Best ORGANIC mattress cover (ticking) for latex?

[phoenix]

Hi buttercupbetty,

I would love to hear your recommendations. Arizona Premium Mattress has an organic cotton cover with 1/2 inch of compressed wool for $249. Gary says that this makes the mattress feel firmer. He also says that they sell far more 75% cotton/25% bamboo covers (not organic) because they are softer. Has anyone tried either of these?

And neither of them stretch. Will this compromise the feel of the mattress? In other words, is polyester essential for comfort? Companies that sell stretchy covers (bamboo/poly) say that this stretchiness is important. Help! We are trying to make a decision in the next few hours…

Every layer and component of a mattress will interact with every other layer you choose and the cover and quilting will be a significant part of how your mattress feels and performs. There is no “best” from a generic point of view, … there is only “best for you” and this is a matter of preference.

Polyester is certainly not necessary for comfort and has many disadvantages over other types of fabrics including that it will normally be warmer and less effective at wicking moisture and ventilation. There are also stretch knit cotton covers for those that prefer being closer to the latex layers and prefer this over the benefits of quilted materials (temperature regulation and a different less resilient surface “feel”).

You can read more about the benefits of wool quilting in post #6 here and of a quilted cover vs a stretch knit cover in post #12 here.

The best guideline would be to test mattresses that have similar layers to the mattress that you are considering building and using your own personal experience to decide if you prefer quilted covers or stretch knit covers. Your own personal experience and your preferences are the only way to know this but it may take more than a few hours to be able to test enough different mattresses so you can use your own experiences as a guideline for your choices.

Don’t forget that these are all preference issues and only you can decide which materials and components work best for you or that you prefer. The most effective way of building your own mattress component by component is to test a mattress that you know works well for you in “real life” and then duplicate all the layers and components that are in that specific mattress to the best of your ability. Trial and error with purchased components that you aren’t familiar with can be costly if they don’t have a good return policy. Without a blueprint based on your personal experience … you are rolling the dice in terms of how you feel about them as part of your mattress design and the return policies of your purchases may be one of the most important parts of the “value” of your component purchases.

Phoenix