mattress.net says this regarding Talalay Latex Matresses: Body depressions are normal and are not considered structural failure unless they exceed 1"
spindlemattress.com says this regarding Talalay Latex Mattresses: Body impressions, imprints or indentations in the mattress do not indicate a structural weakness or breakdown of the innerspring unit. Rather, imprints are a normal and natural occurrence of the mattress filling materials and foam, and are an indication that the upholstery layers are conforming to each person’s individual weight and body contours and characteristics. Body impressions will be more noticeable on King and Queen size. This body impression is unavoidable and is not an indication of any structural failure of your new mattress.
What the heck??? I’m going to spend some serious money and I’m going to have body impressions in my mattress after a while??? I hate body impressions in a mattress. This is the reason I am looking for a new mattress. I thought latex was the best. Body impressions are normal is not making me too comfortable with that assertion.
All soft materials will soften and break down over time so minimal body impressions that don’t affect comfort or support are certainly normal but this is different from the degree of softening or breakdown that would be considered to be a defect in the material. Latex is the most durable of all the foam materials and it will soften and break down less and more slowly and maintain its original properties longer than other types of foam but no material that is suitable for use in a mattress is immune from some degree of softening or breakdown over time. There is more in post #4 here about the many factors that can affect the durability and useful life of a mattress relative to each person.
I have a mattress that I have owned for 28 years. Queen size Sealy Posture Pedic. Conventional inner spring mattress. My wife and I used it for over twenty years. You want to know something? Zero body impressions. None. I swear on a stack of bibles 10 miles high. That Sealy mattress feels the same as the day we bought it. We haven’t used it much since we bought the new Kingsized bed but back in the old days apparently mattresses were built to last. Having to accept the inevitability of body impressions in a latex mattress costing several thousand dollars seems a bit risky. If only I could find an innerspring mattress of superb quality without some crazy high “plush” pillow top. Those pillow tops always get terrible body impressions. It’s almost as if the companies build them to die early so you have to buy mattresses more frequently. I’m starting to rethink things here. I might be better off with an innerspring mattress if I can find one of superb quality. Any recommendations or advice on this would be more than welcome.
You’re certainly right about this and mattresses that were made that long ago tended to use higher quality materials (in the comfort layers especially) than the mainstream mattresses made today (see post #3 here). I can also tell you though that if you tested the materials in your mattress for ILD (firmness/softness) that the foams would have lost some of it’s height and firmness since you purchased it even if the foam doesn’t have any visible impressions. If you were to open up the mattress you would probably also discover that the foam inside had some minimal compression but not enough to make any meaningful difference in comfort or support. If your mattress was two sided (which were also the norm at that time) then if you flipped the mattress on occasion it would also even out any impressions and allow the side that wasn’t in use to recover and even though it would still be gradually softening over time, it would soften more evenly over the entire surface so it wouldn’t be as visible.
Good quality latex will be similar. While there may be some slight impressions (that you may or may not notice) … if you choose a latex mattress that is a suitable match for you in terms of PPP and isn’t too soft then it will last you for many years. You can see a video here of a latex mattress that was in use for almost 50 years (although most people wouldn’t keep any mattress for nearly that long because their own needs and preferences would also change over time and 50 years for any mattress isn’t a realistic expectation) and both blended Talalay and 100% natural Dunlop have a long history of lasting decades (see post #9 here).
While it isn’t possible or realistic to expect any foam material to maintain it’s original specs indefinitely or for no changes to occur over time (this isn’t scientifically possible and never has been) … there are still good quality mattresses (such as latex) whose useful lifetime can realistically be measured in decades.
An encouraging response. I’m on the road to buying a new Kingsized mattress. This forum and website have helped me more than anything. I will be asking more questions on these issues. I have many. Great thanks to you Phoenix.
Same with the queen Simmons Beautyrest I just sold with my old bedroom suite. it was at least 25 years old and with the exception of a few lose stitiches, it was as you said, 0 impressions, in great shape. Course I flipped and rotated it often too. Apparently they don’t make them like they used to.
Wife and I slept on a 3 year old Sealy a while back at a friend’s house. Most comfortable mattress ever been on with the exception of a Westin hotel mattress. It was like “sleeping on a cloud”. Must be so good cause it’s made in Texas! :lol:
I almost pulled the trigger on this one with a plan to add a plush talalay topper to it. Didn’t because of distance and logistics issues. I think it would be a good bet based on research of the company, owner, materials, etc. It’s flippable too and the price is right. 5% off if you mention this site. http://www.themattressfactory.com/MattressesBeds/Models/Elegance.aspx
Another nice convenience I like is the inclusion of handles on the Elegance. Why in the heck aren’t folks including handles anymore! Ever tried to grip a queen or king mattress by it’s sides! :huh:
Don’t forget then whatever latex you buy IF the cover has wool in it (1" for example) the wool itself will eventually compress somewhat. I wouldn’t consider than an impressions because you would notice that the latex (once you unzipped the cover) underneath will be as flat as a board.
[quote=“Mark in Texas” post=36083][quote=“John Smith” post=36072]You’re correct about our old coil mattress. We did flip it. Great side handles too. Man I loved sleeping on that mattress.[/quote]
Can’t stand it anymore. Who is that beautiful woman as your avatar? :)[/quote]
I wondered the same but I think It’s a stock photo. I’ve seen her before but I can’t remember where.
[quote=“Mark in Texas” post=36083][quote=“John Smith” post=36072]You’re correct about our old coil mattress. We did flip it. Great side handles too. Man I loved sleeping on that mattress.
[/quote]
Can’t stand it anymore. Who is that beautiful woman as your avatar?
[/quote]
Let’s just say she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.
Can’t stand it anymore. Who is that beautiful woman as your avatar? :)[/quote]
Let’s just say she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.[/quote]
Yes she is, period.
In his infinite wisdom, perhaps Phoenix can grace us with another one of his long winded master’s thesis as to how mathematically her stress points and energy would be best suited to all the requirements for a good nights sleep regarding the laws of physics relative to lumbar and spinal alignment. :lol:
Your post is once again over the edge of the rules which apply to your responses to me as much as to any other forum member (although I usually allow more latitude with responses to me). This will be your last warning before you lose your posting privileges here.
Just for clarification … and John Smith will appreciate this … the reasons for my reply were directly related to the reason for his answer and weren’t related to my opinions about beauty.
If you do a google image search on the image you will find out the reason for my reply and the reason I wrote it in the way I did. It was part of the “joke”.
So we have just purchased a king size dunlop latex mattress and it has definite body impressions after only a month of sleeping on it. Im being told impressions are normal which the warranty does say up to 1and ahalf inches. Who wants to sleep in a 1 and a half in deep trench? Is this normal in such a short period of time? We have quarter turned the mattress several times now.
I am sorry to hear you have issues with your new mattress.
Latex in general is the most durable foam material in the industry so outside of any defects in the latex itself (which is very uncommon) if there is any sagging it would be in the quilting layers or the base layer under the mattress or in many cases what they are calling “sagging” is really what I call “virtual impressions” which are the result of choosing a comfort level that is too soft. You can see some more detailed comments about this inpost #2 here
I’m guessing what you’re experiencing would be a the initial loss of “false firmness” of the mattress, as even very low density polyfoam won’t lose structure in one month. Depending on what you have as a cover you could also be experiencing settling of the fiber material, as well as some settling if the top quilt panel was cut a bit too large.
The first thing I would check is to make sure that your support system is still perfectly flat and that there are no parts that are sagging or that are bending under the weight of the mattress and the people sleeping on it. It should provide similar support to having your mattress on the floor and you can test this by putting your mattress on the floor to see if it makes any difference. If it does then it’s possible that your support system could be part of the problem as well.
You did not include information about your system or all the foam layers and components that are used within your mattress including the covering but generally speaking there is always a gradual softening and the breaking in of the materials when a product is brand new. I do not have the mattresses in front of me so I can’t tell if what you are experiencing is the normal break in or not but it would be extremely unusual for latex to develop any deep body impressions within such a short period of time. Up to one and a half inch impression is considered an industry standard however it would be very unlikely that this would develop within the first month. Some brands with all latex beds have a tighter tolerance of 1" or so, but this varies by manufacturer.
Latex in general is the most durable of all the foam materials and generally holds up very well for a very long period of time but there are several possibilities that can account for your experience that are listed in post #4 here.
The material I provided can help identify if what you are experiencing is the normal breaking in of the mattress or a mattress defect.
there is no new topic button at the top of my screen so i found this thread about body impressions.
i went to one of those barebones mattress places in a strip mall since i was tired of dealing with the local chains here. i guess when it said all sales final i should have walked out but here we are.
just one month into ownership i now have a valley to sleep in. if i move a few inches toward the middle. my body is literally resting on a slope with the feeling of falling/sliding. if you slept there you’d wake up with a bad back for sure. the mattress was 1250 and it was the 2nd firmest he had there. i dont like super firm. its not a pillowtop or anything and its the mattress itself that has the issue. i took off the sheet and protector and just laid on the mattress. i texted the guy and he said body impressions are normal but it took years for my other one to get the valley and the valley is THE reason i even got a new mattress. and i told him that. why would i want a one month mattress with a valley?
the tag shows the mattress was made one county over SSB manufacturing which i guess is simmons? also on literature on the other side of the warranty chart there’s a section titled’ newer type mattress body impressions explained’
when i texted him he told me body impressions are normal but will send me a warranty claim. combined with this statement i’m pretty sure i’m screwed but i figured id write here and see if its normal that you get a valley within 1 month. even if it was a cheap mattress id find that hard to believe. heck my childhood bed is in my spare room and after all this time i laid on it and there was no impression lol.
anyway, the literature says no surface will remain flat forever and i’m ok with that. but ONE month into using it i have the valley already? is that really normal? its not a memory foam mattress but the paper says impressiions are inherent in the mattress due to more foam layering. it says queen and king may have impressions that are more noticeable and i have a king. even my old mattress, which was a pillow top, took years for it to get dented in. i have 5 inch steel foundation vs the old wood slat kind. at least thats what he told me. i dont know how to verify is steel.
im so upset over all this. if i have this much of a valley after 1 month. i cannot imagine years down the road what this will be like. ill be on the floor
Man, that’s too bad. I was nervous about something like that happening to me. I searched for more than a a year and half before I finally found my mattress and thanks to this website and forum I was armed with knowledge so I knew what to look for. $1250 is pretty high for a mattress “as is”. I hate it for you. Maybe the warranty claim will help. If you paid by credit card they may be able to help you out if feel like you’ve be defrauded. As this website has said it’s very important to know what is in the mattress. Hopefully I won’t have any future trouble out of mine.
Just to chim in I purchased my mattress from Brooklyn Bedding(dreamfoam bedding) in Oct of 2017. Its 6" foam, 3" of Talalay in a softness of 9 out of 10, 10 being the softest. It’s by far the best mattress i’ve ever owned. I did start to notice the body impressions and called the company and had to show proof of the 1" impression. That’s very hard to do considering it’s not exactly something you see per-say, but def something I felt when laying.
It worries me that it was only a year and this happened. Luckily, they are sending me a new mattress at no charge to me.
How often should Latex mattress’ be rotated to avoid it being accustomed to a specific body.
It is true that the softer latex in your current BB (which is generally less dense) would be a little less durable than a firmer latex (which will be a higher density) especially in the uppermost layers of the mattress where it undergoes the most mechanical stress, Since all latex is more durable than most other materials and other types of foam …the actual durability of any latex will also depend a great deal more on how it is used and how it is protected as it will break down with exposure to ozone and ultraviolet and certain solvents and some of the other substances that are listed here
I am glad that BB was so responsive and that they are sending you a new mattress. I’d still make sure to check that the support under your mattress is evenly flat and does not sag under the weight of the mattress and the people on it. I’d also keep in mind that you are probably unlikely to receive a latex bed as the old version of BME changed materials and replaced the latex with the Titanflex foam and the new bed was renamed “Signature”. The foam they use is a 4 lb polyfoam which has a resilience similar to latex. Whether or not you would like this feel, of course, is subjective.
There is no specific schedule that everyone would agree is “best” but I would tend to rotate any one-sided mattress 180 degrees every week or two at first to help even out any initial softening or compression during the break-in period and then after the first 90 days or so do it monthly and then after about 6 months rotate it once a season. All of this is assuming that the mattress is symmetrical from head to toe. This can help any mattress soften or wear more evenly and extend its useful lifetime.
So far, the service of U.S. Mattress has been excellent and they are rated at the top by 
[quote=“Mark in Texas” post=36083][quote=“John Smith” post=36072]You’re correct about our old coil mattress. We did flip it. Great side handles too. Man I loved sleeping on that mattress.[/quote]