I am new to your site so not sure if I am supposed to post in the forum or allowed to contact you directly. I have read most of the mattress buying guidelines and learned a lot.
In April 2015 I bought a Serta I-series Emissary from Mattress Warehouse for $1,150. In short order I was waking up with back pain, inflammation of the IT band (hip pain), headaches, neck aches. So in July, I took advantage of the 120 day comfort exchange. I tried many, many mattresses and found the Kingsdown Heather Glen to be very comfortable. It had that nice sinking down feeling. So I paid an additional $1,049 for the bed.
When the bed was delivered and I got a chance to lie on it, the first words out of my mouth were “What the F8ck, this is not the bed I bought. I would never buy a bed like this.” I went back to the store and of course their standard line is that the bed needs to be broken in. The mattress you buy is not going to feel the same as the mattress in the store because the mattresses in the store have been laid on thousands of times. Now I have issues with that statement but I will not go into them.
Suffice it to say that I wake up every day and want to cry. My whole entire body hurts. There is no sinking in on the mattress. My spine is out of alignment. I emailed the parent company, Innovative Mattress Solutions, in West Virginia and got a response with a person and a number to call. I looked online to see if I could find the components of this mattress and this is what I found:
Latex foam - Extra body conforming comfort layer
Cushioning foam
Flexatron - multiple layers of Allergenic Cushioning Material
Lumbar Support Region made with visco memory foam
9" individually wrapped coils
Now I know from reading your guides that this tells me nothing and that Kingsdown is on the AVOID list.
I am trying to figure out what to tell them when I call them. I am assuming they use inferior materials. I read a lot of complaints where the mattresses sag and lump after about a year, but haven’t seen much about initial comfort although a few people loved the mattress.
Do you have any advice as far as talking to them about their inferior materials and charging over $2,000 for it.
Appreciate any response as I am in urgent need of a decent mattress. This pain is taking an emotional toll on me.
I prefer to only answer questions on the forum because that way it can also help others with similar questions or in the same area who can read the questions, comments, and answers and helps make the forum a more useful resource. It also of course saves me from having to answer similar questions many times on an individual or private basis and with the site growing, my ongoing research and conversations with various retailers and manufacturers, and the other tasks that are important to the ongoing development of the site taking up most of my remaining hours (besides sleeping), I am not able to provide any private consulting or replies to requests for help outside of the forum (unless of course a question is not appropriate for public posting or is about issues with the site itself).
There is certainly some truth to what they are saying and there will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress over the course of the first few weeks as the materials lose any of their initial “false firmness” and the cover stretches a little and loses any initial stiffness it may have and your body adjusts to a sleeping surface that is different from what it’s used to so it’s not unusual at all that your experience on a brand new mattress will change over the course of the first few weeks (see post #3 here). Mattresses in a showroom will generally have already gone through the break in process.
Having said that … it’s possible (although it’s not very common) that your mattress is different from the one you tested in the store either because the mattress you tested was a different model or because of a manufacturing mistake when your mattress was made.
It may be worthwhile going back to the store and confirming that the mattress you received is the same mattress that you tested in the store (it should have the name of the mattress on the law tag) and to confirm that the store mattress is clearly different from the one you received (although this would also be somewhat subjective).
You are right that the specs you listed don’t say anything about the quality or durability of the materials in your mattress or the mattress “as a whole” but I would also keep in mind that you can’t “feel” the quality and durability of the materials in a mattress because lower quality and less durable materials can feel the same as higher quality and more durable materials in a showroom or when the mattress is still relatively new.
If you have a mattress for example that is made from lower quality and more durable materials and another mattress that is made from higher quality and more durable materials and the type, thickness, and firmness and general properties of the foam layers are the same in both and they both have a similar cover then the two mattresses would “feel” very similar to each other in a showroom or when they are relatively new. The difference is that the mattress with the higher quality/density materials will be more durable and will maintain it’s original properties for longer before the foams soften or break down and the mattress loses it’s comfort and support relative to the person sleeping on it.
Unfortunately this isn’t something that Kingsdown (or your retailer) will be likely to acknowledge and they will probably just tell you that they make a great mattress and you are protected by their warranty even though a warranty has very little to do with the durability and useful life of the mattress or how long it will be before you no longer sleep well on the mattress and decide to replace it (see post #174 here).
Your best odds of success would likely be to talk with your retailer and focus on whether the mattress you tested in their showroom is the same as the one that you received. If the law tags indicate that the mattress you received is different from the one you tested (or that is on your receipt) then of course I would insist that they replace your mattress with the correct model.
If both mattresses are the same model then you would be in a more difficult position but if you have gone back to the showroom and confirmed with some careful testing that the mattress in their showroom is clearly different from the mattress you received and that it couldn’t possibly be the result of the break in and adjustment period on the mattress then I would ask them to come to your home and test your mattress for themselves to confirm that it is clearly different from the one in the showroom. If they confirm this then they should be willing to replace your mattress with the correct mattress. Unfortunately this will rely to some degree on their goodwill and on their willingness to accurately assess and compare your mattress to the one in the showroom.
It may be worthwhile to pursue your request as far up the line of management as possible to see if someone with the authority to do so can make an exception to their policies in your case. I would take a firm, insistent, and “assumptive” tone but maintain a respectful and polite approach since you are looking for an exception based on somewhat subjective issues and not for them to do something that they really would have have any obligation to do (unless all the evidence points to your mattress being different from the one you tested or that is listed on your receipt).
Don’t forget that it wouldn’t be unusual for them to hear the same complaint from many customers that don’t realize that a new mattress will feel somewhat different from the one they tried in a showroom and that in most cases these types of issues generally resolve themselves just by sleeping on the mattress for longer so they may “lump you in” with many other customers that say the same thing where their complaint may not be as legitimate as yours (assuming that your mattress really is different),
Because you can’t “feel” the quality of the materials in a mattress the only way to avoid making a purchase that uses lower quality materials that are more likely to soften or break down prematurely and all the issues that goes with it is to make sure that your retailer or manufacturer can provide you with all the information you need to make an informed choice (see this article) before making a purchase so you can avoid them in the first place.
I am awaiting a return call from the manager of the store where I bought my mattress, pretty much knowing he will never call or if he does, he will not work with me.
So plan B: Buy a mattress topper to provide a comfort and “sinking in”" layer on the bed. I did this with my Select Comfort that I could not get comfortable on (This was my 2nd Select Comfort. the first one was awesome, but when I got a bigger bed and bought the same mattress in queen size, it was not the same). I got about 3 years use out of the topper. It was fairly good quality memory foam, but now I am thinking latex. Any thoughts?
I hope that your expectation is different from your actual experience but either way I would make sure that the mattress you received or that is on your receipt is the same as the mattress that you tested in the showroom (by checking the law tags). I also hope you have the chance to let us know what happens.
If your mattress is still in very good condition and there are no visible impressions or sagging or soft spots in the mattress and the only issue is that it is too firm then a topper can certainly be a good option to add some additional softness and pressure relief although there is always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper if you haven’t tested the combination in person because the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress.
One of the benefits of adding a topper is that it is much less costly than a new mattress and if a mattress/topper combination turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of PPP then it also has the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (the upper layers or a sleeping system tend to soften or break down before the deeper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of the mattress underneath it as well.
If you do decide to try a topper then there is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to about firmness and thickness which along with a conversation with a reliable supplier that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success. It also includes a link to a list of some of the better online sources for toppers I’m aware of and a link to the online suppliers that have good exchange/return policies as well.
I was able to try out the Pure Bliss 3" latex mattress topper. It was very comfortable, however, I still felt it a bit too firm for me. It is 14 ILD which I believe is the softest talalay latex available. So it seems like latex is not an option for me. Would you have any suggestions as to something with the feel of latex but with a bit more of that plush, sinking in feeling (just a bit. I don’t want to be really sagging into the mattress)
It would be hard for me to imagine that 3" of 14 ILD blended Talalay would be too firm for almost anyone but of course each person is unique and there are also many variables that can affect your experience on a mattress/topper combination outside of the topper itself. It may also have to do with the firmness of your mattress underneath it or your body weight and sleeping style as well. It could also be that you just don’t like the “feel” or resilience of latex regardless of its firmness level. In some cases if a topper is too soft and you are in a higher weight range then you may also feel more of the firmness of the layers underneath it and in some cases an ultra soft topper can feel firmer than a topper that is slightly firmer where there isn’t as big a transition between the topper and the firmness of a mattress underneath it.
In any case … other types of materials will have a different “feel” from latex and unfortunately I can’t make any specific suggestions because you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress/topper combination and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion about which topper would be the best “match” for both you and the mattress you are using it on in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own personal testing or sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). As an example of this I would never have guessed that a 3" 14 ILD talalay latex topper would be too firm for anyone and for most people I would normally suggest something a little bit firmer unless they are in a lower weight range but there are always exceptions to every rule and the averages of other people.
Some types of higher density and more highly resilient polyfoam in lower ILD ranges will probably be the most closely comparable foam material to softer latex
Hi Phoenix
I am ready to take the plunge and select a new mattress. I really am drawn to the zoned latex mattress by either Cozy Pure or FLobeds… My thinking is that since I have back issues the extra support in the lumbar region would be good for me. My other line of thinking is that most likely any of the latex mattress should be good for me as long as I get the comfort/support layers correct for me, so I’m thinking of going with one of the latex mattresses with the 3 3" layers of latex.
The Cozy Pure zone bed it very expensive, to me, and there is no return policy on the entire bed, just on the zone parts, so that scares me also.
Do you have any comments regarding support of the zoned cores vs the 3 layer latex.
