All Organic Latex Mattress Med Firm (ILD 33 -37)

Dear Administrator,

Can you please give me some pointers to buy All Organic Only Latex Mattress Medium Firm with ILD 33-37 near Dayton, NJ area ?

Saw KINGSDOWN Sleep Heaven KAYLA Mattress in Sleepys with ILD 14 which according to them is medium firm but considered to be soft with the knowledge I gained from your website.

Any help is much appreciated.

Hi letanandknow,

[quote]Can you please give me some pointers to buy All Organic Only Latex Mattress Medium Firm with ILD 33-37 near Dayton, NJ area ?

Saw KINGSDOWN Sleep Heaven KAYLA Mattress in Sleepys with ILD 14 which according to them is medium firm but considered to be soft with the knowledge I gained from your website.[/quote]

I would keep in mind that mattresses don’t have ILD’s … only individual layers inside a mattress. While I would generally avoid Kingsdown (see this article) or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out all the information you need to make an informed choice or meaningful comparisons with other mattresses (see the guidelines here) … it’s certainly possible that a mattress that has a thin layer of 14 ILD latex inside it could be in a medium firm range overall.

Every layer and component in a mattress will have an effect on the feel and performance of every other layer and component above and below it and ILD is only one of several variables or “specs” that will determine how soft or firm an individual layer or a mattress “as a whole” will feel to different people (see post #4 here). In addition to this the ILD of different materials or different types and blends of latex also aren’t always directly comparable to each other (see post #6 here) so using the ILD of a particular layer or combination of layers as a reliable indication of how any mattress will “feel” or how firm will feel to you compared to another mattress with a completely different design can be more misleading than helpful . For example a top layer that is only 1" thick can feel completely different from another layer that is 2" thick if the rest of the materials and components are the same. It would be much more useful and you would be better off just to “rate” a mattress as either soft, medium, or firm and decide whether you tend to prefer or do better on softer, medium, or firmer mattress in more general terms based on how they feel to you relative to other mattresses you have tried than trying to analyze how a mattress compares to another one based on complex combinations of specifications.

Unless you have a great deal of knowledge and experience with different types of mattress materials and specs and different layering combinations and how they combine together and can translate them into your own “real life” experience that can be unique to you (which would only be a very small percentage of people) … I would tend to avoid using individual specs such as layer thicknesses or ILD numbers or other complex combinations of information or specifications to try and predict how a mattress will feel or perform for you or how it will compare to another mattress and focus more on your own actual testing and/or personal experience. While knowing the specs that can affect the quality and durability of the layers and components in a mattress is always important … when you try and choose or compare a mattress based on complex combinations of “comfort” specs that you may not fully understand then the most common outcome can be information overload and “paralysis by analysis”.

There is more about the different types and blends of latex in post #6 here but all of the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, or Greenguard Gold and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very “safe” material in terms of harmful substances and VOC’s.

There is also more information about the different levels of organic certifications in post #2 here and some of the benefits of an organic certification in post #3 here and there is more about the different types of organic and safety certifications in post #2 here and more about some of the differences between organic and safety certifications in post #2 here that can help you decide whether an organic certification is important to you or whether a “safety” certification is enough.

An organic certification or a safety certification has nothing to do with the firmness or the feel or performance of latex and all the different types and blends of latex come in a wide range of firmness choices.

The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

Once you reach step 3 in the tutorial then the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets your individual criteria and the quality/value guidelines I linked in the previous paragraph) are listed in post #5 here.

If you are also considering online options then the tutorial includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of them also sell latex and latex hybrid mattresses that use different types and blends of latex (including organic Dunlop latex) that have a wide range of different designs, options, features, return and exchange policies, and prices that that would be well worth considering.

Phoenix