Aireloom Harmony Firm Latex mattress causes pressure points

[phoenix]

Hi sidesleeper2,

After reading these forums and articles for weeks, reading customer reviews and lying on beds in our local SitnSleep I purchased an Aireloom Harmony Firm. After narrowing our selection to 4 choices (3 hybrids and this one. Our favorites were a Stearns & Foster Lux hybrid- but the reviews for their beds are terrible AND the bed would be way too tall for our old golden retriever to jump up on, and A Comforpedic Recharge foam hybrid) we lay down on them for a long rest. This Aireloom bed, with latex, seemed almost buoyant (in the store) I could lie there for a long time and feel supported yet kind of floating on it. It didn’t seem too hard.

Unfortunately … in spite of your reading here … you appear to have purchased a mattress (and considered several others) that I normally wouldn’t have considered at all and it doesn’t sound like you followed the guidelines in the mattress shopping tutorial that I would normally suggest people follow to purchase a good quality/value mattress. This has left you in a rather difficult position where you may be limited to an exchange at a store where there are no great options to exchange for in a similar price range (and even if there is it would cost you a minimum of $500).

The mattress has loosened up considerably yet I am miserable. Is it just too firm for me?

There is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and the most likely reasons for them in post #2 here and the other posts it links to. While only you can feel what you feel on a mattress or know whether a mattress is too firm or soft for you … based on your description it certainly sounds like your mattress is too firm for you or at least isn’t a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences).

There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful.

I have tried a few nights using an old 1" memory foam topper (it does relieve pressure) and with a new DreamFoam 4" gel topper, which was too thick and left no indication of what the mattress under you was like. I didn’t like the DreamFoam topper at all because it was hot, too thick, and I just spent $2900 on a mattress I couldn’t feel.

Post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to has more about choosing a topper that can help you use your sleeping experience as a guideline or reference point for choosing the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that would have the best chance of success. It sounds like the topper you chose in combination with your mattress was too thick for you.

Two questions: 1) Why should I have to top a new mattress? Shouldn’t it be dreamy from the start?

If you choose a mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP then a topper wouldn’t be necessary but if you make a “mistake” in your mattress choice (usually because your testing didn’t predict your actual sleeping experience) and your mattress is too firm for you then a topper can be a good solution to add the additional comfort or pressure relief that you need but it can sometimes be a challenge to choose a topper that is a good match for you in combination with your mattress. It all depends on whether the mattress you chose was a good match for you in terms of PPP.

2) Do I just miss having box springs? I feel like I am sleeping on a stack of blankets on the floor.

Box springs (that have springs) are suitable for some types of mattresses but not for others such as yours which are designed to work best without a box spring (there is more about the different types of support systems that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses in the foundation post here). For a mattress that is designed to be used with an “active” box spring (vs a mattress that does best with a non flexing support surface such as a foundation) then it can certainly make a difference compared to a non flexing support surface and every “active” part of a sleeping system will make a difference in the feel and performance of a “sleeping system” but box springs aren’t normally suitable for a foam mattress. The only thing that matters is whether any mattress you choose (whether it needs a box spring or not) is a good match for you in terms of PPP.

If you test a mattress with a box spring (that flexes under the mattress) and the combination mattress/box spring is a good match for you in terms of PPP then it’s always a good idea to purchase the box spring with the mattress because a different support system will make a difference in the feel and performance of the mattress. If you test a mattress on a firm non flexing support surface (a foundation or a platform bed or adjustable bed) and it’s a good match for you then any firm non flexing support system that provides suitable support for the type of mattress you purchased will generally be fine (they would all be similar because they would all have limited to no flex under the mattress). Again it all depends on how well you test the mattress (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the mattress shopping tutorial) and on how well your testing predicts your actual sleeping experience.

Should I trade the mattress in for a different choice or try another sort of topper? I don’t have much time left to decide (less than 2 weeks) and it will cost us $500 to give it back.

If I understand their policy correctly then I don’t believe they provide a refund option where you can “give it back” which means your options would be limited to either an exchange or adding a topper.

You are the only one that can make these types of decisions but if I was in your shoes the first step I would take is to find out the specifics of all the layers in your mattress (see this article) so you can make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in the design. Unfortunately the specs you provided don’t include all the information you would need to know this. If you can confirm that there isn’t more than “about an inch or so” of either unknown or lower quality materials in the upper layers of your mattress … then your mattress would make a suitable “base mattress” for a topper and in spite of the uncertainty of finding the “right” topper and the time and trial and error it may take … it would probably be the most cost effective solution. The “best outcome” for this option would be that you end with a suitable sleeping system for only the cost of a topper (which would be less than your exchange costs). The “risk” of this option is the uncertainty and trial and error that could be involved in choosing the “right” topper.

Your other option would be to retest the mattresses in the store that are in the same or higher price range to find a mattress that is a better “match” for you in terms of PPP without needing a topper AND (and this is important) that you can also confirm has no lower quality materials or weak links in the design. Choosing this option would depend on your confidence that your testing will do a good job of predicting your actual sleeping experience. If you do go in this direction then the only caution would be to make sure that you don’t “overcompensate” and choose a mattress that is too soft because you would have no other exchange options available and it’s much more difficult to “fix” a mattress that is too soft than a mattress that is too firm (see post #4 here). The “best” outcome with this option would be that you have a mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP without needing a topper and you would have spent $500 (plus any additional cost if you choose a more expensive mattress). As long as you don’t choose a mattress that is too soft then the “worst” outcome with this option would be that you once again chose a mattress that is too firm and still need an additional topper.

Phoenix