I can’t be near memory foam and need a new bed. Also reactive to many other chemicals and odors. Have read hours and hours of your wonderful information. You suggested some places to go near us. One- Heathy Back- didn’t like the hard feel of latex and talalay on a platform. Two: The Mattress Store in Annapolis, which my massage therapist and a friend also recommended. Wonderful service and I found a Serta mattress-foam and talalay I liked. The bed is made for them by Serta and is called Tangier Sound. Concerned about fire retardant, I asked and was told they use graphite which should not be an issue. When I asked questions about the box spring or, whatever that base was, I was told it was made of steel and strong and made to go with the bed I liked. them this store. I want to just trust them because it feels good and I’m tired of trying to understand all the layers and bases. I believe you talked with Margaret as did I last night .
Questions: 1) I just want to trust her and the store and buy the bed. Too big a risk What should I still do?
2) Our bed's frame is old too (47 years and at times the mattress and box spring fall off it. I hate when that happens! There is no support other than the frame itself which is connected to a head and footboard. Perhaps we should add slats?
I’m a hefty 230 pounds and husband more like 175. He doesn’t care what he sleeps on.
Thank you for all of this hard work a research you do so well.
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I would keep in mind that all materials have softer and firmer versions and designs so that you don’t relate firmness or softness to a material or to a platform but instead to a certain mattress design. The steel base of the Serta for example (which you can see here and here) is just as “firm” as most other platforms. The difference in what you feel is in the mattress design (unless the foundation has flex and the mattress is thinner in which case it will also have an effect on how the mattress feels and performs).
They certainly struck me as “good people” but I would personally never buy a mattress where I didn’t know the details of all the layers … and this would be especially true if I had MCS (assuming that is true in your case) because it would introduce another very important reason to know besides just the quality and value of the mattress. Having said that … only you can decide on your own personal risk tolerance. Serta also doesn’t disclose the details of what is in their fireblocker fire barrier to my knowledge (they just say that it’s safe without any details which doesn’t answer the question that is particularly important for MCS sufferers which is “how safe is safe enough?”). Graphite is generally an additive to foam or a surface treatment and may be one of the “ingredients” but there would likely be more as well. If you have MCS you could also get a doctor’s prescription to have a mattress made with no fire barrier at all although I don’t know if they offer this level of “customization”.
There is also a forum member that has created a site with some excellent information about MCS and ways of dealing with it which you can see in post #4 here. It may also help you know what to look for that may be important (such as the glues or surface treatments used in foundations or mattresses or fabrics).
I don’t know the design details of your bedframe, how strong it is, how it supports the foundation or box spring, or why it’s falling off but it seems to me that if adding slats is practical that it may be a very good idea if the rest of it is still strong. A mattress needs good support and I certainly wouldn’t want a bedframe where the foundation or boxspring was falling off.
Overall though with your sensitivities it would make it even more important to me to know what was in my mattress than less and while it’s of course important to deal with good people with good transparency and knowledge … my “trust” would be based on their ability to provide me with the specific information I needed or wanted to know.
Thank you. So now you’ve energized me to seize this moment (and husband) and go to Columbia,(MD) to visit the Savvy place you mentioned. I could get your answer (if you’re still online) by my iphone. What question do I ask about the layers?
The last store said layers of talalay and latex. Those were the materials I wanted. But what is it I want to know? how many inches and in what order? Yes I do have MCS (Lots of other acronyms too)
Thank you,
What you need is a “spec sheet” which outlines the thickness and type of materials in the mattress layer by layer and top to bottom (or bottom to top).
For example it could say from top to bottom …
1.5" of polyfoam in the quilting.
2" of Talalay latex
6" of Talalay latex
2" of polyfoam.
All the layers should add up to the height of the mattress with a little less because of the cover.
It would also be a good idea in your case to know the details of the cover material and quilting and the type of fire barrier used.
If a layer is latex then I would want to know the type of latex (Dunlop or Talalay and 100% natural or blended). All of these types of latex are “good quality” materials but they are different from each other and some are more costly than others.
If a layer is polyfoam or memory foam … then I would want to know the density (which determines the quality and durability of polyfoam and memory foam). The density of polyfoam and memory foam is often missing from the spec sheet (bigger manufacturers refuse to disclose this in most cases) but it’s the most important spec to know (because it determines quality and durability). The quality of the layers in the top half of the mattress are most important because they are the “weak link” of most mattresses and are the most subject to softening and breakdown.
You can also look at the law tag to see the types of materials in the mattress (although they list them by weight and don’t specify the quality of the material). It will tell you if there is any polyfoam or memory foam in the mattress and then the details of the spec sheet or the layering information they give you will tell you how thick it is and where the layer is (how close to the sleeping surface)
