Comparing the stretch-knit mattress covers for all latex DIY

Mattress Talk Additional Components & Accessories
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Hi Phoenix,

I have read all of the possible posts regarding this topic, and have studied all of the links you typically share when people ask about this. I am now seeking further advice and impressions on particular covers.

I am creating a 10" all talalay mattress, as I found that much of the manufacturers use the thick quilted wool covers which don’t have much “hand” or flexible softness to them. I want to be able to feel and conform to the latex better than the thick quilt will give, and so I am searching for a cover which will give me that.

At the same time, I am aware that latex degrades through sunlight and oxidization. And so, in somewhat paradoxical fashion, I also want something thick enough that provides that protection from those things (otherwise I would just put a fitted bed sheet over the slabs and call it a day!). I will also use a mattress protector too, with longevity in mind. Again, I know thickness and stretchy usually stand opposed to each other, but I just want something “just thick enough” to get the oxidization protection, while maintaining maximum stretch and feel.

Phoenix, I have identified some potential covers which fit my budget (up to a maximum of 200usd). Please let me know your thoughts on if any of the below will fail to provide adequate protection against degradation. Additionally, please let me know your thoughts on if any of the below are not stretchy enough for what I am after. Like I said, i’m after the kind of pliable stretchy material typically found on memory foam mattresses. They are ordered in order of cheapest to highest:

Am I unnecessarily worrying about the thickness, or is it a valid concern for reducing the oxidization? Furthermore, do you know how stretchy any of the above options are? Or if any particular one of them I should rule out?

Thanks!

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We’ve been quite pleased with the SleepEZ stretch knit cover which would have been perfect for you it sounds like but looking at their website I don’t see it available anymore. Of the ones listed the sleep like a bear one might be your best option.

Here’s another alternative. I have no experience with it. Queen Organic Cotton Zippered Mattress Cover, Replacement Mattress Covers

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Hey jasker23,

Welcome to the TMU Forum :slight_smile: ! Thanks for your questions.

Congrats on your DIY mattress project :cheer: ! Good job on the research, sounds like you’ve done your homework here at the forum on pairing your preferences and materials towards building something especially for you.

With a latex mattress, you should not have to worry about oxidation unless the bed is in an open sunroom-type environment, indirect sunlight should not be a problem.

Bamboo Gel mattress cover: could not find the fabrication specs on the Brentwood Home site or in a general search, only that they use a “combination of natural, organic, and non-toxic materials” and that they “meet California standards for environmental responsibility”. They offer a 30 day return policy on their covers but you would want to verify that in writing and ask what costs may be involved on your end.

40/60 Organic Cotton Case cover: their web site description reads “soft organic cotton is blended with polyester to make this a machine-washable mattress cover.”
Note from Manufacturer: Please take a minute to read the description of these materials or call us to discuss. For sales or product information, call: (415) 503-9314. They don’t seem to offer exchanges/ returns, a quick call would confirm what options are available.

Heavy Organic Cotton Mattress Cover: details from their web site: “This is a thick, soft, and stretch fabric found on most memory foam and latex mattresses…made from certified 100% organic cotton yarn… a thick and luxurious double knit mattress cover”. The return policy was confusing, you definitely want to check with them regarding how that works.

SleepLikeABear All-Natural Knit Bamboo and Cotton Zipper Cover: details from their web site: +/-285 g/m² knit cotton/bamboo fabric, made in USA, Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified, fabric not sewn with any batting or insulating material, waterfall-style edge, no piped or corded edges. They offer returns up to 30 days on (undamaged, unused, unwashed) covers, you will want to contact them and confirm.

Another trusted member, Latex Mattress Factory would welcome your questions directly on their “Ask an Expert” LMF forum should you want their thoughts on whether their 9" cover construction would work for you.

Trusted member MFC’s DIY mattress cover details: from their site, “Choose from Tencel (eucalyptus), Bamboo, Teddy (terry cloth) or Wool quilted 100% organic cotton.” They do not accept exchanges/ returns.

I cannot speak to the amount of “stretchy” qualities these fabrications would have for your individual personal preferences/ PPP. I’d strongly suggest checking in with any of the manufacturers you are considering via chat or call, they could address your specific concerns regarding their products best. FIY, should you opt for working with one of the trusted member manufacturer/ retailers, they offer a small discount to TMU consumer subscribers who have posted at least once to the forum :wink: . I’m moving your post to the general forum, where others following your research may offer their thoughts too. Looking forward to hearing your updates as you continue your DIY mattress journey…

Cheers,
Sensei

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The mattress topper/cover is the one last part that keeps me from ordering. I’m not sure I will like the firmness (according to other posts) the wool in the cover would add.

Would there be anything wrong with putting the layers in the bottom part of the mattress cover and leaving the wool covering off and just using a regular mattress protector on the top?

I like the cover material that was used on the PLB Beautiful mattress when we tested mattresses at the store.

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Hey MattMattsMomma,

Welcome to the TMU Forum :slight_smile: ! Thanks for your question.

Generally speaking, every individual layer and component in a mattress (including the cover, any quilting material, and of course all foam layers) will affect the feel and response of every other layer and component both above and below it and the mattress “as a whole”. Not sure I am following you here, as far as “leaving the wool covering off”. Are you considering a new mattress topper purchase but are concerned about the contents of the topper cover/ fabrication you are interested in? Or are you adding a cover to a topper you already have? A few more details on your situation would provide clarity…looking forward to learning more about your research…

Thanks,
Sensei

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Sorry for hijacking this topic- I’m unable to post new topics on mobile, but my inquiry could be related as it’s ultimately a question about the mattress ticking.

It all started with me wanting to replace our 5-year-old Casper.

My partner liked it, but it was a bit too firm for me, and as it aged the divot his body made got deeper, so I felt like I was fighting uphill all night. (My partner has a BMI of 28, mine is 21.) I have an unstable SI joint due to an injury and chronic low back pain, but my partner never had any back pain or problems.

After joining TMU, I ordered a 9" split queen latex mattress from Sleeping Organic. My partner’s support layer is a Dunlop firm (ILD 36-40), mine is a Dunlop Medium (ILD 26-30). We’ve had a variety of low and medium ILDs to try out and switch around for comfort layers, both Dunlop and Talalay.

We both preferred a Talalay Extra Soft (ILD 14-18) as the top comfort layer. No matter what we put under it, we wake up with upper lumbar/low thoracic back pain. Again, my partner never complained of back pain until this mattress. (Low back and hip pain is normal for me, but I’ve been getting some thoracic pain as well).

We tried firmer comfort layers on top. I’ve tried a couple different pillows. The only thing we haven’t tried is moving the support layers up or trading them, but I don’t see how that would help.

I’ve checked my partner’s alignment using the guide here on TMU with our current “least hated” configuration (both TS/DS over our respective support layers) and it looks good. It seems like we need more support, but anything firmer just feels too firm. There seems to be a sweet spot between plush and supportive that we just aren’t quite hitting.

We are now approaching the end of the 45-night return period. The company has been very accommodating, but we’ve reached the limit of what they can do to help so I have to decide what to do next.

It sounds like some pain on an unfamiliar sleeping surface is expected and normal as your body adjusts; but my partner has gone out of town 3 times to 3 different places since it arrived, and experienced no morning back pain on the strange beds. Also, based on what I’ve read here, latex has a negligible “break in” period so I don’t believe that is the explanation.

Could the issue be the mattress cover/ticking? It has a sturdy twill/muslin backing with a thin layer of quilted wool and cotton over the top and sides. It has stretched a tiny bit over time, but it is fairly robust. The hand is quilt-like, not like a stretch knit.

Could it be that the Talalay XS is actually too soft, but the ticking won’t flex enough to let us “sink” into the comfort layer so we’re perceiving a higher ILD as too firm?

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Hey Erinopteryx,

Welcome to the TMU Forum :slight_smile: ! Thanks for your question.

Sorry to hear about your ongoing chronic back pain issues, those make getting a good night’s rest difficult under ideal conditions, sadly. Congrats though on your new mattress purchase :slight_smile: ! Appreciate your support of Sleeping Organic, one of the TMU trusted member partners.

[quote]We’ve had a variety of low and medium ILDs to try out and switch around for comfort layers, both Dunlop and Talalay. We both preferred a Talalay Extra Soft (ILD 14-18) as the top comfort layer. No matter what we put under it, we wake up with upper lumbar/low thoracic back pain. Again, my partner never complained of back pain until this mattress. (Low back and hip pain is normal for me, but I’ve been getting some thoracic pain as well).

We tried firmer comfort layers on top. I’ve tried a couple different pillows. The only thing we haven’t tried is moving the support layers up or trading them, but I don’t see how that would help. I’ve checked my partner’s alignment using the guide here on TMU with our current “least hated” configuration (both TS/DS over our respective support layers) and it looks good. It seems like we need more support, but anything firmer just feels too firm… We are now approaching the end of the 45-night return period. The company has been very accommodating, but we’ve reached the limit of what they can do to help so I have to decide what to do next.

Could the issue be the mattress cover/ticking? It has a sturdy twill/muslin backing with a thin layer of quilted wool and cotton over the top and sides. It has stretched a tiny bit over time, but it is fairly robust. The hand is quilt-like, not like a stretch knit. Could it be that the Talalay XS is actually too soft, but the ticking won’t flex enough to let us “sink” into the comfort layer so we’re perceiving a higher ILD as too firm?[/quote]

You have certainly done a thorough job of experimenting with different comfort layer firmnesses; good too that you’ve reviewed back alignment relative to overall support as well. The mattress cover should not be the cause of the firmness issue, as Sleeping Organic would have specialized knowledge of the best materials/ construction of covers for their components’ optimal performance. It is possible that you may need a topper to achieve the feel you prefer; is that something that was mentioned in your conversations with them? Looking forward to hearing your updates…

Thanks,
Sensei

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Hi Sensei,

Thanks so much for your reply. After submitting the post, I did try moving our support layers up so that they were directly under the TXS and wow, what a miserable night we had! :pinch:

I also emailed Deborah at DIYNaturalBedding before I got a response here. She thought it was possible that the ticking was the issue, and to test the theory she suggested taking the latex layers out of the ticking and putting a couple fitted sheets over them and sleeping on it that way. I’m a bit embarrassed I didn’t think of that myself. I tucked the layers in their “least hated” configuration inside an upside-down fitted sheet, covered the top with a flat sheet, and put our normal bedding (mattress pad and sheets) over that on our wood slat frame. It really made a difference, we slept much better last night. The latex feels much more responsive and enveloping.

We’ll need to spend a couple more nights on in to see if there’s any additional tweaking that needs to be made, and to make sure we’re not deluding ourselves or hoping too hard.

So glad this community exists! :cheer:

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Hello, seen your post with your issues and had a similar issue myself when building my own mattress. When we first got in all the layers I ordered including a Dunlop layer and a Talalay layer. Along with different materials for support. We tried both of the latex layers and ended up settling on having the Dunlop as our top layer. As we found that even though they were similar in ILD etc the Dunlop was a lot more firm than the Talalay. We both prefer softer tops but the Talalay was so soft we just sunk in way too far and the Dunlop ended up being what we preferred.(Firmer Talalay could be better than the softer Dunlop we have. I plan to try that in the future.) So without boring you with any more details of that, I tell you this because we first tested all this without a mattress cover an the layers not being glued or held together in any way. The main reason we didn’t use a cover for testing was that I had it ordered an it hadn’t been delivered yet. So when it came in we put our layers in the way we found we liked it…The next day we both woke up like WTH just happened. It completely changed the firmness of it along with many other aspects as it felt like a totally different(in a bad way) bed to us. So after some research an more bad nights of sleep I finally ordered another cover with different properties. Mainly the material it was made of allowed it to stretch/flex more and was a lot thinner so we could feel more of the latex feeling we liked. We got this one on and it made a huge difference. It really surprised me how much the cover changed the entire mattress feel. We slept on it like this for quite some time. Then we started to notice it was getting too “loose” for our liking. Trying to figure out why I came up with a possibility. I believe over that time we had slept on it the support foam and latex etc had broke in. As in its normal for any type of foam to not be as “hard” as it was when we first got the layers. I also noticed that some of the layers were shifted, as in not being perfectly flush with each other. Anyways, I decided to actually glue each layer together. So I did this and WOW, it made a massive difference. We slept the best we had ever slept after this. Another small change of bonding each layer together made it feel amazing. We still use the bed to this day in that configuration, I was hesitant to glue them together at first because I wanted to eventually zone the bed an reuse some of the materials I already have but with the glue used its strong enough to keep them together but also would be able to remove them with some effort. So I just wanted to tell you this long story because the mattress covers an such can make huge impacts on the way it feels etc. So I would def take the advice you got and try it with the sheets only and see how you like it. If you still feel like its not right then I would def. return it. Take the knowledge you learned from that experience to decide on your next one. It took me quite a while to figure out what worked for us best an what we liked the best but now with the experience of it all if I ever have to replace the one we have now I have a solid idea of exactly what to construct or what to purchase. Which I feel is very valuable experience to have as having a good night’s sleep with no body aches and pains makes you feel so much better the next day. Anyways sorry for the long painful story but just wanted to chime in an say that the cover can make a big difference an not to give up an keep searching for the right mattress for you! Good Luck! (PS. This was just my personal experience and I have nowhere near the knowledge of some of the people here. There might be better ways of doing the things I did but that’s just what I tried and did.)

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Hi Twoods,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. It does sound like a very similar problem.

I have emailed Sleeping Organic and they suggested a 4-layer mattress to get the plush feeling we like and the support we need.

After reading your story, I think simply switching the Talalay with a Dunlop of the same ILD (and getting a knit ticking) might do the trick - it’s worth at least trying - but they don’t offer either of those options.

At this point I’m concerned about being stuck with a mattress we don’t like, and/or facing the prospect of getting a mattress with a different support material entirely.

I shied away from coils because I’m a very light sleeper and my partner can be a bit restless, and I wanted a mattress that would last a long time. In our current situation I’m waking up all the time anyway, so I’m at a loss for the moment.

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I have done more than my fair share of research, and here is what I’ve learned so far:
-1- Lots of Web sites sell an organic stretch-knit cotton cover, priced at around $190 or so for Queen. Note that many sites are selling products that are not 100pct cotton, and you really need to ask questions in order to find this out.
-2- Many sites also sell a more robust-looking cotton case that has wool quilted inside, and piping along the edges. Based on the recent post within this thread, I am concerned this surface might be too “firm” for me and that I would prefer the softness of the stretch cotton, but it stillI looks very nice.
-3- The Brentwood Home one mentioned is 10% bamboo, 90% polyester. I was told that they do not sell the (very nice) cases they use for the Natural mattresses.
My goal is to find something along the lines of that used by Avocado or Brentwood Home in their nicer mattresses – heavy stretch-knit cotton with piping.

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Hi. Could you let me know what type of glue you used to glue the layers? I don’t want to use something that has an odor but not sure what will work. Thanks

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Hey rddietrick,

Welcome to the TMU Forum and thanks for your question.

While I cannot answer your question regarding @Twoods196 previous post #9 response on gluing mattress layers together, perhaps a quick mention will let OP know of your interest. Hope this helps… :wink:

Sensei

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I don’t want to hijack the thread but I’d love to ask a question. Can any of these stretch covers be used to replace a manufacturers cover? I don’t need to do this now but may in the future.

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The quick answer would be yes. It wouldn’t have any fire retardant properties in all likelihood unless it had wool if that’s a consideration for you.