I thought Latex would be a great all natural choice. I didn’t think to wonder until NOW what was blended with latex to make Talatech ‘natural’ latex. I’ve read it’s 30% latex and 70% styrene-butadiene rubber. I know you aren’t a chemist and i’m on the verge of “too much information is a bad thing” threshold, but would you consider this blended latex a ‘safe’ choice. I know safe means different things to different people so it’s hard to say, but would you think that this blended latex is at least SAFER than memory foam? Would you think it safer for our toddler to sleep on?

Blended Talalay is tested in the same way as 100% natural Talalay (OekoTex standard 100 class 1 “safe for babies”) and for the vast majority of people there are no safety or sensitivity issues with latex at all. Even people who have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity) tend to be fine with it. OekoTex is a legitimate testing protocol, is respected around the world, and you can see the actual testing protocols they use here. The short answer is that yes I would consider any latex that had a good testing certification attached to it (OekoTex, Eco-Institut etc) as a very “safe” choice … especialy for those that are very sensitive to chemicals and offgassing and may not do well even with materials like polyfoam or memory foam that have been CertiPur certified.

3. We thought about ordering the Slow Response Active Fusion topper since we like the feel of memory foam, but Would you think that this would be similar to regular Memory Foam in terms of it’s 'ingredients"?

The actual formulation of slow response latex that various companies offer that turns a fast response material into a slow response material isn’t disclosed by any of them. The slow response latex though is still primarily latex not polyurethane like memory foam so it a completely different type of “slow response” foam than memory foam.

4. I haven’t heard back from PLB customer service, so maybe you would know this. Is their Active Fusion/Talalay GL line also Oeko-Tex standard 100 certified? I can’t read anything that confirms this. I’m half convinced that certification just goes to the company willing to enough money for it (BBB style) but I would rather believe that this is some Guarantee that even though the latex isn’t ALL NATURAL, and is blended with some funky SBR that it is at least labeled as being somewhat safe.

The Latex International site here is clear that all of their latex products are Oeko-Tex certified.

How does latex react to moisture?

It’s fine and regular moisture won’t affect it and it’s also very breathable so moisture can dissipate faster than most other bedding foams. They actually saturate the latex with water and squeeze it out to wash it after it’s manufactured.

But I worry that a mattress cover will make the topper less plush. Would that be the case to some degree? Either way, do you know of any covers for lower profile 9" mattresses or ones just for mattress toppers?

A mattress protector is always a good idea for any mattress and would go over the topper and then tuck under the mattress. There are different types available depending on your preference and the tradeoffs that are most important to you. You can read more about them in post #89 here. The most popular choice is usually the thin membrane type which generally have little effect on the mattress although they are not as breathable and temperature regulating as the other two.

-No clue how you have time to answer all of these questions. Let me know when you’re hiring for an answering assistant. My mattress obsession has led me to become a qualified candidate

That’s funny. I think that there are a lot of forum members that have bought a mattress using some of the information here that would be much better qualified than many of the people who actually sell mattresses!

I would nevvvvvvvver never have purchased this without you! And really, it’s going to be better than the Sealy Optimum we originally were ready to buy a month ago. And cheaper too!

You are certainly right that it is both better quality and value than the Optimum

Phoenix