Covering an older Latex mattress that was poorly protected

[phoenix]

Hi CeeGee,

Thanks for the info. It doesn’t seem like a new cover will do much good in my situation then since I don’t want to block air flow. I wonder if the problem with my mattress is in the quality of the latex foam itself…impossible to know since the seller is no longer in business (also making my 20 year warranty worthless).

Any type or blend of latex (either Dunlop or Talalay and made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) would be a good quality and durable material relative to other types of foam material.

While I don’t know the reason for the smell … latex can oxidize and dry out faster with greater exposure to air and ozone and ultraviolet light along with other substances that can damage it (see here). This will also happen more slowly with a thicker cover than with a thinner cover. There is more in post #3 here and post #3 here that will give you some sense of the effect of different types of covers on latex.

Phoenix