Dixie Foam mattress

Hi Phoenix,

Your site has been invaluable tool in helping me to choose the right mattress. I was hoping to buy and all latex mattress, but my budget would not allow for it. I even tried out Savvy Rest and OMI at a local retailer, but they were approximately 5k for a king size.

Two years ago my husband and I replaced our 18 year old Reflexion with a foam over coil “S” brand mattress. We paid almost $2k for a king size set and the mattress is sagging; the coils make popping sounds.

To make a long story short, my husband and I have gained a few pounds (ok a lot) over the years and we needed something that would support us. We almost bought a Brooklyn bed, but your membership list showed Dixie Foam was only an hour or two away from where we live. Actually it is 60 miles, but even on a Sunday traffic is brutal in the city.

Dixie foam uses a HR foam core and an all latex topper. Mark at Dixie foam was extremely helpful and explained that they are now making their Cloud Rest beds with three slabs of graduating firmness. We tried the mattress and honestly, I liked it just as much as the Savvy Rest. I mentioned your site and Mark gave us the 5% discount. Immediately. The mattress was $1,126 + a small delivery charge. No tax was charged because we live in NJ.

One more thing, I asked Mark if he would not glue the slabs and provide a zippered mattress cover which was no problem. We take delivery of the mattress next week.

My next question for you Phoenix - can you point us towards an economical platform bed to support the mattress. I’ll update my post as time goes by and let everybody know how well the mattress holds up.

Thanks,
Sandy

Hi sandy1018,

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments and feedback and for letting us know what you ended up deciding … I appreciate it.

As you know I think highly of Mark and Dixie Foam Beds and you certainly made a great quality/value choice. Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I’m looking forward to any additional updates you have the chance to share once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Platform beds are more of a furniture item which is somewhat outside the main focus of the forum and aren’t something that I spend a great deal of time researching since there are so many different options available and mattresses take up most of my available time.

Having said that … there is more information about the different type of support systems (bedframes and foundations or platform beds) that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses and some examples of each of them (including some platform beds) in post #1 here that may be helpful.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

It’s been nine months since we bought our Cloud Rest Dixie Foam bed and we are not happy. It has an extra firm polyurethane base layer that is about 2.8 density / 44 Ild. Then it has a two inch layer of 2.8 density / 27 ild and to top it all off is a 3" N1 later of Talalay. All we feel is the extra firm poly on the bottom.

We spoke to Mark about the problems we were experiencing and he suggested we buy a memory foam topper which we did. The topper makes the mattress bearable, but we are not fans of memory foam. After a few hours of sleep the memory foam bottoms out and we wake up with aching arms and hips. So I bought a 2" poly egg crate topper to put underneath the memory foam. This helped with the aches and numbness, but not completely.

We are now looking to replace the mattress and cut our losses. We struggle financially and considered buying latex components to go underneath the talalay comfort layer, but the cover that Mark sold us is not of good quality in my opinion. It’s loose and sloppy and the zipper is on the bottom which makes access to the layers difficult.

We recently found a store near us Your Organic Bedroom in Doylestown, PA that sells high end latex mattresses. This store had eight different configurations of Saavy Rest mattresses and we tried them all. We really like the soft talalay/medium dunlop/firm dunlop combination. The store also had at least a dozen different brand toppers to try. We like the Holy Lamb 3" wool topper. Of couse we cannot afford a Saavy Rest and will probably order from Sleep Ez.

Dixie Foam has a great reputation in the NYC area and has been around a very long time, but it just didn’t work out for us. We got what we paid for, but it’s not what we really want.

Regards,

Sandy S.

Hi sandy1018,

I’m sorry the comfort of your Cloud Rest isn’t working out for you. I think when you state that “all you feel is the firm poly on the bottom” is that you’re desiring something with more substantial surface comfort, as all the layers of foam compress and work together in a mattress and you have 5" of foam on top of that polyfoam core.

Had you thought to try a latex topper instead of memory foam or a convoluted foam piece? At a 19 ILD the latex used on your mattress is on the plush side, and as you stated last year you are both in a higher BMI range so something like a bit of a firmer latex might provide you with better results, should you decide to keep the mattress.

I don’t know that adding a layer under your cover would be an answer, as that would be compressed a bit by the cover that wasn’t designed to hold thicker materials. I’d either consider replacing the 19 ILD layer with a higher ILD layer of latex, or perhaps replace the top poly foam layer with a higher ILD layer of latex and keep the 19 ILD on top. As you specifically requested the zippered cover and the layers not be glued together in your initial order, you’d certainly have the option to do so. But changing different comfort layers and experimenting is of course no guarantee of a comfort that you’ll desire, and not everyone is “up” for a DIY project, where you may end up spending more than purchasing an already completed mattress.

SleepEZ does have some good options for all-latex component systems, so be sure to provide them the information on what you currently have and what you don’t like about it. The Dixie Foam mattress does use good quality materials, but it may be that you just don’t like the feel of a poly foam core, need more “substantial” comfort layers, or perhaps a combination of both. Sleep EZ should be able to take your information and hopefully come up with some alternative construction options that work better for you.

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix,

Thanks for getting back to me. I don’t know if we’re up to the DIY road either. Our current mattress configuration from bottom to top looks like this:

5" HR foam @ 44 ild
2" polyfoam @ 27 ild
3" talalay latex @ 14-19 ild
2" convoluted polyfoam cheapo store bought
2" viscos (probably 3lb density)

Either I’m a princess or I need to lose weight because the only thing I feel at the end of the night is the “pea”. I thought about buying a 3" slab of 30 ild latex to put in the middle so that the configuration would look like this:

5" HR foam @ 44 ild
3" dunlop @ 30 ild
3" talalay @ 14-19 ild

The cover will accomodate it and this setup is similar to the Savvy Rest firm/medium/soft combo we liked.

My husband and I believe that the extra firm HD core is probably what we dislike, but I’m hoping to save something out of this setup.

I guess my question to you is do you think the 3" - 30 ild layer would work well between the extra firm core and the soft topper? Would a 30 ild be too firm or too soft? I know that’s more than one question - sorry.

Once again - thank you.

Sandy

Hi sandy1018,

[quote]Our current mattress configuration from bottom to top looks like this:
5" HR foam @ 44 ild
2" polyfoam @ 27 ild
3" talalay latex @ 14-19 ild
2" convoluted polyfoam cheapo store bought
2" viscos (probably 3lb density)
Either I’m a princess or I need to lose weight because the only thing I feel at the end of the night is the “pea”. I thought about buying a 3" slab of 30 ild latex to put in the middle so that the configuration would look like this:
5" HR foam @ 44 ild
3" dunlop @ 30 ild
3" talalay @ 14-19 ild
I guess my question to you is do you think the 3" - 30 ild layer would work well between the extra firm core and the soft topper? Would a 30 ild be too firm or too soft? I know that’s more than one question - sorry.
[/quote]
Moving toward a combination that you’ve already tested with positive results is always a good idea. You certainly have quite a bit of very plush material on top of your current configuration, and counterintuitively, when there are too many ultra plush layers on top it can cause a mattress to feel uncomfortable, as your alignment is poor and undue pressure can be concentrated and placed upon certain areas as they sink in too deeply into the mattress. The addition of the Dunlop layer will be a “firmer” overall foam layer than the polyfoam it replaces, but it will also be a more resilient, springy, responsive and point elastic. If you think that you are not liking the feel of the polyfoam, this certainly would put a bit more distance between you and the core.

I’ll be interested in your results if you decide to make the change in that layer.

Phoenix

Well it took a while to Justify throwing away my Dixie Foam mattress, but I just wasn’t sleeping well. Too much numbness and hip and shoulder pain. Finally decided to but an Organic Select mattress from SleepEZ and I am happy I did.

First off, the king size Organic Select sleep mattress is really nice. The cover is organic cotton with a good 1" layer of wool. It is heavy fabric and I really like it. The zipper works flawlessly and the whole top can be removed if necessary. I already owned a fairly new 3" soft dunlop topper, so I asked Roger if I could order a bigger cover to accommodate it. No problem and no extra charge. So I ordered a Select Sleep 10 with a 13" mattress cover.

The shipping was fast - about one week from the order date and we were constantly updated with eta notices. The boxes arrived intact and the contents were well wrapped. My husband and I set up the mattress in about one hour.

As for sleeping, the mattress is comfortable but a just little too firm for me. Our configuration from top to bottom is as follows:
3" Talalay soft
3" Dunlop soft
3" Dunlop medium
3" Dunlop firm
I spoke to Roger who suggested removing the top of the mattress and replacing with a sheet to see if I would rather go with a stretch cover. This would give me the floaty soft feeling I’m looking for.

This actually provided some more softness, but not enough to jusify giving up the better mattress cover. I bought a 3" wool topper instead, Bio Sleep brand, and this did the trick. The wool is wonderful to sleep on and really regulates body temperature. My husband was happy with the mattress the way it is , so I only bought a twin XL topper for my side. It is simple to roll up and store in a corner before making the bed.

I’ve been sleeping on the mattress for 6 weeks and it has softened a little. I can actually get a good nights rest without the topper, but I’m spoiled by the wool topper now. I cannot recommend SleepEz enough. Between the prompt and attentive customer service, quick shipping and quality of materials I am very happy with this purchase.

Thought I’d throw in my two-cents worth. TMU has been a goto source for me and I was able to make an informed decision that led to a solid purchasing experience. I too have had really bad experiences purchasing mattresses from big box stores with severely limited and unfair return policies. So thank you Phoenix for being there.

Hi sandy1018.

Thank you for your very kind words and for taking the time to “throw in your two-cents” and share your comments and feedback. Although you’ve had a bit of a long journey you did good research and ended with a suitable and good quality/value choice product and found several creative solutions… experiences like yours are very valuable

Congratulations for your new and “happy” mattress purchase from Sleep EZ! :lol:

I am glad that you like your new Organic Select Sleep mattress and that Roger and Sleep EZ team assisted you closely along the way with the fine-tuning process. As with all our members think very highly of them and I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.

I do hope you’ll be able to visit the site again and provide future updates on your mattress once you’ve had a chance to sleep upon it for a while longer.

Phoenix