Did anything change with Tempur-Pedic Mattresses when their warranty changed.

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Ive been shopping for a new mattress for the last three weeks or so. First and foremost I have found this thread very useful and helpful in determining my preferences.

I noticed something really odd when we went to a few different Sleep Country locations in Toronto. The Tempur-Pedic mattresses at one older more established locations felt much different than at one of the new locations. The mattress at one of the older locations had that really grippy clay like feel that I believe comes from higher density foam. Where as at the newer location we did not feel this at all, the top layers did not grip at all and did not seem to conform very well they just sank and noticeably didnt feel as dense.

The mattresses we were testing were the cloud supreme, prima and luxe. When I was talking to the sales rep at the newer Sleep Country location he mentioned that around 2014-2015 the Tempur-Pedic warranty changed from 25 years (prorated after 10) to 10 years on all their mattresses. I started to think that Tempurpedic might have changed something in their foams when they changed the warranty. Thinking that possibly the mattresses that we tried at the one older location were made before the warranty change and the one at the new store made after the warranty change.

I decided if I was going to buy a Tempur-Pedic mattress I was going to use a friends DirectBuy membership as the price was literally half that of Sleep Country regular pricing and about $6-800 less than any other sale prices on the market. When I looked the Tempur-Pedic up on the Direct Buy site it showed that the equivalent of a cloud supreme (Tempur Finesse - it has all the exact same specs) weighed 160lbs and showed that it had a 25 year warranty, so obviously old product information.
When I checked on a US site RC Wiley King Mattress - TEMPUR-Cloud Supreme | RC Willey
it shows a 10 year warranty and that the mattress weights 137.9lbs.

After a totally different feel between two identically branded mattresses at the two different stores as well as the weight differences in the products across two websites 160 vs 137.9lbs I am left with the question as to whether Tempur-Pedic has reduced the density of the foam in their mattresses. I really hope I am wrong…

2

Hi Koeppl,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I’m happy the information presented here has been useful to you.

The change in feel could be for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the actual makeup of each mattress (they may not be the same models), the age of the floor model mattresses (foams soften with use), the temperature of the showroom, the base under the mattress, the clothes you wore when testing each mattress, your ability to recall feel from one store to another, and so on. Density is not necessarily the determining factor of the softness, recovery and temperature sensitivity of memory foam. It is independent of the softness, and that is determined more by the isocyanate/polyol formulation. The properties of memory foam will have more to do with its chemical formulation than with its density and different memory foams with the same density can have very different properties and “feel” (see post #9 here and post #8 here). In addition to this … the thickness of each layer, the softness of each layer, and the order they are combined together will all affect how a mattress feels and performs or how well it may “match” another mattress. There is more about the different ways that one mattress can match another one in post #9 here.

The changing of the warranty had nothing to do with new models. I applauded this action by Tempurpedic to shorten their warranty, as did others within the industry, as being more realistic of a timeframe to provide protection against warranty defects. The length of a mattress warranty and the quality and durability of the product have nothing to do with each other, and too many mattress manufacturers place unreasonably long warranties on products, as they know the general public erroneously equates a longer warranty with a higher quality product.

If a store had a model out on their floor for three years, that would be unrepresentative of what a new mattress would feel like, and might not even be a true representation of the current line up, as Tempurpedic, like all manufactures, make frequent changes to their mattress line ups and designs.

I don’t believe that your assumption that the two items are the same is correct (“equivalent” does not mean the “same” with mattresses), nor would you be able to make that assessment with either the information you linked here or with the information you’d be provided at places like Direct Buy. What you need to learn about a mattress to make a logical comparison is listed here, the most important being foam layer density, and that is not information that Tempurpedic generally shares. You would need to know the exact layers, their thickness, their order, and their density to begin to make comparisons. Using “weights” by themselves is not a way to compare mattresses as well, as they are not always reliable, and some weights can be for the product including packaging, versus the weight of the mattress itself.

I think you’re making conclusions based upon very incomplete information. As I mentioned earlier, Tempurpedic, like all brands, is constantly changing the makeup of their products. They still do use some good quality memory foam in their mattresses, and you can go to Jordan’s web site to see the actual densities they use. These are items in the United States, so you will find different offerings in Canada.

Tempurpedic mattresses use good quality materials but as you know they are in much higher (and mostly unjustifiable) budget ranges and for most people they certainly wouldn’t be in the best “value” range compared to many other smaller manufacturers that use similar (or in some cases better) quality materials that are in much lower budget ranges. You can read more about Tempurpedic in general in posts #1 and #2 here.

Phoenix

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I checked out some tempurpedics yesterday and fell in love with the rhapsody luxe but it was 12 inches thick in the store and tempur says it should be 13.5 , does that make sense Phoenix? we are going back today to make sure the bed was not mislabeled.

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Hi Ari,

It’s always good to double check product labeling, especially in lines where so many mattresses appear similar.

You also bring up a good point that the finished height of a mattress will often not be equal to the “sum of its parts”. This can be due to multiple factors, including stitching in the quilt compressing upper comfort layers, tufting, tight border panels, and convoluted foam layers compressing a bit under the weight of the layers above it, which I believe may be the case in the mattress you’re considering.

The Tempurepedic Tempur-Contour Rhapsody Luxe contains:

2" TEMPUR-HD 7.1LB memory foam
2" TEMPUR Material 5.3LB memory foam
4.75" Airflow Base layer 2.0LB polyfoam
4.75" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB polyfoam

Both of the airflow base polyfoam layers have a convoluted top, and when the mattress is assembled, the “tips of the hills” of the convoluted part of the polyfoam will be compressed a bit, resulting in a slightly lower overall height than the sum of the componentry. A layer of convoluted foam’s height is listed from the bottom to the “tip of the hill” on the convolute, so depending upon the design of the “hill and valley” of the convolute and IFD of the polyfoam, as well as the softness of the foam placed above the convolute, the finished height of the mattress will vary.

The approximate finished height from Tempurpedic of this mattress is listed at 13.5", but I’ve seen other sites listing a finished height measured around 12.5", so it’s more than likely you were testing out the proper mattress. But it’s always good to double check!

Phoenix

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Hi Phoenix
I went to a different store and the bed measured the same.
It didn’t feel quite as supportive in my mid section as the bed yesterday… of course! lol
I also laid on the contour elite breeze which was very comfortable but I worry that may be too firm when it’s new and also too firm for side sleeping.
Tempur will do a 90day trial for refund or exchange so I think start with the rhapsody and if it isn’t quite supportive enough I can exchange for the elite.
These are my thoughts anyway …and I’m exhausted…if you can think of anything I missed point it out please :slight_smile:

6

Hi Ari,

There can be differences in the feel of the same mattress, not only in different batches of foam being poured, but in the showroom and the length of time that the item has been displayed as well and the amount of use it has seen, and with memory foam, even the temperature of the showroom. As you’re looking at memory foam beds, be sure to spend about 15 minutes in the same spot to make sure that you give enough time to allow your body heat to change the feel of the memory foam and determine if you like the resulting comfort.

Phoenix

7

Hi Phoenix,
I was on the rhapsody a good amount of time yesterday and it was comfortable. Today in a different store I didn’t want to stay on it as it felt like my lower back was sinking in deeper then would be comfortable. I was arching my back looking for support.

I spent most of my time today comfortable on the elite breeze.
likely a half hour both days on each bed

I should mention a few things, my lower back is a trouble spot for me in general and has been the area where none of the bed in the boxes worked out, no support, hammocking.

Today when shopping I was tired and sore from swimming earlier this morning. Not sure how that comes into play lol

Alignment wise my husband and the salesman both thought I looked good on the elite breeze.

Another issue - length of time on the floor yesterday’s rhapsody was on the floor allegedly 8 months, today’s beds 2 years. Would mean if it’s true, the rhapsody didn’t hold up very well in 2 years.

The sleep trial , return or exchange make it low risk whichever I choose but it would be nice to get it right the first try ha ha

8

Hi Ari,

I’m sorry to hear about your back issues. :frowning: Out of everything, the largest variable is the human body. It’s best to compare the same mattress in the same showroom, as you don’t know how much of what you’re feeling is due to your low back issues versus the different feel of the different floor model you tested.

I don’t know that because one model felt different to you versus another floor sample of the same model, and throwing in the variable of a fatigued low back, would be a reliable manner to determine how well a mattress has “held up” versus what might actually be the gradual and normal softening of the polyfoam and memory foam within a mattress.

I would try and test the same floor models at the same store, and try them out when your low back is hopefully feeling a bit better.

Phoenix

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Thanks Phoenix!

10

:wink:

11

Thank you for the reply.
To me though reducing the warranty terms dosent benefit the consumer in any way, rather it just keep more money in Tempurpedics pockets.
If the differences between mattresses is hard to compare, would it be possible that different quality materials are used in Canadian vs US mattresses even though they have the exact same model name? Ive read that tempurpedic rarely go on sale in the US where as on Canada prices are very flexible.

After trying both mattresses of the same brand and the same model the differences were so significant that I would find it hard to believe that a change in temperature could have caused them.

I do agree that without actually taking apart both mattresses and testing the density of the foams and measuring the layers it is impossible to verify that two seemingly the same models are exactly the same. I was of the impression that the differences in names were more or less just a measure to prevent consumers from price shopping. It would be great if some form of regulation came into place making manufacturers state what quality of product (density and dimensions) of foam are used to manufacturer the bed so that consumers can best assess quality.

By not readily providing essential information on what is in the mattress It makes me very wary of purchasing from the company, especially when they vary the names of their products to prevent consumers getting value for their money. When I inquired about what amounts and densities of foam were used in Novaform they replied within hours with a full break down.

You mentioned that there are some smaller producers that would make a similar if not better quality mattress for less money, if you happened to know of any in Ontario Canada I would greatly appreciate that.

12

Hi Koeppl,

I’d suggest that having a longer mattress warranty (like 25 years) really doesn’t add much value at all to a consumer, as there are very few people who will keep a mattress that long, and overall the loss of comfort, not defects, is the largest reason consumers replace products, and comfort is not a warrantable defect. Even if someone kept a mattress for 20 years and discovered there was a warranty issue with the product, there is a large chance they would have some sort of soiling on the product that would disqualify warranty coverage. Overall, it would be reasonable to expect a useful lifetime in the range of 7 - 10 years for a good quality mattress and with higher quality and more durable materials like latex or higher density memory foam or polyfoam (in the comfort layers especially) it would likely be in the higher end of that range and the chances that you would have additional “bonus time” could be higher as well. Even a warranty of ten years is very long for the most used piece of furniture in your home, and I’m happy to see that there are some manufacturers who are adopting more “realistic” warranty terms and using the warranty as less of a marketing item.

The only way to know if two models are the same would be to have details (density, thickness, ILD) of all of the foam layers on the inside of the mattress, regardless of the name placed on the outside. Unfortunately, Tempurpedic does not provide such information about their products to the public, which makes it difficult to objectively compare. As for pricing, authorized Tempurpedic retailers do have a dealer agreement to which they are supposed to abide regarding advertising and selling prices. There are frequent “sales events” for Tempurpedic products in the US and Canada, but these are generally outlined with specific guidelines by Tempurpedic to retailers on what is and isn’t allowed in “discounting” or “free offers”.

Unless you have complete specifications of the products, you can’t be sure that they were the exact same model at each store. You may wish to look at the law tag and compare model numbers to see if they match up. It does happen that stores will keep a floor model on display longer than they should and it can be misrepresentative of the current model, even if the name is the same and there was a “running change” made in the design.

Some mattress manufacturers will use different names or different covers for the same mattress model to make cross-shopping more difficult for consumers, and to also allow some stores to create (essentially worthless) “exact-match price guarantees” within a geographic region. And sometimes the different names denote truly unique models.

I won’t argue that more transparency within the mattress industry would be welcome, but by and large I am not a fan of advocating government mandating of such things like foam densities, and instead I think consumer demand and “voting with dollars” better helps to guide manufacturer’s decisions.

I advise caution against making a purchase when you can’t acquire the information you need to know in order to make an educated decision with any mattress.

I’m happy you were able to acquire information from Novaform about the mattress model you were considering. If you’d like to post that information here I’ll be happy to comment upon it. Unfortunately, there are some Novaform models that have been discussed here on the forum in the past that use lower density memory foams.

In Canada, you may wish to look at these site members who specialize in memory foam mattresses:
Memory Foam Comfort – Quebec and online
Novosbed – online only

I have discontinued the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer members who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict vetting and qualification process that is part of becoming an approved member of The Mattress Underground. Such an assumption is unfair to both the consumers seeking assistance, as well as the very businesses and manufacturers who have indeed qualified the be members here of The Mattress Underground.

You can perform a forum search on Ontario or any other specific area and see what other businesses have been discussed in that region which may be helpful to you.

Whatever business you’re considering, I would always confirm that any retailer or manufacturer that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and also make sure that any mattress that you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here.

If you have any questions about specifications or certain products you discover, feel free to post back on the forum and I’ll do my best to be assistive.

Phoenix